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Another city… War destruction in Bydgoszcz (1939–1945)

1.

The exhibition focuses on the urban fabric lost during the war. We discover the stories of people using destroyed buildings and the functions of these buildings thanks to objects left in the ruins or saved from the turmoil of war, documents, souvenirs and family photos, as well as preserved relations. We are reminded of the military operations that contributed to the devastation of parts of Bydgoszcz by the weapons and military items abandoned by the combatants. Moreover, we see today’s appearance and the new use of once ruined places through the lens of a photographer from Bydgoszcz, Wojciech Woźniak.

The inspiration for preparing the exhibition was the quote „I had another city in my mind, I have seen another city now” from Ola Obarska’s memoirs published in 1976, in which the famous actress and operetta singer presented an image of Bydgoszcz in January 1945 with the burning building of the City Theater. A fragment of the artist’s statement can be referred not only to the interwar apperance of our city or just before the end of the German occupation, but also to the post-war period and contemporary Bydgoszcz. After all, the city and its architecture are a „living creation”, subject to constant change and evolution. Destroyed buildings are renovated, modernized or replaced with new ones. They are inhabited by successive generations. However, the memory of the residents of Bydgoszcz about places and priceless objects lost during the war, such as the western part of the Old Market Square with the post-Jesuit church, the City Theater and the Synagogue, is lasting. And although these symbol buildings no longer exist, they still create the cultural and local identity of the inhabitants, strongly stimulate our imagination and are present in Bydgoszcz discourse.

A good opportunity to present World War II themes at the exhibition is the 80th anniversary of the end of the German occupation in the city by the Brda River in January 2025. It is no accident that we are presenting the exhibition in the The History Museum of Bydgoszcz.

 

2.

In the years 1939–1945, Bydgoszcz was under German occupation. Wehrmacht soldiers occupied the city on September 5, 1939. On September 3–4, a German sabotage took place. Bydgoszcz became part of the Reich District of Gdańsk-West Prussia. This area was to be Germanized. For this purpose, the Polish and Jewish population was exterminated. There were public and mass executions of Bydgoszcz inhabitants and deportations to concentration camps. German became the official language.

During World War II, the buildings of Bydgoszcz suffered damage. Some of the facilities were destroyed during hostilities in September 1939, April 1943 and January 1945. Others were liquidated by the Germans as part of systematic demolitions in order to build new buildings in their place. These plans were never implemented, and the historic architecture, including the western part of the Old Market Square disappeared from the urban landscape forever. The occupiers also deliberately destroyed objects related to Catholicism and Judaism. Additionally, they removed all traces of Polishness and local identity from public space, such as elements of small architecture, monuments and commemorative plaques.

After the end of the German occupation, the balance of material losses in Bydgoszcz was incomparably smaller than that of many other Polish cities. Only a few percent of the buildings were destroyed or demolished. Industrial facilities suffered minor damage. Cleaning and reconstruction of the urban space began quickly. The haste in implementing these activities resulted from the organization of the Pomeranian Exhibition of Crafts, Industry and Trade in 1946 and the celebration of the 600th anniversary of granting Bydgoszcz city rights. The lack of sufficient financial resources also turned out to be important. Therefore, some of the ruined buildings were demolished and new ones were built in their place. Others were rebuilt, but in a changed form. Moreover, the city authorities removed the burned building of the Municipal Theater. The western frontage of the Old Market Square or the synagogue were not rebuilt. The process of restoring monuments, figures and commemorative plaques continued successfully.

Recently, the eastern part of the Mostowa Street has been built up and Jatki Street was re-created. Some monuments were restored, among others, the monument of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Deluge fountain. The Old Town Bridge has regained its former appearance. The issue of rebuilding the western part of the Old Market Square and developing the square where the Municipal Theater was located has been raised for many years.

 

3.

1939/1940

BEGINNING OF THE WAR – SEPTEMBER 1939

RESULT OF WAR OPERATIONS IN SEPTEMBER 1939

BRIDGES, BUILDINGS

Bydgoszcz suffered material losses already in the first days of September 1939. As a result of the bombing on September 1, the airport tarmac and the workshop building were damaged. The railway station and the nearby barracks of the 62nd Infantry Regiment suffered damage. The Teatralny Bridge located in the city center was blown up on September 4, 1939 by retreating Polish soldiers. A makeshift wooden bridge was quickly built next to the ruined facility. The fate of the main crossing over the Brda River was shared by the Bernardyński Bridge and the Marshal Ferdinand Foch Bridge, as well as the Władysław IV stone bridge. The Czyżkówko lock was heavily damaged. The Fordoński Bridge was destroyed on September 2. To connect the areas on both banks of the Vistula, the Germans first built a military pontoon bridge, and in June 1941 they built a new crossing.

On September 3–4, 1939, the Martin Luther Evangelical Church at Leszczyńskiego Street in Szwederowo district. The building was demolished. The printing house of „Dziennik Bydgoski” also ceased to exist.

 

RECONSTRUCTION OF THE CITY, PLANNED DEMOLITIONS AND LIQUIDATION OF FACILITIES

MONUMENTS, COMMEMORATIVE PLATES

In the first weeks of the war, by decision of Werner Kampe, mayor of Bydgoszcz and kreisleiter of the NSDAP, Polish monuments and sacred figures were liquidated. The Germans destroyed, among others, Tomb of the Unknown Greater Poland Insurgent at Bernardyńska Street, the monument to Henryk Sienkiewicz by Konstanty Laszczka at Słowackiego Street, a bust of Józef Piłsudski by Olga Niewska placed in front of the main entrance of the Cadet at Gdańska Street or monuments to the fallen soldiers of the 61st and 62nd Infantry Regiments and the 16th Greater Poland Uhlan Regiment. The monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which had stood there since 1932, was removed from Poznański Square. The authors of the work were Piotr Triebler and Teodor Gajewski. In 1939, Polish commemorative plaques were also destroyed, e.g. those of Dr. Emil Warmiński from the Polish House and those of Marshal Józef Piłsudski from the main railway station (currently Bydgoszcz Główna Railway Station) and from the tenement house at ul. Gdańska 92. In 1943, the occupiers also dismantled the multi-figure sculptural composition of the „Deluge” fountain and donated the material obtained in this way to the needs of the war.

 

THE SYNAGOGUE IN BYDGOSZCZ

The synagogue in Bydgoszcz was built in 1882–1884 according to the design of the architect Alfred Muttray. From 1898, there was a school building near the synagogue. In the interwar period, these facilities served the local followers of the Mosaic faith. After the outbreak of World War II, the extermination of the Jewish population by the Germans was accompanied by the liquidation of buildings and other signs of Jewish presence in Bydgoszcz, including cemeteries. In mid-September 1939, the occupation authorities announced a competition for the demolition of the synagogue and adjacent buildings, which was won by Herbert Matthes. Demolition works for the owner of a furniture factory located at Garbary Street was made by local Jews. Bricks and architectural details from the facade of the synagogue were placed in the basement of the tenement house at 4 Jana Kazimierza Street. The synagogue building ceased to exist in December 1939.

The synagogue located at the corner of Wały Jagiellońskie and Jana Kazimierza streets was a monumental single-nave building. In the corners on the western side there were two towers with domes, and in the middle, above the main hall, there was an impressive dome. The entrances were located on the west side. The building had almost 500 places for men and about 400 places in the women’s gallery.

 

4.

OLD MARKET SQUARE, MOSTOWA AND JATKI STREETS

At the end of 1939, the Germans planned to rebuild the city and create it as „neue deutsche Bromberg”. The priority for Mayor Werner Kampe was the reconstruction of the center of Bydgoszcz. A new seat of the city authorities and an open space (forum) were to be built for parades and marches of the army, Nazi paramilitary and police organizations. The expansion of the town hall was hindered by the western side of the Old Market Square with the post-Jesuit church, as well as the City Museum building and three tenement houses adjacent to the temple.

The demolition of the representative part of the square’s buildings took place in 1940 (from January 18 to April 20, and cleaning works lasted until October 23). Church of St. Saint Ignatius of Loyola (St. Cross until 1805), built in the first half of the 17th century was owned by German Catholics. First, the occupier demolished the ground part of the church. The foundations and cellars were left in the ground, and 86 coffins were recovered from the crypt under the presbytery. In turn, the image of St. Ignacy Loyola by Maksymilian Antoni Piotrowski (1850), located in the main altar of the former Jesuit church, was saved and currently the faithful pray before it in the Jesuit temple in Jastrzębia Góra.

The destruction of a German church by occupiers of the same nationality was an action incomprehensible to both Polish and German residents of Bydgoszcz. The Nazis tried to convince the German public that the temple had been bombed by the British. In turn, Poles explained the demolition of the western part of the Old Market Square by the appearance of a „trace of a bloody hand” on the facade of the City Museum, which was created during the shooting of the Polish population on September 9 and 10, 1939.

Forum – the parade square was to be located in front of the new town hall and also include Mostowa and Jatki streets. Therefore, a decision was made to demolish some of the tenement houses located on the relatively narrow Mostowa Street and leaving only the eastern side of Jatki Street. Jachmann’s tenement house with the „Bristol” cafe with a veranda over the Brda River (ul. Mostowa 9), the „Lido” cinema located in the adjacent granary, and the „Fryderyk House” were demolished. The significant widening of the route made it easier for the Nazis to use it for ideological and propaganda purposes. While parades took place during the occupation, the new town hall was never built.

 

WESTERN PART OF THE OLD MARKET SQUARE

Poles living in Bydgoszcz told of seeing a “trace of a bloody hand” on the facade of the post-Jesuit Church and the City Museum on September 9–10, 1939. It was supposed to occur during the public execution of Poles taking place in front of the western part of the Old Market Square. Then the dying priest from Bydgoszcz leaned his hand against the wall of the building and left a mark in the form of a bloody hand. The Germans tried to paint over the dirt, and when that didn’t work, they chipped off the plaster. Despite numerous efforts, the Nazis failed to eliminate the bloody trail, which the Poles treated as a sign from God. In such a situation, the Germans decided to demolish the western side of the Old Market Square.

 

CITY MUSEUM

The City Museum, established in 1923, conducted its exhibition, popularization and scientific activities in the building of the former Municipal Savings Bank at 2 Old Market Square. In total, the facility had twelve rooms used for museum purposes. The last exhibition presented in the building was a show of paintings by Leokadia Łempicka. At the end of August 1939, some of the artefacts were packed and then transported to the place of hiding. The rest of the exhibits were secured in the main building until the Germans decided to demolish the western side of the Old Market Square. At the turn of October and December 1939, the collections were moved to other temporary premises, not finding a permanent place until the end of the war.

The building of the City Museum ceased to exist at the beginning of 1940. As a result of archaeological research conducted in the western part of the Old Market Square in 2016, two consoles were recovered from the façade of this building.

Leokadia Łempicka (before 1865–1913 in Kiev) – the artist took private painting lessons in the Warsaw studio of Wojciech Gerson. She continued her education at the Académie Julian in Paris. In the following years, she taught drawing at Bronisława Poświkowa’s painting school and drawing, decorative arts and ornamental composition at the Aurelia Conti Art School for Women. She successfully exhibited her works at the Aleksander Krywult Salon, at the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts in Warsaw and Krakow, as well as in galleries in Vilnius and Paris. Most often, she painted portraits of women and children in the academic tradition, but with emphasis on the model’s mental state, beauty and charm, giving them a lyrical mood. She mastered the oil and pastel techniques.

In the spring of 1931, the Bydgoszcz City Museum came into possession of about fifty works by the painter, which, pursuant to the last will of the late Michał Łempicki – the artist’s brother who lived in our city – was donated by the deceased’s wife to a cultural institution. The museum made the donated works available to the residents of Bydgoszcz in August of the same year. The second presentation of Łempicka’s artistic achievements took place in the summer of 1939. It was the last exhibition that the City Museum organized before the outbreak of World War II. During the German occupation, Łempicka’s collection was reduced to 30 paintings (portraits, landscapes and genre scenes) – the rest are war losses.

 

APRIL 1943

BOMBING OF HOUSES AT GRUNWALDZKA STREET

On the night of April 14–15, 1943, a Soviet plane bombed residential houses in Okole (the area of ​​Grunwaldzka Street), killing several Poles. It could have been a mistake by the pilot who wanted to attack a different target. The German occupiers used this tragic event for propaganda purposes.

 

5.

1945/1946

END OF THE GERMAN OCCUPATION IN BYDGOSZCZ IN JANUARY 1945

RESULT OF WAR OPERATIONS IN JANUARY 1945

In January 1945, intense fighting took place in the Bydgoszcz area. As a result of these military actions, the German occupier was forced out of the city by the entering soldiers of the Red Army and the Polish Army. At that time, about 30 buildings were destroyed or damaged, including residential, industrial and military buildings, public buildings, and religious buildings. The degradation of the architectural urban fabric occurred mainly where the fighting took place. The balance of material losses in Bydgoszcz compared to other Polish cities, such as Warsaw, Poznań, Grudziądz or Gdynia, was not high. However, several characteristic buildings important to the inhabitants of Bydgoszcz have irretrievably disappeared from the urban landscape.

The buildings in Bydgoszcz suffered the first damage even before the Soviets arrived here. The Germans set fire to the Saint Vincent de Paul’s church and the adjacent House of the Congregation of Missionary Priests. The retreating occupier managed to blow up the bridges in the city center: at Marszałka Focha Stre0et, Teatralny and Bernardyński as well as the bridge in Fordon. Luftmunitionsanstalt I/II Bromberg („Muna”) in Osowa Góra and the DAG Bromberg plant, where Nazi arms production took place, were evacuated. Moreover, some of the buildings of „Muna” were blown up by the Germans.

The greatest destruction occurred on January 23–27, 1945, during the culmination of the Battle of Bydgoszcz. In the eastern part of the Old Market Square, three residential and commercial tenement houses (no. 17, 19 and 21) were ruined. Before the war, the popular „Matecki Brothers” Store was located at number 17. As a result of German artillery fire, the parish church was damaged.  Soviet and possibly German artillery fire destroyed the building of the Municipal Theater. The roof of the Theater with facades in a historical, eclectic style, the stage and the auditorium burned down. At least five shells hit the south tower. It is assumed that most of the destruction was caused by the thoughtless activities of Red Army soldiers. The statue of „The Archer” in the Theater garden also had numerous bullet marks. The military granaries located on the bend of the Brda River burned down almost completely. The same fate befell Warehouse No. IV at 25 Marszałka Focha Street  and the tenement house at Karmelicka Street. The officers’ casino of the 62nd Infantry Regiment at was also degraded   nearby complex of buildings where a confectionery factory and the First Bydgoszcz Uniform Factory operated, as well as the headquarters of the „Fema” company (No. 30). The annihilation did not spare the building of the Private Co-educational Primary School. As a result of artillery fire, buildings at Gdańska Street were damaged.: the building of the Bydgoszcz Be-De-Te Department Store (no. 15), the roof of which burned down, the Behrend Department Store (no. 23) and the tenement house of the Small Merchants’ Bazaar (no. 24). Evangelical churches were damaged:  St. Paul’s (currently the church of Saints Peter and Paul) and Christ the Lord (currently the church of the Savior, Zbawiciela Square) and the Catholic temple of Saint Anthony of Padua in Czyżkówko district, which was shot by drunken Soviets from a tank cannon. The administration building of the Gasworks at Jagiellońska Street was destroyed as well as nearby  Brunon Sommerfeld’s grand piano factory (currently 66 Jagiellońska Street). The fire destroyed a tenement house located on the corner of Grunwaldzka and Jasna Streets, and another on the corner of Śniadeckich and Sienkiewicza Streets. The ongoing fighting also affected the tenement house at the corner of Dworcowa and Królowej Jadwigi Streets, as well as other buildings in the city. Photographic documentation of the ruins of buildings immediately after the end of hostilities was made by Piotr Wiszniewski.

 

MUNICIPAL THEATER

The building of the Municipal Theater (built in 1896), partially destroyed in January 1945 was decided to be demolished by the post-war authorities of Bydgoszcz. They wanted to quickly organize the urban space before the Pomeranian Exhibition of Industry, Crafts and Trade planned for the summer of 1946 and the 600th anniversary of granting Bydgoszcz city rights. The ruin of a building standing in such an exposed place as the Teatralny square and  Marszałka Focha Street, due to lack of funds for reconstruction, had to disappear off the face of the earth. This fact aroused negative emotions, especially since the facility was thoroughly renovated and modernized during the German occupation. The demolition of the remains of the building lasted until May 1946, and a green garden was established in that location.

Ola Obarska (1910–1994) – Polish actress, operetta singer, theater director, lyricist. In her youth she lived in Bydgoszcz. O. Obarska graduated from the local Municipal Conservatory of Music. She made her debut as an artist in 1929 at the Municipal Theater in Bydgoszcz in the operetta „Polish Blood” by O. Nedbal. In the 1930s and during the occupation she lived in Warsaw. In 1944, she joined the 1st Polish Army in the combat route to Berlin, operating in the Soldiers’ Theater. In January 1945 she arrived in Bydgoszcz. After the end of the war, she developed her professional career mainly in the capital.

This year is the 115th anniversary of Ola Obarska’s birth.

 

6.

After World War II, an intensive process of organizing and rebuilding the destroyed urban fabric began in Bydgoszcz. Many places have been rebuilt and adapted to new functions.

The area of ​​the former „Bristol” cafe and cinema was designated as a square (since 1989 named after President Leon Barciszewski). At the end of the 1960s, Jatki Street was closed down. In the corner of the Old Market Square and Mostowa Street the restaurant called „Kaskada” was established. It existed there for the next 39 years. After its demolition, construction of the eastern part of Mostowa Street began, and in 2015, Jatki Street was reconstructed. In 2010, an amphitheater with a model of Bydgoszcz was built, the artistic concept of which was developed by Gracjan Kaja and Alina Kluza. Four years later, the Old Town Bridge was revitalized. In 2012, on the site of the demolished synagogue, a stone with a commemorative plaque was placed.

Over the course of several decades, various concepts for the development of the western part of the Old Market Square have appeared: rebuilding the frontage in its historic shape or modern visions of development while preserving traces of the past. There were debates and scientific and social consultations. In 1946, The Society of the Friends of the Bydgoszcz put forward a proposal to rebuild the western frontage. At the end of the 1960s, there were plans to build a building for the Museum of Struggle and Martyrdom of the Polish Nation, designed by Włodzimierz Padlewski, and a monument. In 1990, the Social Committee for the Reconstruction of the Western Frontage (currently named after Andrzej Szwalbe) was established, which works to restore the historical character of this place. On behalf of the Mayor of Bydgoszcz, in 2009 the Municipal Urban Planning Studio conducted a „competition for the development of an architectural and urban concept for the development of the western part along with a concept for the development of the Old Market Square in Bydgoszcz”, to which many works were submitted. Even though the winner was selected, the implementation of the awarded project was not started. The revitalization of the Old Market Square, completed in June 2019, also did not include the reconstruction of the western part. In March of that year, at the Bydgoszcz City Hall, on the initiative of local social activists, a scientific conference „The Western Frontage of the Old Market Square in Bydgoszcz – Past and Future” was held. At the end of 2019, an idea was created to recreate the facade of the building with elements of modern architecture, such as a winter garden.

The non-existent western part of the Old Market Square remains in the field of public interest and inspires subsequent generations of Bydgoszcz residents. The tenement houses standing on the eastern part of the Old Market Square (with the former ” Matecki Brothers” Department Store) destroyed in 1945 were rebuilt in the 1950s, but in a changed form. Since 2006, a sculpture of Mr. Twardowski has been displayed in the window of tenement house no. 15.

The skyline of Bydgoszcz was enriched by the Opera NOVA, which was built on an area occupied by burnt military warehouses. The complex, whose construction took over 30 years, is currently being expanded. The issue of developing Teatralny Square, located next to the opera, still remains open. In the spring of 2024, a debate on the future of this area was held, organized by the Municipal Urban Planning Studio in Bydgoszcz and the Association of Polish Architects, Bydgoszcz branch. The proposals include the reconstruction of the former theater or the creation of a modern City Hall, a congress center, a glass park, a restaurant with summer gardens or commercial pavilions.

Formerly standing at Gdańska Street, the building with rich Art Nouveau architectural details by Rudolf Kern (no. 24) was rebuilt in a simplified form, and in place of the tenement house (no. 23) a modernist bank building was built. The damaged roof of the Bydgoszcz Department Store gained a new shape in 1947. The basilica of Saint Vincent de Paul, located in Bielawy district was gradually renovated and construction continued. Although the temple was consecrated in 1980, the construction works were finally completed in 2002.

Thanks to the efforts of the authorities and residents, the most important plaques and monuments in Bydgoszcz were restored, including: statue of Henryk Sienkiewicz sculpted by Stanisław Horno-Popławski from Gdańsk (1968), monument to the Unknown Insurgent of Greater Poland by Stanisław Horno-Popławski and Aleksander Dętkoś (1986) or the bust of Józef Piłsudski located in front of the building of the Armed Forces Support Inspectorate (2018) and a plaque dedicated to the marshal in the hall of the Bydgoszcz Główna railway station (2016). In the Old Market Square, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, a monument to the Struggle and Martyrdom of the Bydgoszcz Land was erected on the site of the public execution of Poles. After the square was revitalized in 2018–2019, the monument was moved closer to the city hall. In 2010, a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus was unveiled at Seminaryjna Street.

Thanks to the initiative of the Social Committee for the Reconstruction of the Bydgoszcz Deluge Fountain, the reconstruction of the water fountain, which is valuable to the city, was completed in 2014.

Today’s Bydgoszcz is an example of a metropolis that combines the memory of its past with modern development. Revitalization projects and the involvement of residents have a strong impact on the urban landscape and maintaining local identity.

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