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117-567: PKP is currently the parent company of the PKP Group, passenger operators PKP Intercity and PKP Szybka Kolej Miejska w Trójmieście . Freight carriers PKP Cargo and PKP Linia Hutnicza Szerokotorowa are also parts of the group. PKP is also one of the largest real estate managers in Poland. Regaining independence on 11 November 1918 allowed Poland to reclaim the former Russian and Austrian sectors from military railways. The Railway Department in

234-482: A "dormant Polishness" and to determine which were redeemable as Polish citizens; few were actually expelled. The verification procedure varied in different territories and was changed several times. Initially, the applicants had to prove their past membership in a Polish minority organization of the German Reich, and in addition needed a warrant where three Polish locals testified their Polishness. In April 1945,

351-624: A chaotic situation in the American and British zones of occupation. The Soviet Union transferred territories to the east of the Oder–Neisse line to Poland in July 1945. Subsequently, most of the remaining Germans were expelled to the territories west of the line. President Harry S. Truman complained that there were now five occupation zones because the Soviets had turned over the area extending along

468-517: A contract valued at €247 million was issued by PKP Intercity to the Swiss rolling stock manufacturer Stadler Rail for the manufacture and delivery of 12 Stadler FLIRT electric multiple units in an eight-car long configuration as well as a 15-year maintenance period; these feature both first class and second class compartments along with an onboard lounge bar area and accessibility adaptions for persons of reduced mobility. In 2024, PKP Intercity signed

585-700: A contract with H. Cegielski – FPS for the delivery of 300 modern railroad carriages. The contract with the Polish rolling stock manufacturer is worth PLN 4.2 billion (ca. EUR 1 billion). It also covers an option for the production of additional 150 carriages, which would increase the total value of the deal to PLN 6.35 billion (EUR 1.47 billion). The new carriages will be designed to reach the speeds of 200 km/h and are expected to be delivered in 2028. They will also be authorised for operation in Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Lithuania and Slovakia. The company runs

702-731: A general loss of sense for right and wrong. Much abuse also came from large Soviet contingents stationed in Poland after the war . A high number of crimes committed by regular Soviet soldiers - on both Germans and Poles - had been reported (see Rape during the liberation of Poland ). A high death toll among the few Polish officials who dared to investigate these cases followed. Yet, Soviet troops played an ambiguous role, as there are also cases where Soviets freed local Germans imprisoned by Poles, or delayed expulsions to keep German workforce, for example on farms providing Soviet troops (for instance in Słupsk ). The damaged infrastructure and quarrels between

819-476: A lesser extent, even the newly arrived Poles were facing was an enormous crime wave, most notably theft and rape, committed by gangs not only consisting of regular criminals but also Soviet soldiers, deserters or former forced laborers (Ost-Arbeiter), coming back from the west. In Upper Silesia , a party official, complained about some Polish security forces and militia raping and pillaging the German population and

936-465: A letter to Roosevelt expressed his concerns about the idea of compensating Poland in the west. However, pressed by Churchill, he was forced to accept the Tehran decision, which was the direct cause of his resignation from his post. The next Polish Prime Minister, Tomasz Arciszewski claimed that Poland did not "want neither Breslau nor Stettin". Although the Polish government-in-exile was recognised by

1053-418: A longer route, reaching towns like Słupsk , Lębork and Wejherowo . It is serviced by electric multiple unit cars at a frequency of 6 minutes to half an hour between trains (depending on the time of day). It is comparable to subway service or light rail in other European cities. The Tricity area is uniquely suited for this mode of transport, as it's shaped in a relatively narrow north–south corridor between

1170-667: A new speed record for Polish railways was set when the Pendolino ED250 reached a speed of 291 km/h (181 mph). Furthermore, on 24 November 2013, the final day of tests on the CMK Central Rail Line , the Pendolino reached 293 km/h (182 mph). On 11 September 2014, Polands's Railway Transport Office (UTK) announced that the ED250 had been certified for operation at up to 250km/h in accordance with

1287-464: A proof of a continual Polish settlement. The Polish government aimed to retain as many "autochthons" as possible, as they were needed both for economic reasons and also for propaganda purposes, as their presence on former German soil was used to indicate an intrinsic "Polishness" character of the area and justify its incorporation into the Polish state as " Recovered Territories ". "Verification" and "national rehabilitation" processes were set up to reveal

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1404-668: A result left the railways far less able to compete with intercity bus and air services. During the entire communist period, only one major infrastructural project relating to the railways was completed. This, the Central Trunk Line , was a prestige project completed in 1976, intended both for heavy coal transport and fast passenger services. This line for the first time allowed passengers to travel in comfort and at relatively high speed from Kraków and Katowice to Warsaw; however, high-speed services have never started, although test runs reached 250 km/h in 1994. Moreover, despite

1521-498: A scheduled speed of up to 200 km/h (124 mph) along selected stretches of the Warszawa - Gdynia and Central Rail Line routes. Various other schemes were underway during the late 2010s, such as the retrofitting of Wi-Fi apparatus throughout the various types of rolling stock to provide passengers with mobile internet access, having completed work on 171 PKP Intercity cars and 40 combined sets by August 2018. One year later,

1638-587: A small cellar were set up. The attitude of Polish civilians, many of whom had experienced brutalities during the preceding German occupation , was varied. There were incidents when Poles, even freed slave labourers, protected Germans, for example by disguising them as Poles. The attitude of the Soviet soldiers was ambivalent. Many committed numerous atrocities, most prominently rapes and murders, and did not always distinguish between Poles and Germans, often mistreating them alike. Other Soviets were taken aback by

1755-644: A solution. The end of the crisis and an increase in cargo transport and income came in 1937. Following the German invasion on 1 September 1939 and the Soviet invasion of eastern Poland on 17 September 1939, most Polish rolling stock fell into Soviet hands. The Polish railways in Silesia, Greater Poland and Pomerania were adopted by German railways Deutsche Reichsbahn on 25 September. The Polish railways in Generalgouvernement became Ostbahn. Until

1872-748: A treaty regulating the new Polish-Soviet border. A year later, before the Potsdam Conference, the western Allies followed Stalin, recognized the Soviet-sponsored government, which accepted the shift of the borders westwards, and withdrew their recognition for the Polish government-in-exile. Poles were classified as sub-humans (Untermenschen) by the Nazis, with their ultimate fate being slavery and extermination, while Germans occupied position of privileged "Uebermenschen" that were to rule over Poles and other nations; when Stanisław Mikołajczyk joined

1989-415: Is a plan by PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe (infrastructure manager) to increase speed to 250 km/h on whole line soon. In the day of 13 December 2020 the speed limit was raised to 200 km/h also on the line from Warsaw to seaport Gdynia by New Pendolino train. The PKP has been a tourist attraction for British trainspotters since at least the mid-twentieth century. The late withdrawal of steam power on

2106-412: Is no longer part of the PKP Group and on interregional routes its InterRegio trains compete with PKP Intercity TLK trains. This was done in order to increase competition amongst operators on the Polish rail network. The company finally changed its name from PKP Przewozy Regionalne to Przewozy Regionalne on 8 December 2009. A company responsible for maintenance of rail tracks, conducting trains across

2223-537: Is taken from the public grid and rectified in substations . Most substations are fed with voltages between 15 and 30 kV. Where lines have heavy traffic and higher speed, the substations are fed from the 110 kV grid. The switchyard of substations fed from voltages below 30 kV is indoors, outdoor switchgear is used at 110 kV. The distance between substations is between 15 and 28 kilometres. For reliability of supply, substations are usually fed by at least two powerlines. Each substation normally feeds two segments of

2340-511: Is the subsidiary of the PKP Group responsible for long-distance rail passenger transport in Poland. It operates around 350 trains daily, connecting large agglomerations and smaller towns in Poland . It offers its services under TLK, InterCity , Express Intercity and Express Intercity Premium brands. The company also provides most international rail connections to and from the country. In 2023,

2457-584: Is the westernmost broad gauge railway line in Europe that is connected to the broad gauge rail system of the countries which before 1991 constituted the Soviet Union . Electric train traction of Polish State Railway started in 1936 in Warsaw area and is performed since the beginning with 3 kV DC. As of 1 January 2011, 11481 kilometres were electrified by a total length of 19276 kilometres. All used power

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2574-573: Is uncertain, though it is generally assumed that the majority emigrated. The German society of Wałbrzych has maintained a continuous existence since 1957. People from all over Poland moved in to replace the former German population in a process parallel to the expulsions. While the Germans were interned and expelled, up to 5 million settlers were either attracted or forced to settle the area. The settlers can be grouped according to their background: After 1 January 1948, Germans were primarily shipped to

2691-406: Is used for power supply of signals, level crossing equipment and other devices requiring electric power used for the rail. This line can be also used for emergency power supply of substations. Until 22 December 2008 Przewozy Regionalne was a wholly owned subsidiary of the PKP Group ; after that date, all of its shares have been transferred to Poland's 16 regional governments. Thus, the company

2808-752: The Armia Krajowa , Soviet records indicated 506 of the Poles died in captivity. Tomasz Kamusella maintains that in early 1945, some 165,000 Germans were transported to the Soviet Union, where most perished. According to Gerhardt Reichling, 520,000 German civilians from the Oder-Neisse region were conscripted for forced labor by both the USSR and Poland, he maintains that 206,000 perished. Ethnic German citizens from pre-war Poland, who collaborated with

2925-783: The Gdańsk Bay and the Tricity Landscape Park . PKP LHS is a company of the PKP Group responsible for infrastructure operation and freight transport on the Broad Gauge Metallurgy Line . The line runs for about 400 km from the Polish - Ukrainian border in Izow-Hrubieszów to Sławków Południowy (near Katowice ). The line was opened in 1979 and was used to import iron ore from the USSR, as well as to export coal and sulphur from Poland. After

3042-514: The Polish resistance movement on railways took place about the same time. In 1942, production of simple military-use DR Kriegslok BR52 ( PKP class Ty2 ) steam locomotives began in Poznań and Chrzanów ; the steam boilers for these locomotives were produced in Sosnowiec . The Warsaw Uprising caused widespread damage of Warsaw rolling stock, network and electric traction; both bridges over

3159-605: The Polish Government were not present at any of those conferences and felt betrayed by their western Allies who decided about future Polish borders behind their backs. Following the Tehran Conference (November–December 1943) Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill made it clear that the Soviets would keep the Polish territories east of the Curzon Line and offered Poland territorial compensation in

3276-772: The Soviet occupation zone (after 7 October 1949, the German Democratic Republic (GDR)), based on a Polish-Soviet agreement. Most Germans had been expelled by the end of 1947. In entire 1948, a relatively small number of 42,700 were expelled, and another 34,100 in 1949. In 1950, 59,433 Germans were expelled following a bi-lateral agreement between the People's Republic of Poland and the GDR, 26,196 of whom however headed for West Germany . Between October 1948 and December 1950 all 35,000 German prisoners of war detained in Poland were shipped to Germany. On 10 March 1951,

3393-532: The former eastern territories of Germany annexed by Poland after the war and parts of pre-war Poland ; despite acquiring territories from Germany, the Poles themselves were also expelled from the former eastern territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union. West German government figures of those evacuated, migrated, or expelled by 1950 totaled 8,030,000 (6,981,000 from the former eastern territories of Germany; 290,800 from Danzig , 688,000 from pre-war Poland and 170,000 Baltic Germans resettled in Poland during

3510-475: The "Government of National Unity" as a deputy prime minister in 1945, he justified the expulsions of Germans by national terms following communist Władysław Gomułka , but also as a revolutionary act, freeing the Poles of exploitation by a German middle and upper class. In general the Polish historiography views the expulsion of Germans as justified and correct, even when describing it as a "lesser evil". The majority of German citizens and ethnic Germans who left

3627-453: The Allied authorities in the occupation zones of Germany and the Polish administration caused long delays in the transport of expellees, who were first ordered to gather at one of the various PUR transportation centers or internment camps and then often forced to wait in ill-equipped barracks, exposed both to criminals, aggressive guards and the cold and not supplied sufficiently with food due to

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3744-738: The Allies at that time, the Soviet Union broke off all diplomatic relations with it in April 1943 after Polish government demanded the investigation of the Katyn massacre . On April 20, 1944, in Moscow, the Soviet sponsored Polish Communist cell founded the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN) on Stalin's initiative. Just one week later the representatives of the PKWN and the Soviet Union signed

3861-533: The European Union. The company was founded after dividing Polskie Koleje Państwowe (all-national rail operator) into several dozens of companies to meet European Union Standards. PKP Cargo is owned by the PKP S.A. (50% + 1 share) and private investors. It is a railway transportation service that originally functioned in Poland's Tricity area ( Gdynia , Sopot and Gdańsk ). The system has since grown to cover

3978-600: The German minority engaged in mass murder, rapes and plunder of Polish citizens, in addition to making lists of people that were to be sent to German concentration camps. Poles wanted to avoid such events in the future and as a result, Polish exile authorities proposed a population transfer of Germans as early as 1941. In 1941, Władysław Sikorski of the Polish government-in-exile insisted on driving "the German horde (...) back far [westward]", while in 1942 memoranda he expressed concern about Poland acquiring Lower Silesia , populated with "fanatically anti-Polish Germans". Yet as

4095-600: The German occupiers, were considered "traitors of the nation" and sentenced to forced labor. In territories that belonged to Poland before the war, Germans were treated even more harshly than in the former German territories. Deprived of any citizen rights, many were used as forced labor prior to their expulsion, sometimes for years, in labor battalions or in labour camps. The major camps were at Glatz , Mielęcin , Gronów , Sikawa , Central Labour Camp Jaworzno , Central Labour Camp Potulice , Łambinowice (run by Czesław Gęborski ), Zgoda labour camp and others. When Gęborski

4212-515: The German population. In July 1945, at the Potsdam Conference , the Allies placed most former eastern territories of Germany east of the Oder–Neisse line under Polish administration. Article XIII concerning the transfer of Germans was adopted at the Potsdam Conference in July 1945. It was an emergency measure, drafted and adopted in great haste, a response to the wild expulsions of Germans from Czechoslovakia and Poland, which had created

4329-518: The Germans have to be driven out. The main objective has to be the cleansing of the terrain of Germans, the building of a nation state". To ensure the Oder–Neisse line would be accepted as the new Polish border at a future Allied Conference (Potsdam Conference), up to 300,000 Germans living close to the rivers' eastern bank were expelled subsequently. On May 26, 1945, the Central Committee ordered all Germans to be expelled within one year and

4446-555: The Germans in Poland to go west, to Germany proper, where they belong". On February 6, 1945, Soviet NKVD ordered mobilisation of all German men (17 to 50 years old) in the Soviet-controlled territories. Many of them were then transported to the Soviet Union for forced labour . In the former German territories the Soviet authorities did not always distinguish between the Poles and Germans and often treated them alike. German civilians were also held as "reparation labor" by

4563-553: The Ministry of Communication was created and the Polish railways were officially named Polskie Koleje Państwowe . In December 1918, the Greater Poland Uprising started. The rebels took over the former Prussian sector of railways. One year later, the fights for Lwów were over and the former Austrian railway directorate was taken over by Poland. Taking over the railways from Prussians lasted until 1921. After

4680-429: The Nazis to replace Poles removed or killed during the occupation. Germany deported millions of Poles either to other territories, to concentration camps or as slave workers. Many others were deported by the Soviet Union during the years 1939-1941, when Germany and Soviet Union cooperated against Poles . German communities living within the pre-war borders of Poland participated in wartime German activities, starting with

4797-453: The Oder and Neisse rivers eastward before Polish authorities closed the river crossings, another 800,000 entered Silesia from Czechoslovakia, bringing up Silesia's population to 50% of the pre-war level. This led to the odd situation of treks of Germans moving about in all directions, to the east as well as to the west, each warning the others of what would await them at their destination After

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4914-477: The Oder and western Neisse to Poland and was concerned about Germany's economic control and war reparations. Churchill spoke against giving Poland control over an area in which some eight million Germans lived. Stalin insisted that the Germans had all fled and that the Poles were needed to fill the vacuum. On July 24, the Polish communist delegation arrived in Berlin, insisting on the Oder and western Neisse rivers as

5031-565: The PKP system meant that Poland was an attractive destination for rail enthusiasts long after steam had ended on Britain’s railways. The last PKP steam shed in Wolsztyn has remained in operation as a result of this tourism and continues to operate regular steam hauled services. PKP Intercity is a semi-independent division of PKP that operates long-distance passenger trains in Poland. It was founded in 2001 when, in preparation for separation between infrastructure management and transport operations,

5148-428: The Polish "Bureau for Repatriation" (PUR) was disbanded; all further resettlement from Poland to Germany was carried out in a non-forcible and peaceful manner by the Polish state travel agency Orbis. According to the Polish census of 1946, there were still 2,036,400 Germans in the " Recovered Territories ", 251,900 in the pre-war Polish territories (primarily eastern Upper Silesia , Pomerelia and Greater Poland ) and

5265-539: The Polish State Railways were reorganized into a number of independent operating companies under the unified direction of the PKP Group . PKP Intercity operates all InterCity trains in Poland as well as most of the country's EuroCity services throughout Europe. Although competition is rising in the long-distance rail travel market in Poland, PKP Intercity still holds a de facto monopoly in the industry, as its current market share represents almost 100% of

5382-405: The Polish administration had set up a State Repatriation Office ( Państwowy Urząd Repatriacyjny, PUR ), the bureau and its administrative subunits proved ineffective due to quarrels between Communists and opposition and a lack of equipment for the giant task of expelling Germans and resettling Poles in an area devastated by war. Furthermore, rivalry occurred between the Soviet occupation forces and

5499-430: The Polish economy were retained; virtually all had left by 1960. Some 500,000 Germans in Poland, East Prussia, and Silesia were employed as forced labor in communist-administered camps prior to being expelled from Poland. Besides large camps, some of which were re-used German concentration camps , numerous other forced labour, punitive and internment camps, urban ghettos, and detention centres sometimes consisting only of

5616-437: The Polish post-war census of December 1950, data about the pre-war places of residence of the inhabitants as of August 1939 was collected. In case of children born between September 1939 and December 1950, their place of residence was reported based on the pre-war places of residence of their mothers. Thanks to this data it is possible to reconstruct the pre-war geographical origin of the post-war population. Many areas located near

5733-421: The Potsdam Conference ("wild expulsions"), to ensure the later integration into an ethnically homogeneous Poland as envisioned by the Polish communists. Between seven hundred and eight hundred thousand Germans were affected. Contrary to the official declaration that the former German inhabitants of the so-called Recovered Territories had to be removed quickly to house Poles displaced by the Soviet annexation,

5850-600: The Potsdam Conference, Poland was officially in charge of the territories east of the Oder–Neisse line. Despite the fact that article 12 of the Potsdam agreement from August 2, 1945, stated that "population transfer" should be performed in ordered and humane manner, and should not commence until after the creation of an expulsion plan approved by the Allied Control Council, the expulsions continued without rules and were associated with many criminal acts. While

5967-485: The Soviet Union. Due to the Red Army's rapid advance into Germany proper, the railway lines of Silesia, Farther Pomerania, and East Prussia largely remained intact, so that operations could be resumed. However, on many lines, the second track was removed and transported into the Soviet Union as war reparations. Because the Polish did have enough personnel, Germans continued their work, to be deported only in 1946. Renaming

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6084-549: The Soviet Zone from Poland in 1947. An unknown number remained; a small German minority continues to reside in Upper Silesia and Masuria. The regions were typically evacuated of its population village by village. On short notice, Germans were ordered to assemble in the local market square to march on to a relocation camp (obozy tranzytowe), allowed to take with them as much as they could carry. Deportation of Germans

6201-539: The Soviets, reparations were more important than boundaries, and Stalin might have given up on the Poles if they had not so vociferously protested when, in spite of his 'illness', he consulted with them during the evening of July 29. With German communities living within the pre-war borders of Poland, there was an expressed fear of disloyalty of Germans in Eastern Upper Silesia and Pomerelia , based on wartime German activities. As Germany invaded Poland,

6318-500: The USSR. The Soviet Union transferred former German territories in the east of the Oder–Neisse line to Poland in July 1945. In mid-1945, 4.5 to 4.6 million Germans remained on the territories that were given under Polish control pending a final peace conference with Germany, which eventually never took place. Early expulsions in Poland were undertaken by the Soviet-backed communist military authorities in Poland even before

6435-815: The USSR. Data from the Russian archives published in 2001, based on an actual enumeration, put the number of German civilians deported from Poland to the USSR in early 1945 for reparation labor at 155,262 where 37% (57,586) died. However, the West German Red Cross estimated in 1964 that 233,000 German civilians were deported to the USSR from Poland as forced laborers where 45% (105,000) were dead or missing. The West German Red Cross also estimated 110,000 German civilians were held as forced labor in Kaliningrad Oblast where 50,000 were dead or missing. The Soviets also deported from Poland 7,448 Poles of

6552-501: The Upper Silesian voivode declared the fulfillment of only one of these requirements to be sufficient. In Masuria, a Polish last name or a Polish-speaking ancestor was sufficient. On the other hand, in areas like Lower Silesia and the province of Pomerania , verification was handled much more strictly. Of the 1,104,134 "verified autochthons" in the census of 1950, close to 900,000 were natives of Upper Silesia and Masuria. To

6669-785: The Vistula River and the tunnel on the Warsaw Cross-City Line were destroyed. At the beginning of 1945, the Ministry of Transport was created, as well as the Regional Directorate of National Railways. Many pre-war locomotives were sent to the Soviet Union. Poland received many German locomotives as a compensation for war losses. In June, the rail connection with Warsaw was opened, using a temporary railway station made of warehouses. On 15 September 1945, PKP took over management of all railway lines on former German, now Polish Western and Northeastern land from

6786-715: The West. The final decision to move Poland's boundary westward, preconditioning the expulsion of Germans, was made by Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States at the Yalta Conference in February 1945, when the Curzon line was irrevocably fixed as the future Polish-Soviet border. The precise location of the Polish western border was left open and, though basically the Allies had agreed on population transfers,

6903-594: The area of post-war Poland fled or were evacuated before the arrival of Polish authorities. After the Red Army had advanced into the eastern parts of post-war Poland in the Lublin–Brest Offensive , launched on 18 July 1944, Soviet spearheads first reached eastern German territory on 4 August 1944 at northeastern East Prussia and Memelland , causing a first wave of refugees . With the Soviet Vistula–Oder Offensive , launched on 12 January 1945, and

7020-472: The area settled with some 3.5 million ethnic Poles; 2.5 million of them were already re-settled by summer. Germans were defined as either Reichsdeutsche or Volksdeutsche, resembling the 1st or 2nd category in the Nazis' Volksliste . People who had signed a lower category were allowed to apply for "verification", which was to determine whether they would be granted Polish citizenship as "autochthons". Before June 1, 1945, some 400,000 Germans managed to cross

7137-461: The areas east of the Oder–Neisse line before Soviet and the attached Polish Army took control of the region. Refugee treks and ships which came into reach of the advancing Soviets suffered high casualties when targeted by low-flying aircraft, torpedoes, or were rolled over by tanks. The most infamous incidents during the flight and expulsion from the territory of later Poland include the sinking of

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7254-570: The brutal treatment of the Germans and engaged in their protection. According to the West German Schieder commission of 1953, the civilian death toll was 2 million. However, in 1974 the German Federal Archives estimated a death toll of about 400,000 (including the victims of those deported from Kaliningrad ). German settlement in the former eastern territories of Germany and pre-war Poland dates back to

7371-401: The company reported an 18.2% of market share in terms of total number of served passengers in the country. PKP Intercity came into existence as a result of a major restructuring of the state-owned Polish railway operator Polskie Koleje Państwowe which, in 2001, was divided up into several different companies that were operated as independent entities on a commercial basis. This restructuring

7488-556: The country, scheduling train timetables, and management of railway property, such as lines and stations. In 2024 PKP owns 16.54% of this company's shares. A company responsible for supplying Polish railroad operators with electric energy. PKP Energetyka was founded after dividing PKP into a group of several dozen independent companies to meet European Union Standards. PKP Group sold PKP Energetyka to CVC Capital Partners in 2015, which in turn sold it to PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna in 2022. PKP Intercity PKP Intercity

7605-525: The country; in 2007, PKP Intercity transported 11.6 million passengers, up by almost one million from 10.7 million passengers in 2006. By 2007, it was drawing up plans to purchase new locomotives and to further upgrade existing rolling stock. In May 2011, PKP Intercity awarded a contract valued at €665 million to the French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom covering the manufacture and supply of 20 ED250 New Pendolino high speed trains. It additionally covered

7722-534: The creation of a Greater Germany , which was to be built by means of removing a variety of non-Germans from Poland and other areas in Central and Eastern Europe, mainly Slavs and Jews believed by Nazis to be subhuman . These non-Germans were targeted for slave labor and eventual extermination . While Generalplan Ost's settlement ambitions did not come into full effect due to the war's turn, millions of Germans mostly from Central and Eastern Europe were settled by

7839-638: The east (today mainly parts of Ukraine , Belarus and Lithuania ) settled in large numbers everywhere in the Recovered Territories (but many of them also settled in central Poland). During the war the population of the annexed areas of Poland was classified by the Nazis in different categories according to their "Germanness" in the Deutsche Volksliste . While most of the Volksdeutsche population of pre-war Poland fled or

7956-714: The eastern territories was composed of both spontaneous flight and organized evacuation, starting in the summer of 1944 and continuing through the early spring of 1945. Conditions turned chaotic in the winter, when miles-long queues of refugees pushed their carts through the snow trying to stay ahead of the Red Army. From the Baltic coast , thousands were evacuated by ship in Operation Hannibal . Since February 11, refugees were shipped not only to German ports, but also to German occupied Denmark , based on an order issued by Hitler on 4 February. Of 1,180 ships participating in

8073-413: The evacuation plans was delayed until Soviet and Allied forces had defeated the German forces and advanced into the areas to be evacuated. The responsibility for leaving millions of Germans in these vulnerable areas until combat conditions overwhelmed them can be attributed directly to the draconian measures taken by the German authorities against anyone even suspected of 'defeatist' attitudes [as evacuation

8190-567: The evacuation, 135 were lost due to bombs, mines, and torpedoes, an estimated 20,000 died. Between 23 January 1945 and the end of the war, 2,204,477 people, 1,335,585 of them civilians, were transported via the Baltic Sea, up to 250,000 of them to occupied Denmark. Most of the evacuation efforts commenced in January 1945, when Soviet forces were already at the eastern border of Germany. About six million Germans had fled or were evacuated from

8307-402: The expulsion of Germans: "We must expel all the Germans because countries are built on national lines and not on multi-national ones" was demanded by participants of a Plenum of the Central Committee of the Polish Workers Party on May 20–21, 1945. On the same Plenum, the head of the Central Committee, Władysław Gomułka, ordered: "There has to be a border patrol at the border [Oder-Neisse line] and

8424-438: The extent remained questioned. Concerning the post-war western frontier of Poland, the agreement simply read: " If a specific problem such as the frontiers of liberated Poland and the complexion of its government allowed no easy solution, hopes were held out for the future discussion of all outstanding problems in an amicable manner. " Upon gaining control of these lands, the Soviet and Polish-Communist authorities started to expel

8541-480: The fall of communism and the economic changes of 1989 traffic on the line has much diminished. At present various schemes are being tried to increase its profitability. This line runs as a single-track line for almost 400 km, from the Polish- Ukrainian border crossing just east of Hrubieszów to Sławków Południowy (near Katowice ). It is used only for freight traffic, mainly iron ore and coal. It

8658-580: The families of the retained or the parts thereof remaining with them. About 250,000 had been issued East German passports in the 1950s, ending their former statelessness. Many were concentrated in the areas of Wrocław (former Breslau) Wałbrzych (former Waldenburg), and Legnica (former Liegnitz), all in Lower Silesia, and in Koszalin (former Köslin) in Pomerania. How many actually left

8775-508: The fighting in their homelands ended. Before June 1, 1945, some 400,000 crossed back over the Oder and Neisse rivers eastward, before Soviet and Polish communist authorities closed the river crossings; another 800,000 entered Silesia from Czechoslovakia. The Polish courier Jan Karski warned US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt of the possibility of Polish reprisals, describing them as "unavoidable" and "an encouragement for all

8892-411: The following train categories: Flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland during and after World War II The flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland was the largest of a series of flights and expulsions of Germans in Europe during and after World War II . The German population fled or was expelled from all regions which are currently within the territorial boundaries of Poland: including

9009-430: The frontier, and they vehemently argued their case before the foreign ministers, Churchill, and Truman, in turn. The next day Churchill warned Stalin: "The Poles are driving the Germans out of the Russian zone. That should not be done without considering its effect on the food supply and reparations. We are getting into a position where the Poles have food and coal, and we have the mass of (the) population thrown at us." To

9126-565: The guards, who insisted the internees should speak Polish, even if they were Germans born in German-speaking Silesia or Pomerania." Among the interned were also German POWs . Up to 10% of the 700,000 to 800,000 POWs of the respective battlegrounds were handed over to the Poles by the Soviet military for the use of their work force. POW labor was employed on the reconstruction of Warsaw and revival of industrial, agricultural and other productive enterprises Their number in 1946

9243-401: The internment "resulted in numerous deaths, which cannot be accurately determined because of lack of statistics or falsification . Periodically, they could be 10% of inmates. Those interned are estimated at 200-250,000 Germans and the local population, and deaths might range from 15,000 to 60,000 persons." Norman Naimark cited Zygmunt Woźniczka as maintaining "that the death toll in all camps

9360-416: The invasion of Poland. Created on order of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler , a Nazi ethnic German organisation called Selbstschutz carried out mass murder during Intelligenzaktion alongside operational groups of German military and police. In addition, the German minority engaged in such activities as identifying Poles for execution and illegally detaining them. To Poles, moving Germans out of Poland

9477-560: The lands initially faced a severe population shortage. By early 1946, 932,000 people had been "verified" as having Polish nationality. In the February 1946 census, 2,288,000 persons were listed as Germans and 417,400 became subject to verification aiming at the establishment of nationality. From the spring of 1946 the expulsions gradually became better organised, affecting the remaining German population. By 1950, 3,155,000 German civilians had been expelled and 1,043,550 were naturalised as Polish citizens. Germans considered "indispensable" for

9594-529: The last moment before the German attack on the Soviet Union in 1941, cargo trains transported goods from the Soviet Union to Germany. The beginning of German attacks on the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941 resulted in the possession of railway and rolling stock by the Ostbahn and the possession of PKP rolling stock with broad gauge track and reconstruction to standard gauge. The beginning of organized sabotage by

9711-464: The local German Nazi authorities headed by gauleiter Karl Hanke . The Polish historians Witold Sienkiewicz and Grzegorz Hryciuk maintain that civilian deaths in the flight and evacuation were "between 600,000 and 1.2 million. The main causes of death were cold, stress, and bombing". The Nazi German Ministry for Inner Affairs passed a decree on 14 March 1945 allowing abortion to women raped by Soviet soldiers. Many refugees tried to return home when

9828-562: The medieval Ostsiedlung . Nazi Germany used the presence and the alleged persecution of Volksdeutsche as propaganda tools in preparation for the invasion of Poland in 1939. With the invasion, Poland was partitioned between Germany and the Soviet Union according to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact . This was followed by population exchanges, and included Baltic Germans who were settled to occupied Poland. The Nazis' Generalplan Ost strategy for Central and Eastern Europe envisioned

9945-454: The mid-to-late communist era, the state of the Polish railways deteriorated to a large extent. Once a large and profitable network, the systemic lack of funding and failure to acquire new rolling stock left PKP far behind the railway operators of Western Europe in terms of technical advances and passenger comfort. In addition to this, the poor state of many rail lines throughout the country led to ever-increasing journey times for passengers, and as

10062-524: The military transport ship Wilhelm Gustloff by a Soviet submarine with a death toll of some 9,000 people; the USAF bombing of refugee-crowded Swinemünde on 12 March 1945 killing an estimated 23,000 to 25,000; the desperate conditions under which refugees crossed the frozen Vistula Lagoon , where thousands broke in, froze to death, or were killed by Soviet aircraft; and the poorly organized evacuation and ultimate sacrifice of refugee-crowded Breslau by

10179-484: The newly installed Polish administration, a phenomenon dubbed dwuwladza (double administration). The Soviets kept trains and German workmen regardless of the Polish ambitions and plans. There was a simultaneous unorganized resettling of displaced and homeless Poles. Polish settlers, who themselves had been expelled from areas east of the Curzon Line, arrived with about nothing, putting an even higher pressure on

10296-572: The overall shortages. The "organized transfer" as agreed at the Potsdam Conference began in early 1946. Conditions for expellees improved, yet due to the lack of heating facilities, the cold winters of both 1945/46 and 1946/47 continued to claim many lives. On September 13, 1946 President Bierut signed a decree on "the exclusion of persons of German nationality from the Polish National Community" The major evictions were completed in 1946, although another 500,000 Germans arrived in

10413-414: The overhead wire, which are separated by a switch. As is common with DC systems, the negative pole is grounded. Halfway between two substations, there is a switch, which can be used to connect the overhead wires together. At some lines, a three-phase AC line operated with 6 kV, 15 kV or 20 kV runs parallel to the railway line , either on the poles of the overhead wire or on separate poles. It

10530-724: The parallel East Prussian Offensive launched on 13 January 1945, Soviet gains of pre-war German and annexed Polish territory became permanent. With the subsequent East Pomeranian , Lower Silesian and Upper Silesian Offensives in February and March, the Red Army seized control of virtually all territories east of the Oder river. Wehrmacht counter-offensives like Operation Solstice and Operation Gemse were repelled, and only shrinking pockets like Breslau , Danzig , Heiligenbeil , Hela , Kolberg , Königsberg , and Pillau remained German controlled. Soviet soldiers committed reprisal rapes and other crimes In most cases, implementation of

10647-626: The pre-war German border were resettled by people from neighbouring borderland areas of pre-war Poland. For example, Kashubians from the pre-war Polish Corridor settled in nearby areas of German Pomerania adjacent to Polish Pomerania . People from the Poznań region of pre-war Poland settled in East Brandenburg . People from East Upper Silesia moved into the rest of Silesia. And people from Masovia and from Sudovia moved into adjacent Masuria. Poles expelled from former Polish territories in

10764-445: The provision of all maintenance activities for up to 17 years and the construction of a new maintenance depot. These trainsets, each comprising seven cars, were built to PKP Intercity's individual specifications; whilst capable of attaining a maximum speed of 250 km/h, carrying up to 402 passengers, and incorporating various noise minimisation measures, they intentionally excluded the optional tilting mechanism . On 17 November 2013,

10881-462: The railways in Upper Silesia in 1922. That same year, a decision was made to divide railways in Poland into nine administrative districts. An economic crisis in the 1930s forced the state to cut back its budget for railway investment. Profit decreased by 50% compared to 1929. The next year, over 23,000 PKP employees had been dismissed and protests and strikes causes authorities to try to find

10998-542: The range of services provided by PKP Intercity has expanded; in 2005, PKP Intercity launched the TLK (Lowcost Trains) brand, an alternative service level aimed at less affluent passengers. In 2006, PKP Intercity inaugurated its first modern Customer Service Centre at Warsaw Central station; one year later, the second such facility was opened in Poznan. By the late 2000s, it operated the largest segment of passenger rail services in

11115-418: The relevant Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI). They are operated on existing conventional lines between major city groups such as Warsaw-Gdansk-Gdynia, Warsaw-Krakow, and Warsaw-Katowice, delivering significantly shortened journey times over traditional rolling stock, traversing the route between Warsaw and Gdansk in two and a half hours. In the 2020/21 timetable, ED250 routinely operated at

11232-470: The remaining Germans to leave. For the Germans, the Potsdam Agreement eased conditions only in one way - because now the Poles were more confident in keeping the former eastern territories of Germany, the expulsions were performed with less haste, which meant the Germans were duly informed about their expulsions earlier and were allowed to carry some luggage. Another problem the Germans and, to

11349-483: The rise of private operators and large-scale investment in infrastructure, in many cases aided by European Union funding, as well as new rolling stock is slowly enticing people back onto the railways. On 14 December 2014 PKP Intercity Pendolino trains began operating on the CMK line (224 km line from Kraków and Katowice to Warsaw) with trains reaching 200 km/h (124 mph) as a regularly scheduled operation. There

11466-466: The segment. PKP Intercity's trains currently (2015) operate under the following brands: PKP Cargo ( WSE :  PKP ), founded in 2001 so as to satisfy a European Court ruling on the required restructuring of the Polish State Railways prior to joining the EU, is the PKP group company responsible for freight transport operations. It is currently the largest railway cargo carrier in Poland, and second-largest in

11583-405: The station names took quite some time, often causing confusion because the decreed Polish names were once again changed. Maps of the Polish railroad network still reflect in the borders drawn in 1945, because in the lands annexed in 1945, railroad lines are relatively dense. In the former territory of Congress Poland, however, only a few main lines existed had been built in the 19th century. During

11700-575: The successful completion of the section from southern to central Poland, the planned extension to Gdańsk and the country's Baltic ports was never realised, and this significantly curtailed both the usefulness and potential of the line. Since Poland's return to democracy in the early 1990s, the Polish State Railways have faced ever-increasing competition from private automotive transport and the country's rapidly expanding network of motorways and express roads . However, ever-decreasing journey times, better schedules which allow for well-coordinated connections,

11817-558: The summer of 1944 and continuing through to the spring of 1945. Overall about 1% (100,000) of the German civilian population east of the Oder–Neisse line perished in the fighting prior to the surrender in May 1945. In 1945, the eastern territories of Germany as well as Polish areas annexed by Germany were occupied by the Soviet Red Army and communist Polish military forces . German civilians were also sent as "reparation labor" to

11934-556: The victory over the Red Army in the Polish-Bolshevik War (1920), a great deal of damage in railway structure was discovered on the route along which the communists were retreating. At the same time, the tense relations with Lithuania led the railways around Vilnius and Minsk to a partial disintegration and stagnation. The Libau–Romny Railway was not recovered. The Polish railways administration finally took over

12051-541: The war went on, Lower Silesia also became a Polish war aim, as well as occupation of the Baltic coast west of Szczecin as far as Rostock and occupation of the Kiel Canal . Expulsions of Germans from East Prussia and pre-war Poland had become a war aim as early as in February 1940, expressed by Polish Foreign Minister August Zaleski . After Sikorski's death, the next Polish Prime Minister Stanisław Mikołajczyk in

12168-535: The war). Research by the West German government put the figure of Germans emigrating from Poland from 1951 to 1982 at 894,000; they are also considered expellees under German Federal Expellee Law . The German population east of Oder-Neisse was estimated at over 11 million in early 1945. The first mass flight of Germans followed the Red Army 's advance and was composed of both spontaneous flight driven by Soviet atrocities , and organised evacuation starting in

12285-480: The war. Numbers of how many were offered to stay in Poland as Poles and eventually did are not available, but it is assumed that the vast majority had rather opted and left for Germany by 1960. Those of mixed descent from within or without the borders of pre-war Poland were also allowed to stay on the premise of Polonization, yet likewise no comprehensive data exist. Some Germans were exempted from expulsion and retained because of their professional skills, if no Pole

12402-599: The war. A similar fate occurred to the Czech speaking residents of the Czech Corner in Kladsko Land who were transferred to Czechoslovakia . The word "autochthon", introduced by the Polish government in 1945 for propaganda purposes, is today sometimes considered an offensive remark and direct naming as Kashubians, Silesians, Slovincians, and Masurians is preferred to avoid offending the people described. During

12519-600: The west of Cassubia in the area of Slovincian settlement, some residents were expelled along with the German population, but some remained. In the 1950s, mainly in the village of Kluki (formerly Klucken), a few elderly people still remembered fragments of Slovincian. Some non-German residents of the Recovered Territories and the Kaliningrad Oblast who were not of Slavic descent, such as the Lietuvininkai and Kursenieki were also expelled to Germany after

12636-613: Was 40,000 according to the Polish administration, of whom 30,000 were used as miners in the Upper Silesian coal industries. 7,500 Germans accused of crimes against Poles were handed over to Poland by the Western Allies in 1946 and 1947. A number of German war criminals were imprisoned in Polish jails, at least 8,000 remained in jail in 1949, many of them also being POWs. (see also Supreme National Tribunal ) Some Nazi criminals were executed ( Category:Nazis executed in Poland ), some died in prisons ( Erich Koch in 1986), Johann Kremer

12753-491: Was aimed at separating railway operating activities from the management of Poland's railway infrastructure. PKP Intercity is a subsidiary of PKP Group, a state-owned holding company for various other railway-orientated subsidiaries. PKP Intercity introduced a new standard of service in the Polish rail sector. Certain trains operated under the InterCity brand offer onboard snacks and most feature air conditioning . Over time,

12870-420: Was at hand to replace them. These Germans were treated as second class citizens, especially regarding salary and food supply. So-called "abandoned wives", whose husbands found themselves in post-war Germany and were not able to return, were compelled to "seek divorce" and were not allowed to leave for Germany before 1950–52. The other ones retained were not allowed to leave before 1956; these measures also included

12987-441: Was between twenty and fifty percent of the inmates." Zayas states that "in many internment camps no relief from outside was permitted. In some camps relatives would bring packages and deliver them to the Polish guards, who regularly plundered the contents and delivered only the remains, if any. Frequently, these relatives were so ill-treated that they never returned. Internees who came to claim their packages were also mistreated by

13104-847: Was by trains to the west that in reverse direction brought Polish displaced persons such as former forced laborers. Trains were sealed to prevent flight of the deported and often took days or even weeks, during which many of the old and young people died. The condition of the deported as they arrived in the British occupation zone impelled the British to raise a formal protest on April 11, 1946. Close to three million residents of Upper Silesia ( Silesians ), Masuria ( Masurs ) and Pomerania ( Slovincians , Kashubians ) were considered of Slavic descent but many of them did not identify with Polish nationality, were either bilingual or spoke German only. The Polish government declared these so-called "Autochthons" to be Germanized Poles, who would be re-Polonized and serve as

13221-452: Was considered] and the fanaticism of many Nazi functionaries in their execution of Hitler's 'no retreat' orders. Hitler and his staff refused to accept Soviet military superiority. Hitler called the Red Army "gleaned punks" and "booty divisions", who were not able to win decisive battles. Himmler called the preparation of the early 1945 Soviet offensive "the biggest bluff since Dshingis Khan". The first mass movement of German civilians in

13338-455: Was expelled, some were rehabilitated and offered their pre-war Polish citizenship back. While those who had signed Volksliste category "I" were expelled, rehabilitation was offered to people who had been subject to forced labour before, spoke Polish and were rated as not constituting a threat. Once granted Polish citizenship, they were encouraged to Polonize their names, or to restore their original Polish names if they had been Germanized during

13455-466: Was released in 1958 and returned to Germany. In 1945, the territories east of the Oder-Neisse line ( Silesia , most of Pomerania , East Brandenburg and East Prussia) were occupied by Soviet and Soviet-controlled Polish military forces. Polish militia and military started expulsions before the Potsdam Conference, referred to as "wild expulsions" (German: Wilde Vertreibungen ), affecting between 700,000 and 800,000 Germans. The Polish communists ordered

13572-674: Was seen as an attempt to avoid such events in the future and, as a result, the Polish government in exile proposed a population transfer of Germans as early as 1941. During World War II, expulsions were initiated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland. The Germans deported 2.478 million Polish citizens from the Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany , murdered 1.8 to 2.77 million ethnic Poles, another 2.7 to 3 million Polish Jews and resettled 1.3 million ethnic Germans in their place. Around 500,000 Germans were stationed in Poland as part of its occupation force; these consisted of people such as clerks, technicians and support staff. Representatives of

13689-451: Was tried by the Polish authorities in 1959 for his wanton brutality, he stated his only goal was to exact revenge for his own treatment during the war. The German Federal Archives estimated in 1974 that more than 200,000 German civilians were interned in Polish camps, they put the death rate at 20-50% and estimated that more than likely over 60,000 persons perished . The Polish historians Witold Sienkiewicz and Grzegorz Hryciuk maintain that

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