Działalność inspektora Wojewódzkiego Urzędu Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego w Bydgoszczy Teodora Lewandowskiego w Złotowie w 1945 roku
The activity of Teodor Lewandowski, inspector of the Bydgoszcz Voivodship Public Security Office in Złotów in 1945

Summary/Abstract: Teodor Lewandowski, inspector of the Bydgoszcz Voivodship Security Service Office, was sent to Złotów in August 1945 to displace the local German population to a labour camp situated in that town. After a short time he had terrorised Złotów and became the terror of both the local Germans and the Polish autochthonous population. The inhabitants of the town were being thrown out of their flats, sent to the camp, and their possessions pillaged. Lewandowski himself took an active part in the plunder, appropriating gold jewellery and other objects of value. At the camp the prisoners were robbed, beaten, starved, forced to unpaid work, and subjected to physical and psychological harassment. Because of very bad sanitary conditions, lack of medical attention and starvation several prisoners died. The terrified local Polish population tried to come for help to the Złotów Starost (county head) and to the activists of the Polish Western Union, among whom there were many pre-war members of the Union of Poles in Germany. Their efforts ended successfully. The central authorities became interested in the fate of the local Polish population. Fearing that he might be arrested Lewandowski deserted in November 1945 and fled to Berlin; later he hid himself for 15 months in West Pomerania. He was arrested in February 1947 and brought to the District Military Court in Szczecin. In January 1948 he was sentenced to death; his life sentence was commuted to one of 15 years’ imprisonment. After 6.5 years, in August 1954, Teodor Lewandowski was released from prison.

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