A History of Głogów

After Krzystof Glowa's death at the turn of the 16th century, the area was ruled by Mikolaj Spytek Ligęza, who was responsible for a flourishing period of development. He not only greatly improved the city by building a hospital for the poor (1631), and the city's first town hall (1636), but was responsible for the construction of a wooden church (1630),and the construction of a brick wall around the city, with towers and gates. The perimeter wall was surrounded by trenches and moats which made it difficult for others to attack the city.

Following the death of  Mikolaj Spytek, his brother-in-law, Dominak Zastawskiego, gained rulership of Głogów by force.

The eighteen century proved to be a "Golden Age" for the area. Under the ruler Hieronima, Głogów, for a period. became its own "small country", the capital of which was Głogów Małopolski.

In 1772, Prussia, Russia, and Austria all annexed parts of Poland. The patriot Thaddeus Kosciusko led a peasant army in a national insurrection against the Russians. In 1795 Poland's last remaining territory was occupied and many Poles fled the country.

During World War I Russia fought Austria and Germany, usually on Polish territory, and during this period the population suffered greatly. The Polish leaders, gained the support of the Allies, especially France, and in 1918 an independent Poland again appeared on the map with Jozef Pilsudski as head of state.

In 1921 a peace agreement was signed between the Soviets and the Poles which gave Poland substantial territories in the east. The internal political situation in Poland was not very stable, and in 1926 Pilsudski took control as president of the republic and head of the government. He was a virtual dictator. After his death in 1935 political unrest again developed, but this period ended with the outbreak of World War II.

Before the start of World War II, Głogów Małopolski served as a market for the surrounding area. Among the population lived 900 Jews and another 14,000 Jews lived in Rzeszów. These Jews, along with other Jews from area towns were deported to Auschwitz death camp and killed on arrival. There were no Jews left in the area after the war..

The World War II started the first of September at 4.08 on Westerplatte. During the 1930s Nazi Germany put forward demands for the annexation of the free city of Gdansk. On Sept. 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, forcing Britain and France (who both supported Poland) to declare war. The German campaign in Poland was short. After 17 days of German occupation the Soviet Army attacked Poland on the east side.

During World War II, the Nazi's a killed over 300 Poles and 6,000 Jews in the woods two kilometers from the city of Głogów Małopolski between 1942-1944. The largest number were killed between July 7-18 1942. The victims were ordered to undress and stand before large pits. They were then killed by machine guns. Many fell into these mass graves while still alive. The Nazis poured sand over the bodies with bulldozers. Farmers living nearby reported hearing cries and moans for several days after the massacre. Today, monuments stand next to the mass graves to remember the Poles and Jews that were killed.

During this time, the people of the community took part in the resistance movement to fight against the Nazis. The two troops that fought were known as the Home Army and the People's Guard. On the night of February 22-23 1943, a Polish resistance army "Iskra" invaded Głogów's town hall where the Nazis were located. Iskra was successful in burning down the town hall but tragically six Polish fighters were later killed for their actions against the Nazi officials. Głogów was later liberated on July 30, 1944.

As the end of the war neared, the Soviets began to take control of Poland. When Soviet forces neared Warsaw in the summer of 1944, the Home Army, anticipating Red Army assistance, launched a rebellion against the German garrisons in the capital. Instead, the Soviets halted their advance just short of Warsaw, isolating the uprising and enabling the Germans to crush the Home Army only after two months of intense fighting. In retaliation against the Poles, the Germans demolished Warsaw before retreating westward, leaving 90 percent of the city in ruins. From that time, the Polish communists exerted primary influence on decisions about the restoration of Poland. The Red Army expelled the last German troops from Poland in March 1945, several weeks before the final Allied victory in Europe.

A People's Republic was established in February, 1947, with the Polish worker's Party. Wojciech Jaruzelski, the first polish president after the second world war. Communism transformed Poland just as much as the war did. In the early years of the new communist power, Poland became more urban and industrial as a modern working class came into existence. Parts of Głogów were rebuilt from the destruction of the war. This included the town hall.

Polish frontiers underwent a major shift after the Allied conference in 1945. The Soviet Union retained control of the territories that it had obtained in 1939, while Poland gained large areas of former German territory in the west, including the industrial region of Upper Silesia, the ports of Gdansk and Szczecin, and a long Baltic coastline. Poles from the Soviet-occupied areas were resettled on lands in the west that had expelled Germans. Communist control was intensified with the removal of more liberal political leaders such as Wladyslaw Gomulka in 1949. In 1956, however, a major political upheaval led to the return of Gomulka as first secretary of Poland's Communist party with the support of Nikita Khrushchev, the new Soviet leader.

In 1950, Głogów built its first fire station and the area received electricity for the first time.

In 1970 the authoritarian Gomulka government fell after the eruption of bloody riots and strikes in several cities because of rises in food prices. Edward Gierek was appointed party leader. Further price increases in 1976 and 1980 created more unrest. By the mid-1970s, nearly half the Polish work force was made up of women. Poland offered women more opportunities for higher education and employment, than did most West European countries. In many households in the 1980s, women earned more than their husbands. Yet the socialist system uniformly excluded women from the highest positions of power.

In 1989, the Russian communist left Poland which opened the way to the massive changes and the return of Democracy. The first polish president elected by the societ in public elections after crashing down the communistic system in Poland was Lech Walesa. In December 1990, he was sworn in as the first non Communist Polish President since World War II.

Poland joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on March 12, 1999. Poland became a part of a defence alliance which guarantees security and grants conditions for stable development.

On June 7-8, 2003, Polish voters went to the polls to decide whether their country should join the European Union. In the end almost 60 percent of the population went and cast a vote. 79.1 percent voted "yes" to joining the European Union. On May 1, 2004, Poland was admitted into the European Union along with nine other countries.

Glogów Facts:

Głogów (aka Gloghow, Glogov, Gloguv and Glogau) is sited in south-east Poland about five miles north of Rzeszów and approximately 25 miles north-east of Lancut. It should not be confused with the similarly named and spelt city that is situated in south-west Poland (Lower Silesia).

The community of Głogów, which consist of 13 villages and the city of Głogów Małopolski, covers an area of 145.76 sq km (56.28 sq miles). The current population is 17,800 with 4,800 people living in Głogów Małopolski itself..

The thirteen villages are Budy Głogowski, Hucisko, Lipie, Styków, Pogwizdów Nowy, Pogwizdów Stary, Przewrotne, Miłocin, Rogożnica, Rudna Mała, Wola Chicha, Wysoka Głogowska and Zabajka.

Before the Holocaust there was an estimated Jewish population of 900 in Głogów and the neighbouring Shtetlach (hamlets): Budy, Wysoka, Rogoznica, Mrowla, Poreby, Majdan, Widelka, Kamyszyn, Nienadówka, Medynia, Lukawiec, Staroniwa, Ranizów, Sokolów Malópolski.Within the forest two kilometers south of Głogów Malópolski is a monument to the victims of World War II.

Courtesy of MapQujest. Click for larger image	Forest monument	Inscription on monument

www.aufrichtigs.com is indebted to the Town Hall of Głogów Małopolski, 36-060 Głogów Małopolski, Rynel , for permission to reproduce all facts and pictures relating to Głogów that appear on this page. To view all content in its original format, please visit www.glogow.fl.pl.

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