Polonization of the Names of Streets, Squares and
Bridges in Wrocław: Stage I, 1945. Source Analysis Cover Image

Polonizacja nazewnictwa ulic, placów i mostów we Wrocławiu. Etap I, rok 1945. Analiza źródłowa
Polonization of the Names of Streets, Squares and Bridges in Wrocław: Stage I, 1945. Source Analysis

Author(s): Tomasz Kruszewski
Subject(s): Political history, Social history, Rural and urban sociology, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949)
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego
Keywords: Wrocław (Breslau); 1945; Polonization; names; streets; squares; bridges;

Summary/Abstract: Over the centuries, Wrocław (Breslau) had become a German city, alien to the Poles. In 1945,the Polonization of names was one of the most important undertakings. The changes were appliedslowly (perhaps more names could have been translated), but demons of war dictated that German-ness should be erased. The research describes preserved legal acts from 1945, concerning the pro-cess of changing the names of German streets, squares and bridges in Wrocław. The study focuseson the figure of the lawyer Andrzej Jochelson. I have never asked Jochelson (the initiator of streets’naming alteration) why, as a pioneer, he decided to focus on the Polonization of local naming. Jo-chelson was involved in this process until his death as a long-term head of the Committee of StreetNaming of the Society of Wrocław Enthusiasts.In 1945, 552 names were changed, of which less than half (248) were continuations, in whichcategory I include four types: translations, re-establishing of old names, introducing new namesconnected with the location of the street, and changing names of commanders from German toPolish ones.

  • Issue Year: 2023
  • Issue No: 335
  • Page Range: 109-121
  • Page Count: 13
  • Language: Polish
Toggle Accessibility Mode