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A Great History Through a Lens: The Phenomenon of Maczków (1945–1948) and Its Commemoration at the Haren/Maczków Documentation and Meeting Centre in Germany
Przegląd Archiwalny Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej, Vol. 18 (2025), pages: 265-286
Publication date: 2025-12-30
https://doi.org/10.48261/PAIPN251810
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Abstract
After the end of World War II, in north-western Germany (in the district of Emsland, in Bentheim county, and in parts of East Frisia, also called East Friesland), General Stanisław Maczek’s 1st Armoured Division took over the task of caring for displaced persons (DPs), mainly Poles who could not or did not want to return to their country. In order to provide them with shelter, German flats were requisitioned and assigned to Poles. Unlike other towns in the region, where only individual districts were evacuated, the entire German population of Haren had to leave. About 5,000 Poles relocated there, renamed the town Maczków, and organised a model settlement with a Polish civil administration. The article briefly describes the above-mentioned events and then focuses on changes in the perception of the Maczków phenomenon: from its history which turned into a taboo to its documentation at the newly established Documentation and Meeting Center Haren/Maczków. It also discusses the most important collections of sources and digital copies that can be viewed on site.
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