I think that many residents of the Kaliningrad region, as well as many Poles, have repeatedly asked themselves the question - why does the border between Poland and the Kaliningrad region run this way and not otherwise? In this article we will try to understand how the border between Poland and the Soviet Union was formed on the territory of the former East Prussia.
Those who are at least a little knowledgeable in history know and remember that before the outbreak of the First World War, the Russian and German empires had, and partly it ran approximately the same as the current border of the Russian Federation with the Republic of Lithuania.
Then, as a result of events associated with the Bolsheviks coming to power in 1917 and a separate peace with Germany in 1918, the Russian Empire collapsed, its borders changed significantly, and individual territories that were once part of it received their own statehood. This is exactly what happened, in particular, with Poland, which regained independence in 1918. In the same year, 1918, the Lithuanians founded their own state.
Fragment of a map of the administrative divisions of the Russian Empire. 1914.
The results of the First World War, including Germany's territorial losses, were consolidated by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. In particular, significant territorial changes occurred in Pomerania and West Prussia (the formation of the so-called “Polish corridor” and Danzig and its surrounding areas receiving the status of a “free city”) and East Prussia (the transfer of the Memel region (Memelland) to the control of the League of Nations).
Territorial losses of Germany after the end of the First World War. Source: Wikipedia.
The following (very minor) border changes in the southern part of East Prussia were associated with the results of the war carried out in Warmia and Mazury in July 1921. At its end, the population of most of the territories that Poland, counting on the fact that a significant number of ethnic Poles live there, would not mind annexing into the young Polish Republic. In 1923, the borders in the East Prussian region changed again: in the Memel region, the Union of Lithuanian Riflemen raised an armed uprising, the result of which was the entry of Memelland into Lithuania with autonomy rights and the renaming of Memel to Klaipeda. 15 years later, at the end of 1938, elections to the city council were held in Klaipeda, as a result of which the pro-German parties (acting as a single list) won with an overwhelming advantage. After on March 22, 1939, Lithuania was forced to accept Germany’s ultimatum on the return of Memelland to the Third Reich, on March 23, Hitler arrived in Klaipeda-Memel on the cruiser Deutschland, who then addressed the residents from the balcony of the local theater and received a parade of Wehrmacht units. Thus, the last peaceful territorial acquisition of Germany before the outbreak of World War II was formalized.
The redistribution of borders in 1939 did not end with the annexation of the Memel region to Germany. On September 1, the Polish campaign of the Wehrmacht began (the same date is considered by many historians to be the date of the beginning of World War II), and two and a half weeks later, on September 17, units of the Red Army entered Poland. By the end of September 1939, the Polish government in exile was formed, and Poland, as an independent territorial entity, ceased to exist again.
Fragment of a map of the administrative divisions of the Soviet Union. 1933.
The borders in East Prussia again underwent significant changes. Germany, represented by the Third Reich, having occupied a significant part of the territory of the Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, again received a common border with the heir of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union.
The next, but not the last, change in borders in the region we are considering occurred after the end of World War II. It was based on decisions made by Allied leaders in Tehran in 1943 and then at the Yalta Conference in 1945. In accordance with these decisions, first of all, the future borders of Poland in the east, common with the USSR, were determined. Later, the Potsdam Agreement of 1945 finally determined that defeated Germany would lose the entire territory of East Prussia, part of which (about a third) would become Soviet, and most of which would become part of Poland.
By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated April 7, 1946, the Koenigsberg Region was formed on the territory of the Koenigsberg Special Military District, created after the victory over Germany, which became part of the RSFSR. Just three months later, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated July 4, 1946, Koenigsberg was renamed Kaliningrad, and the Koenigsberg region was renamed Kaliningrad.
Below we offer the reader a translation of the article (with slight abbreviations) by Wieslaw Kaliszuk, author and owner of the website “History of the Elbląg Upland” (Historija Wysoczyzny Elbląskiej), about how the process of border formation took placebetween Poland and the USSR in the territory former East Prussia.
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The current Polish-Russian border begins near the town of Wiżajny ( Wiżajny) in the Suwałki region at the junction of three borders (Poland, Lithuania and Russia) and ends in the west, at the town of Nowa Karczma on the Vistula (Baltic) Spit. The border was formed by a Polish-Soviet agreement signed in Moscow on August 16, 1945 by the Chairman of the Provisional Government of National Unity of the Polish Republic, Edward Osubka-Morawski, and the USSR Foreign Minister, Vyacheslav Molotov. The length of this section of the border is 210 km, which is approximately 5.8% of the total length of Poland's borders.
The decision on the post-war border of Poland was made by the Allies already in 1943 at a conference in Tehran (11/28/1943 – 12/01/1943). It was confirmed in 1945 by the Potsdam Agreement (07/17/1945 - 08/02/1945). In accordance with them, East Prussia was to be divided into the southern Polish part (Warmia and Mazury), and the northern Soviet part (about a third of the former territory of East Prussia), which on June 10, 1945 received the name “Königsberg Special Military District” (KOVO). From 07/09/1945 to 02/04/1946, the leadership of KOVO was entrusted to Colonel General K.N. Galitsky. Prior to this, the leadership of this part of East Prussia captured by Soviet troops was carried out by the Military Council of the 3rd Belorussian Front. The military commandant of this territory, Major General M.A. Pronin, appointed to this position on 06/13/1945, already on 07/09/1945 transferred all administrative, economic and military powers to General Galitsky. Major General B.P. was appointed Commissioner of the NKVD-NKGB of the USSR for East Prussia from 03.11.1945 to 04.01.1946. Trofimov, who from May 24, 1946 to July 5, 1947 served as head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Koenigsberg/Kaliningrad region. Before this, the post of NKVD Commissioner for the 3rd Belorussian Front was Colonel General V.S. Abakumov.
At the end of 1945, the Soviet part of East Prussia was divided into 15 administrative regions. Formally, the Königsberg region was formed on April 7, 1946 as part of the RSFSR, and on July 4, 1946, with the renaming of Königsberg to Kaliningrad, the region was also renamed Kaliningrad. On September 7, 1946, a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was issued on the administrative-territorial structure of the Kaliningrad region.
"Curzon Line" and the borders of Poland after the end of World War II. Source: Wikipedia.
The decision to move the eastern border to the west (approximately to the “Curzon Line”) and “territorial compensation” (Poland was losing 175,667 square kilometers of its territory in the east as of September 1, 1939) was made without the participation of the Poles by the leaders of the “Big Three” - Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin during the conference in Tehran from November 28 to December 1, 1943. Churchill had to convey to the Polish government in exile all the “advantages” of this decision. During the Potsdam Conference (July 17 - August 2, 1945), Joseph Stalin made a proposal to establish Poland's western border along the Oder-Neisse line. Poland’s “friend” Winston Churchill refused to recognize Poland’s new western borders, believing that “under Soviet rule” it would become too strong due to the weakening of Germany, while not objecting to Poland’s loss of eastern territories.
Options for the border between Poland and the Kaliningrad region.
Even before the conquest of East Prussia, the Moscow authorities (read “Stalin”) determined the political borders in this region. Already on July 27, 1944, the future Polish border was discussed at a secret meeting with the Polish Committee of People's Liberation (PKNO). The first draft borders on the territory of East Prussia was presented to the PKNO State Defense Committee of the USSR (GKO USSR) on February 20, 1945. In Tehran, Stalin outlined the future borders in East Prussia for his allies. The border with Poland was to run from west to east immediately south of Königsberg along the Pregel and Pissa rivers (about 30 km north of the current Polish border). The project was much more profitable for Poland. She would receive the entire territory of the Vistula (Baltic) Spit and the cities of Heiligenbeil (now Mamonovo), Ludwigsort (now Ladushkin), Preußisch Eylau (now Bagrationovsk), Friedland (now Pravdinsk), Darkemen (Darkehmen, after 1938 - Angerapp, now Ozersk), Gerdauen (now Zheleznodorozhny), Nordenburg (now Krylovo). However, all cities, regardless of which bank of the Pregel or Pissa they are located on, will then be included in the USSR. Despite the fact that Königsberg was supposed to go to the USSR, its location near the future border would not prevent Poland from using the exit from the Frisches Half Bay (now the Vistula/Kaliningrad Bay) to the Baltic Sea together with the USSR. Stalin wrote to Churchill in a letter dated February 4, 1944, that the Soviet Union planned to annex the northeastern part of East Prussia, including Königsberg, since the USSR would like to have an ice-free port on the Baltic Sea. In the same year, Stalin mentioned this more than once in his communications with both Churchill and British Foreign Minister Anthony Eden, as well as during a Moscow meeting (10/12/1944) with the Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile Stanislaw Mikolajczyk. The same issue was raised during meetings (from September 28 to October 3, 1944) with the delegation of the Krajowa Rada Narodowa (KRN, Krajowa Rada Narodowa - a political organization created during the Second World War from various Polish parties and which was planned to be subsequently transformed into parliament. — admin) and PCNO, organizations in opposition to the London-based Polish government in exile. The Polish government in exile reacted negatively to Stalin's claims, pointing out the possible negative consequences of the inclusion of Königsberg into the USSR. On November 22, 1944 in London, at a meeting of the Coordination Committee, consisting of representatives of the four parties included in the government in exile, it was decided not to accept the dictates of the Allies, including the recognition of borders along the “Curzon Line”.
Map showing variations of the Curzon Line drawn up for the 1943 Tehran Allied Conference.
The draft borders proposed in February 1945 were known only to the State Defense Committee of the USSR and the Provisional Government of the Polish Republic (VPPR), transformed from the PKNO, which ceased its activities on December 31, 1944. At the Potsdam Conference, it was decided that East Prussia would be divided between Poland and the Soviet Union, but the final demarcation of the border was postponed until the next conference, already in peacetime. The future border was only outlined in general terms, which was supposed to begin at the junction of Poland, the Lithuanian SSR and East Prussia, and pass 4 km north of Goldap, 7 km north of Brausberg, now Braniewo and end on the Vistula (Baltic) Spit about 3 km north of the present village of Nowa Karczma. The position of the future border on the same terms was also discussed at a meeting in Moscow on August 16, 1945. There were no other agreements on the passage of the future border in the same way as it is laid now.
By the way, Poland has historical rights to the entire territory of the former East Prussia. Royal Prussia and Warmia went to Prussia as a result of the First Partition of Poland (1772), and the Polish crown lost fief rights to the Duchy of Prussia due to the Welau-Bydgoszcz treaties (and the political shortsightedness of King John Casimir), agreed upon in Welau on September 19, 1657, and ratified in Bydgoszcz November 5-6. In accordance with them, Elector Frederick William I (1620 - 1688) and all his descendants in the male line received sovereignty from Poland. In the event that the male line of the Brandenburg Hohenzollerns was interrupted, the Duchy was again to fall under the Polish crown.
The Soviet Union, supporting the interests of Poland in the west (east of the Oder-Neisse line), created a new Polish satellite state. It should be noted that Stalin acted primarily in his own interests. The desire to push the borders of Poland under his control as far west as possible was the result of a simple calculation: Poland’s western border would simultaneously be the border of the USSR’s sphere of influence, at least until the fate of Germany became clear. Nevertheless, violations of agreements on the future border between Poland and the USSR were a consequence of the subordinate position of the Polish People's Republic.
The agreement on the Polish-Soviet state border was signed in Moscow on August 16, 1945. The change in preliminary agreements on the border on the territory of the former East Prussia in favor of the USSR and the consent of Great Britain and the United States to these actions undoubtedly indicate their reluctance to strengthen the territorial strength of Poland, doomed to Sovietization.
After adjustment, the border between Poland and the USSR was supposed to pass along the northern borders of the former administrative regions of East Prussia (Kreiss. - admin) Heiligenbeil, Preussisch-Eylau, Bartenstein (now Bartoszyce), Gerdauen, Darkemen and Goldap, about 20 km north of the current border. But already in September-October 1945 the situation changed dramatically. In some sections, the border was moved without permission by the decision of the commanders of individual units of the Soviet Army. Allegedly, Stalin himself controlled the passage of the border in this region. For the Polish side, the eviction of the local Polish administration and population from towns and villages already settled and taken under Polish control came as a complete surprise. Since many settlements were already populated by Polish settlers, it got to the point that a Pole, leaving for work in the morning, could upon returning find out that his home was already on the territory of the USSR.
Władysław Gomulka, at that time the Polish Minister for the Returned Lands (Recovered Lands (Ziemie Odzyskane) is the general name for the territories that belonged to the Third Reich until 1939, and were transferred after the end of World War II to Poland according to the decisions of the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, as well as results of bilateral agreements between Poland and the USSR. - admin), noted:
“In the first days of September (1945), facts of unauthorized violation of the northern border of the Masurian district by Soviet army authorities were recorded in the territories of the Gerdauen, Bartenstein and Darkemen regions. The border line, defined at that time, was moved deeper into Polish territory to a distance of 12-14 km.”
A striking example of a unilateral and unauthorized change of the border (12-14 km south of the agreed line) by the Soviet army authorities is the Gerdauen region, where the border was changed after the delimitation act signed by the two parties on July 15, 1945. Commissioner for the Masurian District (Colonel Jakub Prawin - Jakub Prawin, 1901-1957 - member of the Communist Party of Poland, brigadier general of the Polish Army, statesman; was the plenipotentiary representative of the Polish government at the headquarters of the 3rd Belorussian Front, then the government representative in the Warmia-Masurian District, head of the administration of this district, and from May 23 to November 1945, the first governor of the Olsztyn Voivodeship. - admin) was informed in writing on September 4 that the Soviet authorities had ordered the Gerdauen mayor, Jan Kaszynski, to immediately leave the local administration and resettle the Polish civilian population. The next day (September 5), representatives of J. Pravin (Zygmunt Walewicz, Tadeusz Smolik and Tadeusz Lewandowski) expressed an oral protest against such orders to the representatives of the Soviet military administration in Gerdauen, Lieutenant Colonel Shadrin and Captain Zakroev. In response, they were told that the Polish side would be notified in advance of any changes to the border. In this area, the Soviet military leadership began to evict the German civilian population, while prohibiting Polish settlers from entering these territories. In this regard, on September 11, a protest was sent from Nordenburg to the District Prosecutor's Office in Olsztyn (Allenstein). This indicates that back in September 1945 this territory was Polish.
A similar situation was in the Bartenstein (Bartoszyce) district, the headman of which received all the acceptance documents on July 7, 1945, and already on September 14, the Soviet military authorities gave the order to free the areas around the villages of Schönbruch and Klingenberg from the Polish population. Klingenberg). Despite protests from the Polish side (09/16/1945), both territories were transferred to the USSR.
In the Preussisch-Eylau area, the military commandant Major Malakhov transferred all powers to the headman Pyotr Gagatko on June 27, 1945, but already on October 16, the head of the Soviet border troops in the area, Colonel Golovkin, informed the headman about the transfer of the border one kilometer south of Preussisch-Eylau. Despite protests from the Poles (10/17/1945), the border was moved back. On December 12, 1945, on behalf of Pravin's deputy Jerzy Burski, the mayor of Preussisch-Eylau vacated the city administration and handed it over to the Soviet authorities.
In connection with the unauthorized actions of the Soviet side to move the border, Yakub Pravin repeatedly (September 13, October 7, 17, 30, November 6, 1945) appealed to the central authorities in Warsaw with a request to influence the leadership of the Northern Group of Forces of the Soviet Army. The protest was also sent to the representative of the Server Group of Forces in the Masurian District, Major Yolkin. But all Pravin's appeals had no effect.
The result of arbitrary border adjustments not in favor of the Polish side in the northern part of the Masurian district was that the borders of almost all northern powiats (powiat - district. - admin) were changed.
Bronislaw Saluda, a researcher on this problem from Olsztyn, noted:
“...subsequent adjustments to the border line could lead to the fact that some of the villages already occupied by the population could end up on Soviet territory and the work of the settlers to improve it would be in vain. In addition, it happened that the border separated a residential building from the outbuildings or land plot assigned to it. In Shchurkovo it so happened that the border passed through a cattle barn. The Soviet military administration responded to complaints from the population that the loss of land here would be compensated by lands on the Polish-German border.”
The exit to the Baltic Sea from the Vistula Lagoon was blocked by the Soviet Union, and the final demarcation of the border on the Vistula (Baltic) Spit was carried out only in 1958.
According to some historians, in exchange for the agreement of the Allied leaders (Roosevelt and Churchill) to include the northern part of East Prussia with Königsberg into the Soviet Union, Stalin offered to transfer Bialystok, Podlasie, Chelm and Przemysl to Poland.
In April 1946, the official demarcation of the Polish-Soviet border on the territory of the former East Prussia took place. But she did not put an end to changing the border in this region. Until February 15, 1956, 16 more border adjustments took place in favor of the Kaliningrad region. From the initial draft of the border, presented in Moscow by the State Defense Committee of the USSR for consideration by the PKNO, in reality the borders were moved 30 km to the south. Even in 1956, when the influence of Stalinism on Poland weakened, the Soviet side “threatened” the Poles with “adjusting” the borders.
On April 29, 1956, the USSR proposed to the Polish People's Republic (PPR) to resolve the issue of the temporary state of the border within the Kaliningrad region, which had persisted since 1945. The border agreement was concluded in Moscow on March 5, 1957. The PPR ratified this treaty on April 18, 1957, and on May 4 of the same year, an exchange of ratified documents took place. After a few more minor adjustments, in 1958 the border was defined on the ground and with the installation of boundary pillars.
The Vistula (Kaliningrad) Lagoon (838 sq. km) was divided between Poland (328 sq. km) and the Soviet Union. Poland, contrary to initial plans, found itself cut off from the exit from the bay to the Baltic Sea, which led to the disruption of the once established shipping routes: the Polish part of the Vistula Lagoon became the “dead sea”. The “naval blockade” of Elblag, Tolkmicko, Frombork and Braniewo also affected the development of these cities. Despite the fact that an additional protocol was attached to the agreement of July 27, 1944, which stated that peaceful ships would be allowed free access through the Pilau Strait to the Baltic Sea.
The final border passed through railways and roads, canals, settlements and even farmsteads. For centuries, the emerging single geographical, political and economic territory was arbitrarily dismembered. The border passed through the territory of six former territories.
Polish-Soviet border in East Prussia. Yellow indicates the version of the border as of February 1945; blue indicates August 1945; red indicates the actual border between Poland and the Kaliningrad region.
It is believed that as a result of numerous border adjustments, Poland lost about 1,125 square meters in this region relative to the original border design. km of territory. The border drawn “along the line” led to numerous negative consequences. For example, between Braniewo and Gołdap, out of 13 roads that once existed, 10 turned out to be cut by the border; between Sempopol and Kaliningrad, 30 out of 32 roads were broken. The unfinished Masurian Canal was also cut almost in half. Numerous power and telephone lines were also cut. All this could not but lead to a worsening of the economic situation in settlements adjacent to the border: who would want to live in a settlement whose affiliation is not determined? There was a fear that the Soviet side might once again move the border to the south. Some more or less serious settlement of these places by settlers began only in the summer of 1947, during the forced resettlement of thousands of Ukrainians to these areas during Operation Vistula.
The border, practically drawn from west to east along the latitude, led to the fact that throughout the entire territory from Gołdap to Elbląg the economic situation never improved, although at one time Elbing, which became part of Poland, was the largest and most economically developed city (after Königsberg ) in East Prussia. Olsztyn became the new capital of the region, although until the end of the 1960s it was less populated and less economically developed than Elblag. The negative role of the final partition of East Prussia also affected the indigenous population of this region - the Masurians. All this significantly delayed the economic development of this entire region.
Fragment of a map of the administrative divisions of Poland. 1945 Source: Elbląska Biblioteka Cyfrowa.
Legend to the above map. The dotted line is the border between Poland and the Kaliningrad region according to the agreement of August 16, 1945; solid line—voivodeship boundaries; dot-dotted line - borders of powiats.
The option of drawing a border using a ruler (a rare case in Europe) was subsequently often used for African countries gaining independence.
The current length of the border between Poland and the Kaliningrad region (since 1991, the border with the Russian Federation) is 232.4 km. This includes 9.5 km of water border and 835 m of land border on the Baltic Spit.
Two voivodeships have a common border with the Kaliningrad region: Pomeranian and Warmian-Masurian, and six poviats: Nowodworski (on the Vistula Spit), Braniewski, Bartoszycki, Kieszynski, Węgorzewski and Gołdapski.
There are border crossings at the border: 6 land crossings (road Gronowo - Mamonovo, Grzechotki - Mamonovo II, Bezledy - Bagrationovsk, Goldap - Gusev; railway Braniewo - Mamonovo, Skandava - Zheleznodorozhny) and 2 sea.
On July 17, 1985, an agreement was signed in Moscow between Poland and the Soviet Union on the delimitation of territorial waters, economic zones, marine fishing zones and the continental shelf of the Baltic Sea.
The western border of Poland was recognized by the German Democratic Republic by the treaty of July 6, 1950, the Federal Republic of Germany recognized the border of Poland by the treaty of December 7, 1970 (clause 3 of Article I of this treaty states that the parties do not have any territorial claims to each other, and renounce any claims in the future. However, before the unification of Germany and the signing of the Polish-German border treaty on November 14, 1990, the Federal Republic of Germany officially declared that the German lands ceded to Poland after World War II were in the “temporary possession of the Polish administration "
The Russian enclave on the territory of the former East Prussia - the Kaliningrad region - still does not have international legal status. After World War II, the victorious powers agreed to transfer Königsberg to the jurisdiction of the Soviet Union, but only until an agreement was signed in accordance with international law, which would ultimately determine the status of this territory. An international treaty with Germany was signed only in 1990. The signing of it was previously prevented by the Cold War and Germany, divided into two states. And although Germany has officially renounced its claims to the Kaliningrad region, formal sovereignty over this territory has not been formalized by Russia.
Already in November 1939, the Polish government in exile was considering the inclusion of all of East Prussia into Poland after the end of the war. Also in November 1943, the Polish ambassador Edward Raczynski, in a memorandum handed over to the British authorities, among other things mentioned the desire to include all of East Prussia in Poland.
Schönbruch (now Szczurkowo/Shchurkovo) is a Polish settlement located near the border with the Kaliningrad region. During the formation of the border, part of Schönbruch ended up on Soviet territory, part on Polish territory. The settlement was designated on Soviet maps as Shirokoe (now does not exist). It was not possible to find out whether Shirokoe was inhabited.
Klingenberg (now Ostre Bardo/Ostre Bardo) is a Polish settlement a few kilometers east of Szczurkovo. It is located near the border with the Kaliningrad region. ( admin)
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It seems to us that it would be appropriate to cite the texts of some official documents that formed the basis for the process of dividing East Prussia and delimiting the territories allocated to the Soviet Union and Poland, and which were mentioned in the above article by V. Kalishuk.
Excerpts from the Materials of the Crimean (Yalta) Conference of the leaders of the three allied powers - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain
We have gathered at the Crimean Conference to resolve our differences on the Polish issue. We have fully discussed all aspects of the Polish question. We reaffirmed our common desire to see the establishment of a strong, free, independent and democratic Poland, and as a result of our negotiations we agreed on the terms on which a new Provisional Polish Government of National Unity would be formed in such a way as to gain recognition from the three major powers.
The following agreement has been reached:
“A new situation was created in Poland as a result of its complete liberation by the Red Army. This requires the creation of a Provisional Polish Government, which would have a broader base than was previously possible before the recent liberation of Western Poland. The Provisional Government currently operating in Poland must therefore be reorganized on a broader democratic basis, with the inclusion of democratic figures from Poland itself and Poles from abroad. This new government should then be called the Polish Provisional Government of National Unity.
V. M. Molotov, Mr. W. A. Harriman and Sir Archibald K. Kerr are authorized to consult at Moscow as a Commission primarily with the members of the present Provisional Government and with other Polish democratic leaders both from Poland itself and from abroad. borders, having in mind the reorganization of the present Government on the above principles. This Polish Provisional Government of National Unity must commit itself to holding free and unobstructed elections as soon as possible on the basis of universal suffrage by secret ballot. In these elections, all anti-Nazi and democratic parties must have the right to participate and nominate candidates.
When the Polish Provisional Government of National Unity has been duly formed in accordance with (270) the above, the Government of the USSR, which at present maintains diplomatic relations with the present Provisional Government of Poland, the Government of the United Kingdom and the Government of the United States will establish diplomatic relations with the new Polish Provisional Government of National Unity and exchange ambassadors, from whose reports the respective governments will be informed of the situation in Poland.
The Heads of the Three Governments believe that the Eastern border of Poland should run along the Curzon Line with deviations from it in some areas of five to eight kilometers in favor of Poland. The Heads of the Three Governments recognize that Poland must receive significant increases in territory in the North and West. They believe that on the question of the size of these increments the opinion of the new Polish Government of National Unity will be sought in due course and that thereafter the final determination of the Western border of Poland will be postponed until the peace conference."
Winston S. Churchill
Franklin D. Roosevelt
During the German counterattack on Kragau (East Prussia), artillery officer Yuri Uspensky was killed. A handwritten diary was found on the murdered man.
"January 24, 1945. Gumbinnen - We passed through the entire city, which was relatively undamaged during the battle. Some buildings were completely destroyed, others were still burning. They say that our soldiers set them on fire.
In this rather large town, furniture and other household utensils are strewn on the streets. On the walls of houses everywhere you can see inscriptions: “Death to Bolshevism.” In this way, the Krauts tried to conduct propaganda among their soldiers.
In the evening we talked with the prisoners in Gumbinnen. It turned out to be four Fritz and two Poles. Apparently, the mood in the German troops is not very good, they themselves surrendered and are now saying: “We don’t care where to work - in Germany or in Russia.”
We quickly reached Insterburg. From the car window you can see a landscape typical of East Prussia: roads lined with trees, villages in which all the houses are covered with tiles, fields surrounded by barbed wire fences to protect them from livestock.
Insterburg turned out to be larger than Gumbinnen. The whole city is still in smoke. Houses are burning to the ground. Endless columns of soldiers and trucks pass through the city: such a joyful picture for us, but so menacing for the enemy. This is retribution for everything that the Germans have done to us. Now German cities are being destroyed, and their population will finally know what it is: war!
We drive further along the highway in a passenger car from the headquarters of the 11th Army towards Königsberg to find the 5th Artillery Corps there. The highway is completely clogged with heavy trucks.
The villages we meet along the way are partially heavily destroyed. It is striking that we come across very few destroyed Soviet tanks, not at all like it was in the first days of the offensive.
Along the way we meet columns of civilians who, guarded by our machine gunners, are heading to the rear, away from the front. Some Germans travel in large covered wagons. Teenagers, men, women and girls walk. Everyone is wearing good clothes. It would be interesting to talk with them about the future.
Soon we stop for the night. Finally we are in a rich country! Herds of livestock can be seen everywhere, roaming the fields. Yesterday and today we boiled and fried two chickens a day.
Everything in the house is very well equipped. The Germans left almost all their household belongings. I am forced to think once again about what great grief this war brings with it.
It passes like a fiery tornado through cities and villages, leaving behind smoking ruins, trucks and tanks mangled by explosions, and mountains of corpses of soldiers and civilians.
Let the Germans now see and feel what war is! How much grief there is still in this world! I hope that Adolf Hitler does not have long to wait for the noose prepared for him.
January 26, 1945. Petersdorf near Wehlau. - Here, on this section of the front, our troops were four kilometers from Königsberg. The 2nd Belorussian Front reached the sea near Danzig.
Thus East Prussia is completely cut off. As a matter of fact, it is almost in our hands. We are driving through Velau. The city is still burning, it is completely destroyed. There is smoke and German corpses everywhere. On the streets you can see many guns abandoned by the Germans and corpses of German soldiers in the gutters.
These are signs of the brutal defeat of the German troops. Everyone celebrates the victory. Soldiers cook food over a fire. The Fritz abandoned everything. Entire herds of livestock roam the fields. The surviving houses are full of excellent furniture and dishes. On the walls you can see paintings, mirrors, photographs.
Many houses were set on fire by our infantry. Everything happens as the Russian proverb says: “As it comes around, so it will respond!” The Germans did this in Russia in 1941 and 1942, and now in 1945 it is echoed here in East Prussia.
I see a weapon being transported past, covered with a knitted blanket. Not a bad disguise! On another gun lies a mattress, and on the mattress, wrapped in a blanket, a Red Army soldier sleeps.
To the left of the highway you can see an interesting picture: two camels are being led there. A captive Fritz with a bandaged head is led past us. Angry soldiers shout in his face: “Well, have you conquered Russia?” They use their fists and the butts of their machine guns to urge him on, pushing him in the back.
January 27, 1945. Village of Starkenberg. - The village looks very peaceful. The room in the house where we are staying is light and cozy. From a distance the sound of cannonade can be heard. This is a battle going on in Königsberg. The position of the Germans is hopeless.
And now the time comes when we can pay for everything. Ours treated East Prussia no worse than the Germans treated the Smolensk region. We hate Germans and Germany with all our hearts.
For example, in one of the village houses, our guys saw a murdered woman with two children. And you can often see killed civilians on the street. The Germans themselves deserved this from us, because they were the first to behave this way towards the civilian population of the occupied regions.
It is enough only to remember Majdanek and the theory of the superman to understand why our soldiers take East Prussia to such a state with such satisfaction. But German composure at Majdanek was a hundred times worse. Moreover, the Germans glorified the war!
January 28, 1945. - We played cards until two o'clock in the morning. The houses were abandoned by the Germans in a chaotic state. The Germans had a lot of all kinds of property. But now everything is in complete disarray. The furniture in the houses is simply excellent. Every home is full of a wide variety of dishes. Most Germans lived quite well.
War, war - when will you end? This destruction of human lives, the results of human labor and monuments of cultural heritage has been going on for three years and seven months.
Cities and villages are burning, treasures of thousands of years of labor are disappearing. And the nobodies in Berlin are trying their best to continue this unique battle in the history of mankind for as long as possible. That is why the hatred that is poured out on Germany is born.
February 1, 1945. - In the village we saw a long column of modern slaves whom the Germans had driven to Germany from all corners of Europe. Our troops invaded Germany on a broad front. The allies are also advancing. Yes, Hitler wanted to destroy the whole world. Instead, he crushed Germany.
February 2, 1945. - We arrived in Fuchsberg. Finally we reached our destination - the headquarters of the 33rd Tank Brigade. I learned from a Red Army soldier from the 24th Tank Brigade that thirteen people from our brigade, including several officers, had poisoned themselves. They drank denatured alcohol. This is what a love of alcohol can lead to!
On the way we met several columns of German civilians. Mostly women and children. Many carried their children in their arms. They looked pale and scared. When asked if they were Germans, they hastened to answer “Yes.”
There was an obvious stamp of fear on their faces. They had no reason to be glad that they were Germans. At the same time, one could notice quite nice faces among them.
Last night the soldiers of the division told me about some things that cannot be approved at all. In the house where the division headquarters was located, evacuated women and children were housed at night.
Drunken soldiers began to come there one after another. They chose women, took them aside and raped them. For every woman there were several men.
This behavior cannot be condoned in any way. Of course, it is necessary to take revenge, but not like that, but with weapons. Somehow you can understand those whose loved ones were killed by the Germans. But the rape of young girls - no, it cannot be approved!
In my opinion, the command must soon put an end to such crimes, as well as the unnecessary destruction of material assets. For example, soldiers spend the night in a house, in the morning they leave and set fire to the house or recklessly break mirrors and break furniture.
After all, it is clear that all these things will one day be transported to the Soviet Union. But for now we live here and, while serving as soldiers, we will continue to live. Such crimes only undermine the morale of soldiers and weaken discipline, which leads to a decrease in combat effectiveness."
To the question: Where is Prussia right now? given by the author Evgeniy Yamilov the best answer is Prussia - a state, then a state in Germany (until 1945). The main historical core of Prussia is Brandenburg, which united in 1618 with the Duchy of Prussia (which arose in 1525 on part of the lands of the Teutonic Order, captured by it from the Prussians). The Brandenburg-Prussian state became in 1701 the Kingdom of Prussia (capital Berlin). The Junkers played a leading role in the economic and political life of Prussia. Prussian kings from the Hohenzollern dynasty (Frederick II and others) in the 18th - 1st half of the 19th centuries. significantly expanded the territory of the state. In 1871, the Prussian Junkers, led by Bismarck, completed the unification of Germany on a Prussian-militarist basis with iron and blood; the Prussian king also became the German emperor. As a result of the November Revolution of 1918 in Germany, the monarchy in Prussia was abolished, Prussia became one of the German states. After the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, the territory of Prussia was divided into separate states (1945); in 1947, the Control Council for Germany adopted a law on the liquidation of the Prussian state as a stronghold of militarism and reaction.
Answer from Cameroonian Mgwanga[guru]
Well, look at the map - Western and Eastern Prussia - at different times occupied the lands of modern states (from west to east) - East Germany, Poland, Russia (Kaliningrad region), Lithuania
And here is a map of East Prussia within the borders of 1939: 
Answer from Ena Balakireva[guru]
In Russia, and in pieces in other countries
Answer from Victoria Mikhailevskaya[newbie]
part in Poland part in Russia
Answer from Secret[guru]
Prussia (German: Preußen) is the historical name of a number of regions in eastern and central Europe, namely
A region inhabited by the people of the same name (Prussians) on the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea, conquered by the Teutonic Knights during the Middle Ages. This region later became known as East Prussia
A kingdom that has been under the rule of the German Hohenzollern dynasty since 1701. Included (East) Prussia proper, as well as Brandenburg. The capital was initially located in Königsberg, and after the Thirty Years' War - in Berlin.
A territorial entity within the Weimar Republic that arose after the fall of the Hohenzollerns in 1918, comprising most of the former kingdom. In 1947, Prussia was abolished as a territorial entity by decision of the Allies as part of the post-war reconstruction of Europe.
Answer from Bumako mambuto[guru]
Hello, East Prussia is the Kaliningrad region and part of it went to Poland. idiots - Berlin is Brandenburg
Administrative district of West Prussia on Wikipedia
Administrative district of West Prussia
East Prussia on Wikipedia
Look at the Wikipedia article about East Prussia
In 1946, Stalin signed a decree according to which 12 thousand families must be resettled “on a voluntary basis” for permanent residence.
Over the course of three years, residents of 27 different regions of the RSFSR, union and autonomous republics arrived in the region, whose reliability was carefully monitored. These were mainly immigrants from Belarus, Pskov, Kalinin, Yaroslavl and Moscow regions
Thus, from 1945 to 1948, tens of thousands of Germans and Soviet citizens lived together in Kaliningrad. At this time, German schools, churches, and other public institutions operated in the city. On the other hand, due to the memory of the very recent war, the German population was subjected to looting and violence by the Soviets, which manifested itself in forced evictions from apartments, insults and forced work.
However, according to many researchers, the conditions of close living of two peoples in a small territory contributed to their cultural and universal rapprochement. Official policy also tried to help eliminate hostility between Russians and Germans, but this vector of interaction was soon completely rethought. The deportation of Germans to Germany is being prepared.
The “peaceful displacement” of Germans by Soviet citizens did not produce effective results, and by 1947 there were more than 100,000 Germans on the territory of the USSR. “The non-working German population does not receive food supplies, as a result of which they are in an extremely depleted state. As a result of this situation, there has recently been a sharp increase in criminal crime among the German population (food theft, robbery and even murder), and also in the first quarter of 1947, cases of cannibalism appeared, of which twelve were registered in the region.
In order to liberate Kaliningrad from the Germans, permission was issued to return to their homeland, but not all Germans were able or willing to use it. Colonel General Serov spoke about the measures taken: “The presence of the German population in the region has a corrupting effect on the unstable part of not only the civilian Soviet population, but also the military personnel of a large number of the Soviet army and navy located in the region, and contributes to the spread of venereal diseases. The introduction of Germans into the life of Soviet people through their fairly widespread use as low-paid or even free servants contributes to the development of espionage.” Serov raised the question of the forced relocation of Germans to the territory of the Soviet occupation of Germany.
After this, from 1947 to 1948, about 105,000 Germans and Letuvinniks - Prussian Lithuanians - were resettled to Germany from the former East Prussia.
It was argued that the resettlement organized by the Germans during World War II, which, in particular, led to the Holocaust, justified this deportation. The resettlement took place practically without casualties, which was due to the high degree of its organization - the deportees were given dry rations, allowed to take a large amount of cargo with them, and were treated conscientiously. Many letters of gratitude from the Germans, written by them before the resettlement, are also known: “With great gratitude we say goodbye to the Soviet Union.”
Thus, Russians and Belarusians, Ukrainians and former residents of other union republics began to live in the territory that was once called East Prussia. After the war, the Kaliningrad region began to rapidly become militarized, becoming a kind of “shield” of the USSR on the western borders. With the collapse of the USSR, Kaliningrad became an enclave of the Russian Federation, and to this day retains memories of its German past.
Even in the late Middle Ages, the lands located between the Neman and Vistula rivers received their name East Prussia. Throughout its existence, this power has experienced various periods. This is the time of the order, and the Prussian duchy, and then the kingdom, and the province, as well as the post-war country until the renaming due to the redistribution between Poland and the Soviet Union.
History of the possessions
More than ten centuries have passed since the first mention of the Prussian lands. Initially, the people inhabiting these territories were divided into clans (tribes), which were separated by conventional borders.
The expanses of Prussian possessions covered the part of Poland and Lithuania that now exists. These included Sambia and Skalovia, Warmia and Pogesania, Pomesania and Kulm land, Natangia and Bartia, Galindia and Sassen, Skalovia and Nadrovia, Mazovia and Sudovia.
Numerous conquests
Throughout its existence, Prussian lands were constantly subject to attempts at conquest by stronger and more aggressive neighbors. So, in the twelfth century, the Teutonic knights - the crusaders - came to these rich and alluring spaces. They built numerous fortresses and castles, for example Kulm, Reden, Thorn.
However, in 1410, after the famous Battle of Grunwald, the territory of the Prussians began to smoothly pass into the hands of Poland and Lithuania.
The Seven Years' War in the eighteenth century undermined the strength of the Prussian army and led to some eastern lands being conquered by the Russian Empire.
In the twentieth century, military actions also did not spare these lands. Beginning in 1914, East Prussia was involved in the First World War and, in 1944, in the Second World War.
And after the victory of the Soviet troops in 1945, it ceased to exist altogether and was transformed into the Kaliningrad region.
Existence between the wars
During the First World War, East Prussia suffered heavy losses. The 1939 map had already had changes, and the updated province was in terrible condition. After all, it was the only territory of Germany that was swallowed up by military battles.
The signing of the Treaty of Versailles was costly for East Prussia. The winners decided to reduce its territory. Therefore, from 1920 to 1923, the city of Memel and the Memel region began to be governed by the League of Nations with the help of French troops. But after the January uprising of 1923, the situation changed. And already in 1924, these lands became part of Lithuania with the rights of an autonomous region.
In addition, East Prussia also lost the territory of Soldau (the city of Dzialdowo).
In total, about 315 thousand hectares of land were disconnected. And this is a considerable territory. As a result of these changes, the remaining province found itself in a difficult situation, accompanied by enormous economic difficulties.
Economic and political situation in the 20s and 30s.
In the early twenties, after the normalization of diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Germany, the standard of living of the population in East Prussia began to gradually improve. The Moscow-Konigsberg airline was opened, the German Oriental Fair was resumed, and the Konigsberg city radio station began operating.
Nevertheless, the global economic crisis has not spared these ancient lands. And in five years (1929-1933) in Koenigsberg alone, five hundred and thirteen different enterprises went bankrupt, and the number of people increased to one hundred thousand. In such a situation, taking advantage of the precarious and uncertain position of the current government, the Nazi Party took control into its own hands.
Redistribution of territory
A considerable number of changes were made to the geographical maps of East Prussia before 1945. The same thing happened in 1939 after the occupation of Poland by the troops of Nazi Germany. As a result of the new zoning, part of the Polish lands and the Klaipeda (Memel) region of Lithuania were formed into a province. And the cities of Elbing, Marienburg and Marienwerder became part of the new district of West Prussia.
The Nazis launched grandiose plans for the repartition of Europe. And the map of East Prussia, in their opinion, was to become the center of the economic space between the Baltic and Black Seas, subject to the annexation of the territories of the Soviet Union. However, these plans could not be translated into reality.
Post-war time
As Soviet troops arrived, East Prussia also gradually transformed. Military commandant's offices were created, of which by April 1945 there were already thirty-six. Their tasks were a recount of the German population, an inventory and a gradual transition to peaceful life.
In those years, thousands of German officers and soldiers were hiding throughout East Prussia, and groups engaged in sabotage and sabotage were active. In April 1945 alone, the military commandant’s office captured more than three thousand armed fascists.
However, ordinary German citizens also lived on the territory of Königsberg and in the surrounding areas. There were about 140 thousand people.
In 1946, the city of Koenigsberg was renamed Kaliningrad, as a result of which the Kaliningrad region was formed. And later the names of other settlements were changed. In connection with such changes, the existing 1945 map of East Prussia was also redone.
East Prussian lands today
Today, the Kaliningrad region is located on the former territory of the Prussians. East Prussia ceased to exist in 1945. And although the region is part of the Russian Federation, they are geographically separated. In addition to the administrative center - Kaliningrad (until 1946 it was named Koenigsberg), such cities as Bagrationovsk, Baltiysk, Gvardeysk, Yantarny, Sovetsk, Chernyakhovsk, Krasnoznamensk, Neman, Ozersk, Primorsk, Svetlogorsk are well developed. The region consists of seven urban districts, two cities and twelve districts. The main peoples living in this territory are Russians, Belarusians, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Armenians and Germans.
Today, the Kaliningrad region ranks first in amber mining, storing in its depths about ninety percent of its world reserves.
Interesting places in modern East Prussia
And although today the map of East Prussia has been changed beyond recognition, the lands with the cities and villages located on them still preserve the memory of the past. The spirit of the vanished great country is still felt in the present Kaliningrad region in the cities that bore the names Tapiau and Taplaken, Insterburg and Tilsit, Ragnit and Waldau.
Excursions at the Georgenburg stud farm are popular among tourists. It existed as early as the beginning of the thirteenth century. The Georgenburg fortress was a haven for German knights and crusaders, whose main business was breeding horses.
Churches built in the fourteenth century (in the former cities of Heiligenwald and Arnau), as well as sixteenth-century churches in the territory of the former city of Tapiau, are still quite well preserved. These majestic buildings constantly remind people of the past times of prosperity of the Teutonic Order.
Knight's castles
The land, rich in amber reserves, has attracted German conquerors since ancient times. In the thirteenth century, the Polish princes, together with them, gradually seized these possessions and built numerous castles on them. The remains of some of them, being architectural monuments, still make an indelible impression on contemporaries today. The largest number of knight's castles were erected in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Their construction sites were captured Prussian rampart-earthen fortresses. When building castles, traditions in the style of orderly Gothic architecture of the late Middle Ages were necessarily maintained. In addition, all buildings corresponded to a single plan for their construction. Nowadays, an unusual thing has been discovered in the ancient
The village of Nizovye is very popular among residents and guests. It houses a unique local history museum with ancient cellars. Having visited it, you can say with confidence that the entire history of East Prussia flashes before your eyes, starting from the times of the ancient Prussians and ending with the era of Soviet settlers.