Günther Prien School (Litzmannstadt)

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Günther Prien School
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type of school high school
founding 1941
closure 1945
place Łódź
Country Poland
Coordinates 51 ° 45 '42 "  N , 19 ° 29' 24"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 45 '42 "  N , 19 ° 29' 24"  E
In the middle is the building of Primary School No. 4 in Lodz (2016), which served the Prienschule from 1941 to 1944 and extends on a narrow, elongated plot perpendicular to the street

The Günther Prien School was a state secondary school for students of German descent during the Nazi era in the Polish city of Łódź , which existed from 1941 to 1945 and was incorporated into the German Reich in 1939 and renamed Litzmannstadt in 1940. In the summer of 1941 it was named after the submarine commander Günther Prien .

Leaving certificate from Günther-Prien-Schule Litzmannstadt for a student (name changed)

Starting position

Sign for the renaming of Lodz (1940) on what was then known as Deutschlandplatz , today's Plac Wolności (= Freiheitsplatz), on the right the Evangelical Trinity Church

A few days after the attack on Poland began , the city of Lodz was handed over to the German occupation forces on September 9, 1939. In Poland lived at that time hundreds of thousands of people of German origin; Their share was particularly high in Lodz, which is related to the special history of this city . For the Łódź families who wanted to send their children to a German school, several German elementary schools had existed for decades , but they were increasingly converted to the use of the Polish language during the interwar period, so that in the end only the subjects German and religion were taught in German. In addition, there was the Łódź German Gymnasium (LDG) since 1906 , which in 1939, including its integrated elementary school classes, had around 700 students.

After the city was incorporated into the newly founded Reichsgau Wartheland , the nationwide provisions for the organization of the German school system also applied to Lodz. Families of German descent whose children had previously been to Polish schools were asked to send their children to German schools. For this purpose, reference was made to the still existing German elementary schools on the one hand, and to the German grammar schools on the other. Families of German descent were also asked to be registered in the German People's List in accordance with their duty . This registration meant de facto naturalization as a German citizen, while the Polish population was exposed to considerable disadvantage, discrimination and harassment under German rule, and the Jewish population was completely excluded and locked in the ghetto for exploitation or extermination in April 1940 . Also, the LDG was nationalized, into line , provided with new management in late 1939 in State School for Boys in Lodz renamed. Lodz itself was named after General Litzmann on April 11, 1940 .

Within a few months, many families from Lodz were able to prove that they were of German descent, so that a stream of students entered the LDG that could not be dealt with in terms of space or personnel. There were also families from the "Altreich" who moved to Lodz for professional reasons. The classes of Oberschule I (LDG) were quickly overcrowded, and the situation called for the establishment of further high schools. However, there was a considerable shortage of space, as numerous organizations of the Nazi state had a considerable need for training rooms.

founding

Building of the former German grammar school in Lodz (2015)

Plans to split up the LDG and found a second secondary school were made early on. At the beginning of October 1940, representatives of the Berlin Ministry of Education visited the LDG. On October 26, 1940, an article appeared in the Ostdeutscher Beobachter with statements by Gauamtsleiter District President Jäger on the importance of schools; it says: "The establishment of further secondary schools for the large cities of Posen and Litzmannstadt is planned."

On November 19, 1940, there was no new school, but there was already a staff planning for it. Senior Student Councilor Wendt, who has worked for the District President of Litzmannstadt since May 1, 1940, wrote to the Reich Governor of the Warthegau in Posen: “The secondary schools in my department have the following gaps when they are currently occupied. a) High school for boys in Litzmannstadt (...) This list includes the need for the second high school for boys, which is to be split off as soon as possible. The start-up has not yet been carried out due to a lack of teachers. "

In November 1940, the head of the high school for boys I proposed that the former LDG be named after General von Briesen ; von Briesen had made a great contribution to the attack on Poland in September 1939 near Lodz. A letter from District President Litzmannstadt to the Reich Governor in Posen to rename the LDG in December 1940 on this proposal dated the founding day of the Prienschule: “Since the second high school for boys is to be opened in Litzmannstadt after the Christmas holidays, the name is the first urgently to avoid permanent mix-ups. "

Provisional arrangements from the beginning

Location of the first location (bottom left) at Sienkiewicz Park

Apparently, the new school was formally established shortly after the turn of the year 1940/41 (according to the sources in any case before February 28), but initially on an extremely modest scale: At first, the new secondary school II with staggered morning and afternoon classes was in a few rooms of a magnificent school building in König-Heinrich-Str. 46 (previously and now Sienkiewicza 46 ), right next to the Sienkiewicza Park ( Henryk Sienkiewicz Park, then Heinrichbusch ). The school was built in 1891 under the rule of the tsar as a Russian boys' grammar school and was called the Piłsudski grammar school from 1921 to 1939 . Since the Soviet Union did not appreciate Piłsudski as a symbol of Polish freedom and the Polish-Soviet War (1919–1921), this grammar school has been named after Tadeusz Kościuszko since 1946 and should not be confused with today's Piłsudski grammar school in Lodz, which was first named since 2002.

On February 28, 1941, Oberstudienrat Wendt, an employee of the district president of Litzmannstadt, reported to the Reich Governor of the Warthegau in Posen about the spatial difficulties of the first few months :

“B) General von Briesen School in Litzmannstadt. The overviews submitted by this institution require a special study, as the full division between the Briesen School and the State High School for Boys II from the well-known space needs has still not been implemented. Just as it should be possible for the Staatliche Oberschule für Jungs II, the large building of the current SS-Unterführerschule in Königsbacherstr. 41, the Briesen-Schule is handing over a 3rd train now consisting of classes 3c, 4c, 5c, 6c. Since a number of classes at the Briesen School are overcrowded, a further class division will probably be unavoidable for this and the State High School for Boys II. The resulting additional demand cannot yet be completely overlooked. The 8 m has been canceled, religious instruction in classes 1 - 4 has been discontinued, physical education has been shortened to 2 - 3 hours per week. The double employment of some teachers at the two high schools for boys (Schwarz, Bielig, Bachmann, Launert, Arndt) is extremely annoying. By employing teachers from the Altreich, I am trying to shorten this situation as much as possible. (...)

c) State high school for boys II in Litzmannstadt. The school cannot develop due to lack of space (see what was said under b). She is missing 1 art teacher, 1 physical teacher (...). With the move into the new school building and the class division made possible by it, 1 Anglist, 1 geographer (...)

d) State secondary school for girls in Litzmannstadt. Class divisions are necessary in the lower grades, but can only be carried out when the second secondary school for girls can be opened. This is due to the relocation of the 2nd state high school for boys, which is now completely inadequate with morning and afternoon classes on half the ground floor of the former Pilsudski high school in König Heinrichstrasse. 46 has been housed. If a second secondary school for girls is to be founded, the following is required: (…) 1 teacher with mathematics, physics (possibly the instructor Wechselberg from Seesen , whose position in the UK has been promised to me by the Air Force). "

Naming and relocation

Günther Prien on board a warship (1940)

On May 30, 1941, the headmaster Rommel applied to the Reich Governor in Posen for the name Günther-Prien-Schule for his high school for boys II . He explained the reasons: “Günther Prien was the most popular naval hero of this war. His figure is present in every German boy. For the boys in this school, almost all of whom are returnees, it is particularly important to connect them with the experience of their first time in the Greater German Reich. This name will be extremely suitable for this. "

Main entrance to the school at the new location at Ostlandstrasse 191 (2016)

From the school year 1941/42 onwards, the LDG was to be run in four classes, while the Prienschule was initially to be run in a single class due to lack of space. Mr. Wendt wrote to Posen on June 14, 1941: "According to (...) I report that (...) the following teachers still have to be requested at the beginning of the new school year: 1.) General von Briesen-Schule Litzmannstadt: (6 teachers) The institution's teaching needs are calculated for four trains, as the secondary school for boys II can only be held in one move for the time being due to a lack of space. 2.) High school for boys II Litzmannstadt: (2 teachers) This high school starts the 8th grade in the new school year and therefore runs a continuous train. Has the institution moved to the Königsbacherstr. 41 possible during the summer vacation, a full train is automatically transferred from the Briesen school to this institution. "

Shortly afterwards, on July 1, 1941, the young school moved from the Pilsudski High School ground floor to the new headquarters now known as Ostlandstrasse 191, although this was often overlooked when addressing mail from Poznan during the following two years. It follows that from now on the LDG would initially only have been run in three classes, whereas the Prienschule would have to have been run in two classes.

Near the school, about 300 meters to the east on the opposite side of the street, there was a sports field, which was obviously an important criterion for a school location, especially under the Nazi regime. This sports field can be recognized in an aerial photo from 1942, sketched in on the Polish city map in 1939 and very clearly on the one from 1948.

The fact that the move took place in the summer of 1941 is confirmed by Wendt's letter of July 9, 1941 to Senior Studies Director Bahr in the Reich Governor's Office in Posen. Whether two trains were actually set up there, however, leaves it open: “With effect from July 1, 1941, after nine months of fighting, I closed the former Pilsudski-Gymnasium in König-Heinrich-Str. 46 get off. This could mean that grades 1 - 5 of the new secondary school for girls II could be split off (...). On August 1st, 1941, 8 rooms will be free in the previous SS subordinate school, so that the single-tier high school for boys II can move there in early and afternoon classes under its new boss, Wechselberg. Rommel received the secondary school for girls I (linguistic form). "

A travel report by the clerk Ministerialrat Fleischmann about his business trips in the administrative district Litzmannstadt from October 6th to 10th, 1941 continues to speak of a lack of space and also provides more detailed information on the person of the new head of Wechselberg: “On Thursday, October 9th, the Günther -Prien-Schule, secondary school for boys, and attended the two secondary schools for girls in Litzmannstadt. The Günther-Prien-Schule is located on the 3rd floor of the SS-Unterführerschule, Ostlandstr. 191, on the south-eastern periphery of the city. At the moment it is still very cramped, as the relocation of the SS section and the SS subordinate school was delayed again and again due to structural difficulties, but the 2nd floor is to be vacated at the beginning of December so that some scientific rooms could then be set up. The head of the school is the graduate student Wechselberg, who comes from Braunschweig , and his health is unfortunately not up to par due to a dysentery that arose during the French campaign . In spite of the fact that he was very busy with it again during these days, he made a very good impression in every respect, both in class and especially in the class discussions of the lessons we had together. With him you have the certain feeling that the school is getting a leader who is suitable to really lead his followers and to align them uniformly. "

High point of development in the Ostlandstrasse

View from the south with the gym (2016)

In early 1942, the Prienschule was still referred to as "new" in the local press. In an article about a commemoration from January 16, 1942 on the birthday of the war hero with study assessor Heinitz, it says: “The new Litzmannstädter Oberschule in Ostlandstraße can bear the name Günther Priens. You can only really feel how proud the boys are of this award when they gather for a ceremony in the ballroom on the commemorative days, be it the day of Scapa Flow or Günther Prien's birthday. "

However, the influx of German boys to the two high schools continued. A letter from the first half of 1942 explains: “The increasing number of pupils at the General von Briesen School in Litzmannstadt makes the construction of a third secondary school for boys in Litzmannstadt an inevitable necessity. The 2nd high school for boys, the Günther Prien School, is relatively unfavorably located on the eastern periphery of the city in an almost entirely Polish environment and cannot be extended further over the one existing train, as the remaining rooms are from the SS-Unterführerschule, which initially belonged to the entire building are occupied. The General von Briesen School itself already has 24 classes and is no longer able to accept another class (...) "

In a letter dated July 11, 1942, the Ministry of Education announced that it “agreed to the establishment of a third secondary school for boys in Litzmannstadt” and that it had made 80,000 Reichsmarks available for this purpose . The third high school apparently really went into operation. In the standard work on the German grammar schools in Lodz it says: “In August 1942 the new Litzmannstädter Oberschule III was opened in Heinzelhof Julianow . opened. Unfortunately, it did not bring the longed-for and often promised relief to the Briesenschule, as it was only intended for resettlers "ie for children of parents of German or German origin who moved from the Baltic States or other areas of Eastern Europe to the new Warthegau under the slogan" Home in the Reich " were relocated. The local press also proves its existence, so the “Official Announcements” of the Litzmannstädter Zeitung of June 27, 1944 contain the announcement: “Entrance exams for secondary schools. 1. The three high schools for boys (General-von-Briesen-Schule, Günther-Prien-Schule, Oberschule III) examine on Thursday, June 29th, at 8 o'clock, each in their school building, for the first and for everyone higher classes (contrary to previous notifications to the contrary). "

End and estate

Main entrance with a view of the inner courtyard (2016)

By the summer of 1943 at the latest, numerous high-grade students were called up from the Prienschule to serve in the Wehrmacht, and at that time there were only four students in the top (eighth) grade.

At the beginning of 1944 at the latest, middle-class students were called in to serve as so-called air force helpers. Special air force helper classes were set up for them, in which they could take part in addition to their military duties.

On October 4, 1944, the deputy headmaster Karl von Zeddelmann informed the Reich governor in Posen that “The building of the Günther Prien School had been occupied by a military hospital. From October 3, 1944, the school is located in König-Heinrichstrasse. 46. ​​Since the school only has the most necessary rooms for storing the school inventory, the management of the school has also moved to König-Heinrichstr. must be transferred. The classes of General v. Briesen School, which were previously taught in the Günther Prien School building, now have their lessons in König-Heinrichstrasse. "

At the beginning of January 1945 there was apparently a largely regulated school operation, for example de-registration certificates for two students from 4a, which Zeddelmann issued to the mayor on January 6, 1945, have been preserved.

Left the east side of the school building; View through the driveway in north direction onto the main road (2016)

After the major Soviet offensive reached Lodz on January 19 and rolled over the city within a very short time, parts of the German population were evacuated from Lodz much too late and with insufficient preparation and large parts of the school documents remained in Lodz. The building of the Prienschule was used again as a Polish school after the end of the German occupation and still houses Szkoła Podstawowa No. 4 to this day .

The documents left behind in Lodz include various records, messages, lists as well as some class books and the personal sheets of almost all individual students. All documents are now in the Lodz State Archives (Archiwum Państwowe w Łodzi) in the Kościuszki 121 branch under the file number 269/5. Only the personal forms (referred to in the archive as Akta postępów uczniów , ie "files on the progress of the students") for the surnames beginning with O to S are missing.

Educational climate

View from the west: on the right the gymnasium, behind the row of one-story wooden houses the schoolyard extends (2016)

Contemporary witnesses describe the atmosphere of the school as modern, especially in comparison to the LDG, which apparently was able to retain remnants of the character of a traditional humanistic high school even during the war. However, one must not forget that the foundation of the Prienschule was intended to promote the “ Germanization ” of the new Warthegau. The head of the school, Ernst Wechselberg, is said to have been the youngest head of school in the entire Reich and to have often appeared in SS uniform for classes.

Other names of the east highway

The school seen from the north (2016)

The Günther-Prien-Oberschule was located at Ostlandstraße 191 for most of its short existence. However, this address has been renamed and renumbered several times. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the street was named Aleja Józefa Piłsudskiego (Piłsudski-Allee) and again a different starting point, so that the house number has been 101 since then.

literature

  • Georg Martz: The "Günther-Prien-Schule" in "Litzmannstadt" , in: Yearbook Weichsel-Warthe 1989, pp. 99-104, Ed .: Bundesverband der Landsmannschaft Weichsel-Warthe e. V., Hanover
  • Georg Hansen (Hrsg.): School policy as national politics - sources on school policy of the occupiers in Poland 1939-1945 . Waxmann-Verlag, Münster (Westphalia), 1994, ISBN 3-89325-227-4 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ “German parents from Lodz!” (Call for retraining), Deutsche Lodzer Zeitung of September 24, 1939 (page 3) as a PDF at the Bibliotheka Cyfrowa (Regionalia Ziemi Łódzkiej). (PDF) Retrieved April 27, 2016 .
  2. ↑ “Do you already have the ethnic German badge? - The entry in the 'German People's List' is mandatory for everyone ”, article in the Lodscher Zeitung of February 8, 1940 (page 4) as a PDF at the Bibliotheka Cyfrowa (Regionalia Ziemi Łódzkiej). Retrieved April 27, 2016 .
  3. ↑ Georg Hansen (Ed.): School Policy as Volkstumsppolitik - Sources on School Policy of the Occupiers in Poland 1939-1945 , Waxmann-Verlag, Münster (Westf.), 1994, ISBN 3-89325-227-4 , page 130
  4. ^ "Oberschule in Lodz" files, Posen State Archive (Archiwum Państwowe w Poznaniu), call number 53/299/0 / 3.3 / 2470, scan no. 117. Retrieved on April 27, 2016 .
  5. ↑ File inventory "State General von Briesen School in Litzmannstadt (Łódź)", Posen State Archives (Archiwum Państwowe w Poznaniu), call number 53/299/0 / 3.3 / 2469, scan no. 141. Retrieved on May 1, 2016 .
  6. ↑ "O szkole - Historia szkoły" (history of today's III. Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. T. Kościuszki w Łodzi, known until 1939 as the Pilsudski-Gymnasium, in Polish). Retrieved April 27, 2016 .
  7. ↑ “Nie jesteśmy już bezimienni” (“We are no longer nameless”), page of Publiczne Gimnazjum No. 28 im. Marszałka Józefa Piłsudskiego about his namesake. Retrieved April 27, 2016 (Polish).
  8. ^ "Oberschule in Lodz" files, Poznan State Archives (Archiwum Państwowe w Poznaniu), call number 53/299/0 / 3.3 / 2470, scan no. 135-137. Retrieved April 27, 2016 .
  9. ↑ File inventory "Günther-Prien-Oberschule in Litzmannstadt (Łódź)", State Archives Posen (Archiwum Państwowe w Poznaniu), call number 53/299/0 / 3.3 / 2471, scan no. 6. Retrieved on April 27, 2016 .
  10. ^ "Oberschule in Lodz" files, Poznan State Archive (Archiwum Państwowe w Poznaniu), call number 53/299/0 / 3.3 / 2470, scan no. 185–186. Retrieved April 27, 2016 .
  11. ↑ File inventory "Günther-Prien-Oberschule in Litzmannstadt (Łódź)", Posen State Archives (Archiwum Państwowe w Poznaniu), call number 53/299/0 / 3.3 / 2471, scan no. 9. Accessed on April 27, 2016 .
  12. ↑ "Lodz - 05.png", German vertical aerial image from May 1942 (is above East) at WWII Aerial photos and maps (pages of John Carl Calvin). Retrieved May 2, 2016 .
  13. ^ "Miasto Łódź 1948", city map from the Polish map archive Mapywig with Polish street names. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 6, 2016 ; accessed on May 2, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.mapywig.org
  14. ^ "Oberschule in Lodz" files, Poznan State Archives (Archiwum Państwowe w Poznaniu), call number 53/299/0 / 3.3 / 2470, scan no. 192. Retrieved on April 27, 2016 .
  15. ^ "Oberschule in Lodz" files, Posen State Archives (Archiwum Państwowe w Poznaniu), call number 53/299/0 / 3.3 / 2470, scan no. 223. Retrieved on April 27, 2016 .
  16. ^ "A proud symbol of our time", Litzmannstädter Zeitung of February 20, 1940 (page 5) as a PDF at the Bibliotheka Cyfrowa (Regionalia Ziemi Łódzkiej). Retrieved April 27, 2016 .
  17. ↑ File inventory “State General von Briesen School in Litzmannstadt (Łódź)”, Posen State Archives (Archiwum Państwowe w Poznaniu), call number 53/299/0 / 3.3 / 2469, scan no. 149. Retrieved on May 1, 2016 .
  18. ^ "Oberschule in Lodz" files, Posen State Archives (Archiwum Państwowe w Poznaniu), call number 53/299/0 / 3.3 / 2470, scan no. 228. Retrieved on April 27, 2016 .
  19. ^ Fritz Weigelt: Penne, Pauker und Pennäler: A commemorative publication for the German grammar schools in Lodz 1866–1945 , Weichsel-Warthe-Schriften No. 15, self-published by the Board of Trustees for the LDG, 1972, page 60
  20. ↑ "A proud symbol of our time", Litzmannstädter Zeitung of June 27, 1944 (page 4) as a PDF at the Bibliotheka Cyfrowa (Regionalia Ziemi Łódzkiej). Retrieved April 29, 2016 .
  21. ↑ “Matriculation examination in the Prien-Schule”, Litzmannstädter Zeitung of February 27, 1944 (page 4) as a PDF at the Bibliotheka Cyfrowa (Regionalia Ziemi Łódzkiej). Retrieved April 29, 2016 .
  22. ^ Ernst Weiss: The children of L. - Contemporary witness report , Projekt-Verlag Cornelius, Halle, 2007 (Volume 24 of the German Memoirs Library), ISBN 978-3-86634-427-3 , page 57 ff
  23. ↑ File inventory "Günther-Prien-Oberschule in Litzmannstadt (Łódź)", Posen State Archives (Archiwum Państwowe w Poznaniu), call number 53/299/0 / 3.3 / 2471, scan no. 21. Accessed on April 27, 2016 .
  24. ^ Ernst Weiss: The children of L. - Contemporary witness report , Projekt-Verlag Cornelius, Halle, 2007 (Volume 24 of the German Memoirs Library), ISBN 978-3-86634-427-3