Maczków. A Polish enclave in North Germany
Mediathek Sorted
Maczków. Polnische Enklave in Norddeutschland - Hörspiel von "COSMO Radio po polsku" auf Deutsch
Paradies auf Zeit - wie aus Haren Maczków wurde
Today the people of Haren no longer doubt that the Poles did not come voluntarily to the Emsland as victims of war, but were forced to do so by historical circumstances. For some years now the townspeople have had the opportunity to meet up with contemporary witnesses. Here the local grammar school has played an important role because its students decided to research this era in their town's history. The history of the Polish enclave also found its way into the media. Documentary films were shot and articles appeared in the national press throughout Germany. The Consulate of the Republic of Poland in Hamburg and the municipal administration have now taken over responsibility for the care of Polish graves. A documentation centre for this Polish episode in the history of Haren after the war is soon to be established.
One might almost think that the history of Maczków has become an integral part of Haren's post-war history. The planned centre can certainly become an important cultural institution for initiating research projects to keep alive the memory of the fate of Poles in this part of Germany.
Krzysztof Ruchniewicz, May 2018
Excerpts from literature consulted by the author:
Jan Rydel, “Polska okupacja" w północno-zachodnich Niemczech 1945-1948. Nieznany rozdział stosunków polsko-niemieckich, Kraków 2000 (German edition: Die polnische Besatzung im Emsland 1945-1948, Osnabrück 2002);
Andreas Lembeck, Befreit, aber nicht in Freiheit. Displaced Persons im Emsland 1945-1950, Bremen 1997);
Anne Reis, “Als Haren Maczków hieß“, [in:] Joanna Rzepa (ed.), Frühjahrsschule 2010: Spurensuche. Polnische Kriegsgefangene und Kriegsmigranten in Nordwestdeutschland, Chemnitz, 2014, p. 33-34 (url: http://www.qucosa.de/fileadmin/data/qucosa/documents/15662/Rzepa_Spuren…);
Articles on Porta Polonica:
http://www.porta-polonica.de/de/Atlas-der-Erinnerungsorte/jozef-szajna-maczkow
http://www.porta-polonica.de/de/Atlas-der-Erinnerungsorte/jozef-szajna-portrait-von-stefan-sekowski
http://www.porta-polonica.de/de/Atlas-der-Erinnerungsorte/tadeusz-nowakowski#body-place
