The identity of the city in regards to the World War II in an autobiographical reflection

On the 1st September 1939 a German city Breslau was found 40 kilometers from the border with Poland and the first front lines. Nearly six years later, controlled by the Soviets, the city came under the "Polish administration" in the "Recovered Territories". The new authorities from the beginning virtually denied all the past of the city, began the exchange of population and the gradual erasure of multicultural memory; the heritage of the past recovery continues today. The main objective of this paper is to present the complexity of history through episodes of a city history. The analysis of texts and images, biographies of the inhabitants / immigrants / exiles of Breslau / Wrocław and the results of modern research facilitate the creation of a complex political, economic, social and cultural landscape, rewritten by historical events and resettlement actions.

How can one place emotions, opinions or biographies in an academic setting if neutral, precise rules and classification methods do not apply to them?
A simple methodological division on quantitative and qualitative methods can partially disperse these doubts. This is apparent in many works based on autobiographies, life stories or word of mouth, most often from the fields of history (W. Churchill, "My Early Life", 1930), sociology (W.I. Thomas, F. Znaniecki, "The Polish Peasant in Europe and America", 1918), pedagogy ("The Correspondence of John Deway",  or anthropology (O. Lewis, "The Children of Sanchez. Autobiography of a Mexican Family", 1961). Just a few of the chosen examples prove that, by applying such a broad approach to the studied topic, it is possible to introduce a new kind of scientific quality in these works. It is also possible to discover this specific "baggage" of the researcher, i.e. experiences that may be crucial to fully understand the study. Thus, the researcher exposes a part of his or her identity, both the academic as well as personal one 1 .
What is the reason for such an introduction in a paper that aims to be a historical study?
When asking about the identity of a city, one is also asking about the identity of its residents: generations, groups and individuals for which the city was a stop during their journeys. Finally, one is also asking about the identity of immigrants and exiles to whom the German name "Breslau" and Polish name "Wrocław" could mean both the biblical promised land as well as hell on earth. Even though the origins of the city are connected with slavic settlements, first Polish settlers and the funding of the Wrotizla bishopric in the year 1000, the city goes under the Bohemian crown in 1335. Under the name of Vretslaw, this regional metropolis becomes a central-european center of international trade. In 1526, when the Kingdom of Bohemia becomes a part of the Habsburg dominion, Vretslaw is renamed to Presslaw. Despite its peripheral nature, die Blume Europas -"The Flower of Europe", the urban microcosm, as the city is called by Norman Davies, a British historian, Wrocław is affected by all major decisions made in the European capitals: in the 17th century, the capital of Silesia is placed at the centre of military operations of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), it becomes a part of the Kingdom of Prussia as Breslau in the first half of the 17th century and it is captured by the French army during the Napoleonic campaigns. The city enters the 20th century with a rich historical, social and cultural baggage, which is not devoid of conflict and constantly changing borders. Its rich heritage is in contrast with its hugely underdeveloped infrastructure, which was set back even further by the post-war crisis of the Weimar Republic 2 . The changes that take place in the city over only twelve years (1933)(1934)(1935)(1936)(1937)(1938)(1939)(1940)(1941)(1942)(1943)(1944)(1945) were dubbed as "the quintessence of Europe's tragedy in 20th century" by Gregor Thum, a German historian. In the provincial Breslau, which belongs to the Weimar Republic, ideas such as radical nationalism, supported by xenophobia and anti-Semitism quickly gained in popularity. The city took an active part in the development of Nazi fantasies bent on the germanization of surrounding territories and extermination of Jews. The city was damaged during the war both by the advancing Red Army as well as the defenders of Festung Breslau, the Citadel of Breslau, which surrendered four days after the fall of Berlin as the last remaining German strong-point. The post-war border change in the Central and Eastern Europe led to mass resettlements on an unprecedented scale and Breslau became Wrocław, a "reclaimed", "promised" Polish city created by the communist propaganda and stripped of its own past. After fifty years, along with the collapse of the regime, the tedious task of recovering the historical identity of the city could be started 3 .
The thirties mark the city with the nazi swastika. Breslau accepts the political solutions of the Nazi Party with great enthusiasm: in the 1932 election, the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP, Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeitpertei) gets over forty per cent of the votes in the city, which is the third best result in the nation 4 . The Osthilfe (Eastern Aid) program, which was aimed to "help the East", seemed like the only chance for a better future and reclamation of honour on the international arena for citizens tired by the crisis and unfulfilled heritage of Silesia. During the popular displays of sport and athleticism, which meant to demonstrate the ideal Aryan body, high ranking representatives of the Party arrive at the city. In July 1938, during the 12th Turn-und-Sportfest, The Celebration of Gymnastics and Sport, Adolf Hitler himself arrives at the city and uses the occasion to give many political speeches 6 .
Soon after the victory of NSDAP in the election, the Police and SA begin to eliminate individuals and organizations deemed as "dangerous" for the nation, which equals to eliminating potential political adversaries and the opposition. The first forced labour camp, Konzentrationslager Breslau-Dürrgoy, is opened in the city as early as in 1933 just for a couple of months and the first public book burning takes place. The Jewish minority becomes the target of the biggest persecutions. Nearly two thirds of the thirty thousandmembers of the Jewish community leaves the city before 1938, the Kristallnacht, The Crystal Night, which ends with most of the city's synagogues burned and Jewish shops and houses demolished 7 . It is worth mentioning that Jewish artists and intellectuals, including many academic professors, were a big part of the city's intellectual elite. Their forced withdrawal from the public life and the gradual limitation of their civil rights directly affected the socio-cultural landscape of Breslau.
One of the core goals of the Nazi propaganda was the reinforcement of pride stemming from the feeling of belonging to the German nation. In Breslau, such actions were of particular importance because of the geographical location of the Upper Silesia region, which was a target After a week of delay, on the 20th of January, Gauleiter, prefect Karl Hanke decides to order for the forced evacuation of the two thirds of nearly one million people who are currently living in 9 Ibid., p. 427-428. 10  the city. Those that did not get a spot on one of the already full trains are forced to go by foot to Legnica and Drezno. The journey through snow and subzero temperatures leads to the death of nearly ninety thousand people. One month later on the 16th of February, the Soviets encircle the city and trap nearly two hundred thousand civilians, soldiers, prisoners and workers 14 .
The Soviet air forces keep bombing key strategic points and level more and more industrial and residential districts. However, the defenders also take part in the destruction of the city. German soldiers gradually set fire to the southern districts, which comprise of villas and The city becomes a transfer point, the beginning and the end of hundreds of thousands of journeys. Repatriation is for the majority of Poles only a myth. Their journeys are forced and the destination, which is commonly seen in many memories as "The Capital of the Wild West", is located on a completely unknown and foreign territory. The picture painted by propaganda does not mention the daily rapes, murders, the fact that stealing is the best way of getting supplies, the lack of interest from the new tenants about the state of the surviving buildings, the sea of ruin and rubble that will later on become the source of materials for the grand national project of rebuilding Warsaw 23 .
The motto of "the return to the motherland", strongly popularized in the forties and fifties, seems effective. However, it still lacks any historical grounds that would lay foundation for building a community. This is why the post-war academic papers about Wrocław include a great deal of false, manipulated information that depicts the alleged Polish-German conflict.
There is no mention of the connection of Wrocław with a historical region of Bohemia; the transfer of the city into the German hands is portrayed as a result of an intrigue. Historians invent whole chapters of the city's history, in which all German themes are negative. The popularity of prehistoric studies is rapidly expanding. These studies are aimed to discover evidence for the Slavic roots of the city. The history of Wrocław's landmarks, especially the medieval ones, is being diligently written: the gothic style is mistakenly associated with the first Polish rulers 24 .
The re-polonization of the urban toponymy is similar to the actions of Nazis in the thirties. The only differences are the heroes mentioned by the government: instead of the heroes of national socialism, the heroes of communism are revered. Until the spring of 1946, all streets are renamed but not without difficulties. There are not enough Polish and Russian names that can be associated with the history of the city. Another aspect of the re-polonization that proves to be 22 THUM,p. 173. 24 Ibid., difficult is the removal of German landmarks and typography from the public space. The latter, which was covered with a poor quality paint, survived in some places to this day 25 .
The creation of new identity of the city based on blatant propaganda and direct interventions made by the government of the Polish People's Republic took 20 years -an amazingly short period of time for such a feat. Until 1989, the past was associated with the worries that Germans might demand a return of the goods and properties left in Wrocław in 1945. Only after the fall of communism and after signing the 1990 Polish-German border treaty, the Potsdam understatements end. However, it is too late to save the physical indications of a German Breslau. On the verge of entering the 21st century, the city begins a project aimed at rebuilding the multicultural identity. The turn towards historical memory, which was negated throughout decades, is symbolically marked by adapting the "Wrocław, the meeting place" motto, which was taken from the speech John Paul II gave during the Wrocław's Eucharistic Congress in 1997. This motto becomes a tourism slogan and guides other renovation projects aimed to restore places and urban areas connected with Wrocław's history, which are often visited by German tourists, descendants of the Breslauers that want to learn about their roots. These short observations about the ways the historical identity was built, destroyed and reclaimed are in no way final and do not exhaust the topic. The history of Wrocław's identity is a story of changes, often forced, which can be exemplified by the Nazi germanization and communist polonization. Some of the last remaining Breslauers still, to this day, live in Wrocław, as well as the first Polish inhabitants. Both these groups remember the difficult periods of hunger, sprawling ruins, empty German apartments and the furniture, paintings and clocks taken from those apartments. They also remember the feeling of uncertainty and temporariness.
These are also the memories of my grandmother who was born in Wilno in the twenties and who arrived at Wrocław in 1946 in one of the many transports of Poles from the Eastern Borderlands.
My mother will be born in the same city in the bleak fifties, and I will be born thirty years later in the last years of communist Poland. The family history of many of my colleagues is very similar. For us, the reconstruction of the past provides a way to construct not only the future but also the entire identity.