Wielka Klonia Explained

Wielka Klonia
Settlement Type:Village
Total Type: 
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Voivodeship
Subdivision Name1:Kuyavian-Pomeranian
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Tuchola
Subdivision Type3:Gmina
Subdivision Name3:Gostycyn
Coordinates:53.4833°N 62°W
Pushpin Map:Poland
Timezone:CET
Utc Offset:+1
Timezone Dst:CEST
Utc Offset Dst:+2
Population Total:470
Registration Plate:CTU

Wielka Klonia is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Gostycyn, within Tuchola County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland.[1] It lies approximately 5km (03miles) west of Gostycyn, 150NaN0 south-west of Tuchola, and 440NaN0 north of Bydgoszcz.

History

During the German occupation of Poland (World War II), Wielka Klonia was one of the sites of executions of Poles, carried out by the Germans in 1939 as part of the Intelligenzaktion.[2] Polish farmers from Wielka Klonia were also among the victims of large massacres of Poles from the region, perpetrated by the Selbstschutz in 1939 in nearby Rudzki Most.[3] In the spring of 1940, the occupiers carried out expulsions of Poles, who then were enslaved as forced labour of German colonists in the area.[4] The expelled Poles were farm owners and families of the victims of earlier massacres of Poles.[4] Local Poles were also among the victims of a massacre of Poles, committed by the Germans on 3 November 1940 in nearby Bralewnica.[5] The families of the victims were also soon expelled.[5] Further expulsions of Polish inhabitants were carried out in 1942 and 1943, and the Poles were deported to the Potulice concentration camp.[6] Houses of expelled Poles were handed over to German colonists as part of the Lebensraum policy.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Central Statistical Office (GUS)  - TERYT (National Register of Territorial Land Apportionment Journal). 2008-06-01. Polish.
  2. Book: . The Pomeranian Crime 1939. 2018. Warsaw. IPN. 47.
  3. Book: Wardzyńska, Maria. 2009. Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion. pl. Warsaw. IPN. 170–171.
  4. Book: Wardzyńska, Maria. 2017. Wysiedlenia ludności polskiej z okupowanych ziem polskich włączonych do III Rzeszy w latach 1939-1945. pl. Warsaw. IPN. 77. 978-83-8098-174-4.
  5. Wardzyńska (2017), p. 78
  6. Wardzyńska (2017), pp. 121, 135