122-600: The Wehrmachtbefehlshaber ( lit. ' Military Commander ' ) was the German chief military position in countries occupied by the Wehrmacht which were headed by a civilian administration. The main responsibilities of this position were military security in the area and command of the defense in case of attack or invasion. The Wehrmachtbefehlshaber also had a judicial function, as he served as judge in German military courts. He had no control over Army units, but
244-804: A joint campaign with the Italian Army , and may be considered a separate theatre . More than 6,000,000 soldiers were wounded during the conflict, while more than 11,000,000 became prisoners. In all, approximately 5,318,000 soldiers from Germany and other nationalities fighting for the German armed forces—including the Waffen-SS , Volkssturm and foreign collaborationist units—are estimated to have been killed in action, died of wounds, died in custody or gone missing in World War II. Included in this number are 215,000 Soviet citizens conscripted by Germany. According to Frank Biess, German casualties took
366-473: A cemetery shrine was turned to stable by German soldiers. In 1938, all Jews in Kolberg, as all over Germany, were renamed in official German documents as "Israel" (for males) or "Sarah" (for females). In the beginning of 1939, Jews were banned from attending German schools and the entire adult population had its driving licenses revoked. After years of discrimination and harassment, local Jews were deported by
488-536: A clandestine cadre of air force officers in the early 1920s. These officers saw the role of an air force as winning air superiority, strategic bombing, and close air support. That the Luftwaffe did not develop a strategic bombing force in the 1930s was not due to a lack of interest, but because of economic limitations. The leadership of the Navy led by Grand Admiral Erich Raeder , a close protégé of Alfred von Tirpitz ,
610-424: A collection of rare and common measurement tools, as well as specific measures of the workshop. The local museum is also moored at the port of ORP Fala patrol ship, built in 1964, after leaving the service transformed into a museum. Kołobrzeg has connections among others to Szczecin , "Solidarity" Szczecin–Goleniów Airport , Gdańsk , Poznań , Warsaw , Kraków and Lublin . A seasonal ferry service to Nexø on
732-516: A popular spa town at the Baltic Sea. In 1945, Polish and Soviet troops captured the town. Kołobrzeg, now part of post-war Poland and devastated in the preceding battle , was rebuilt, but lost its status as the regional center to the nearby city of Koszalin . "Kołobrzeg" means "by the shore" in Polish; "koło" translates as "by" and "brzeg" means "coast" or "shore". Kashubian : Kòłobrzeg has
854-639: A result of the fragmentation of Poland, the Duchy of Pomerania became independent, before the dukes became vassals of Denmark in 1185 and the Holy Roman Empire in 1227. Besides St. Mary's, a St. John's church and a St. Petri's chapel were built. A painting of the town of Kołobrzeg from the 13th century is located in the Museum of Polish Arms in the city. During the Ostsiedlung , a settlement
976-526: A settlement at the site of modern-day Budzistowo . In 1000, when the city was part of Poland, it became the seat of the Diocese of Kołobrzeg , one of five oldest Polish dioceses. During the High Middle Ages , the town was expanded with an additional settlement inhabited by German settlers a few kilometers north of the stronghold and chartered with Lübeck law , which settlement eventually superseded
1098-436: A similar etymology. The original name of Cholberg was taken by Polish and Kashubian linguists in the 19th and 20th centuries to reconstruct the name. After German settlement, the original name of Cholberg evolved into German: Kolberg ( [ˈkɔlbɛʁk] ). According to Piskorski (1999) and Kempke (2001), Slavic and Lechitic immigration reached Farther Pomerania in the 7th century. First Slavic settlements in
1220-408: A single Joint Chief of Staff, Hitler refused. Even after the defeat at Stalingrad, Hitler refused, stating that Göring as Reichsmarschall and Hitler's deputy, would not submit to someone else or see himself as an equal to other service commanders. However, a more likely reason was Hitler feared it would break his image of having the "Midas touch" concerning military strategy. With the creation of
1342-764: A sudden jump with the defeat of the Sixth Army at Stalingrad in January 1943, when 180,310 soldiers were killed in one month. Among the 5.3 million Wehrmacht casualties during the Second World War, more than 80 per cent died during the last two years of the war. Approximately three-quarters of these losses occurred on the Eastern front (2.7 million) and during the final stages of the war between January and May 1945 (1.2 million). Jeffrey Herf wrote that: Whereas German deaths between 1941 and 1943 on
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#17327830272711464-604: A time frame of 10 years for remilitarization, but soon shortened it to four years. With the remilitarization of the Rhineland and the Anschluss , the German Reich's territory increased significantly, providing a larger population pool for conscription. Recruitment for the Wehrmacht was accomplished through voluntary enlistment and conscription, with 1.3 million being drafted and 2.4 million volunteering in
1586-754: A tutor at the Staatliches Bauhaus , visited Kolberg repeatedly and painted the cathedral and environs of the town. In the May elections of 1933, the Nazi Party received by far the most votes, 9,842 out of 19,607 cast votes. When the Nazis took power in Germany in 1933, the Jewish community in Kolberg comprised 200 people, and the antisemitic repression by Germany's ruling party led several of them to flee
1708-464: Is a popular tourist destination for Poles, Germans and due to the ferry connection to Bornholm also Danish people. It provides a unique combination of a seaside resort , health resort, an old town full of historic monuments and tourist entertainment options (e.g. numerous "beer gardens"). The town is part of the European Route of Brick Gothic network. A bike path "to Podczele", located along
1830-767: Is a port and spa city in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in north-western Poland with about 47,000 inhabitants (as of 2014 ). Kołobrzeg is located on the Parsęta River on the south coast of the Baltic Sea (in the middle of the section divided by the Oder and Vistula Rivers). It is the capital of Kołobrzeg County . During the Early Middle Ages , the Pomeranian tribes established
1952-433: Is this certain nor have archaeological efforts been able to locate traces thereof. In the 12th-century Polish chronicle Gesta principum Polonorum Kołobrzeg was named a significant and famous city . During the subsequent Christianization of the area by Otto of Bamberg at the behest of Bolesław, a St. Mary's church was built. This marked the first beginnings of German influence in the area. After Bolesław's death, as
2074-684: The General von Steuben , which had been sunk by Soviet submarine S-13 to Kolberg. As the Red Army advanced on Kolberg, most of the inhabitants and tens of thousands of refugees from surrounding areas (about 70,000 were trapped in the Kolberg Pocket ), as well as 40,000 German soldiers, were evacuated from the besieged city by German naval forces in Operation Hannibal . Only about two thousand soldiers were left on 17 March to cover
2196-706: The Polnische Wehrmacht ('Polish Wehrmacht', 'Polish Defense Force') in German. In January 1919, after World War I ended with the signing of the armistice of 11 November 1918 , the armed forces were dubbed Friedensheer (peace army). In March 1919, the national assembly passed a law founding a 420,000-strong preliminary army, the Vorläufige Reichswehr . The terms of the Treaty of Versailles were announced in May, and in June, Germany signed
2318-525: The Reichswehr , was established on 23 March 1921. General conscription was abolished under another mandate of the Versailles treaty. The Reichswehr was limited to 115,000 men, and thus the armed forces, under the leadership of Hans von Seeckt , retained only the most capable officers. The American historians Alan Millet and Williamson Murray wrote "In reducing the officers corps, Seeckt chose
2440-623: The SS and their Einsatzgruppen death squads, the German armed forces committed numerous war crimes (despite later denials and promotion of the myth of the clean Wehrmacht ). The majority of the war crimes took place in the Soviet Union, Poland, Yugoslavia, Greece, and Italy, as part of the war of annihilation against the Soviet Union, the Holocaust and Nazi security warfare . During World War II about 18 million men served in
2562-693: The Battle of Moscow , the Siege of Leningrad , Stalingrad , Tunis in North Africa , and the Battle of Kursk . The German Army was managed through mission-based tactics (rather than order-based tactics) which was intended to give commanders greater freedom to act on events and exploit opportunities. In public opinion, the German Army was, and sometimes still is, seen as a high-tech army. However, such modern equipment, while featured much in propaganda,
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#17327830272712684-700: The German occupation of the Channel Islands , command was given to the Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Kanalinseln . Following the German occupation of Denmark , on 9 April 1940, the post of Befehlshaber der Deutsches Truppen des Heeres in Dänemark was created, with Leonhard Kaupisch initially holding the position. The Befehlshaber 's task was to provide military security for Denmark and to prevent hostile landings. Following
2806-515: The Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bomber. The planes cooperated closely with the ground forces. Overwhelming numbers of fighters assured air-supremacy, and the bombers would attack command- and supply-lines, depots, and other support targets close to the front. The Luftwaffe would also be used to transport paratroopers, as first used during Operation Weserübung . Due to the Army's sway with Hitler,
2928-465: The Kammin bishops and the Pomeranian dukes had interchanged the terrae Stargard and Kolberg, leaving the bishops in charge of the latter. When in 1276 they became the souvereign of the town also, they moved their residence there, while the administration of the diocese was done from nearby Köslin ( Koszalin ). In 1345, the bishops became Imperial immediate dukes in their secular reign. In 1361,
3050-479: The Luftwaffe was often subordinated to the Army, resulting in it being used as a tactical support role and losing its strategic capabilities. The Western Allies' strategic bombing campaign against German industrial targets (particularly the round-the-clock Combined Bomber Offensive ) and Germany's Defence of the Reich deliberately forced the Luftwaffe into a war of attrition. With German fighter force destroyed,
3172-546: The Nazi rise to power in 1933, one of Adolf Hitler 's most overt and bellicose moves was to establish the Wehrmacht , a modern offensively-capable armed force, fulfilling the Nazi regime's long-term goals of regaining lost territory as well as gaining new territory and dominating its neighbours. This required the reinstatement of conscription and massive investment and defence spending on the arms industry . The Wehrmacht formed
3294-762: The OKH became the de facto Eastern Theatre higher-echelon command-organization for the Wehrmacht , excluding Waffen-SS except for operational and tactical combat purposes. The OKW conducted operations in the Western Theatre. The operations by the Kriegsmarine in the North and Mid-Atlantic can also be considered as separate theatres, considering the size of the area of operations and their remoteness from other theatres. The Wehrmacht fought on other fronts, sometimes three simultaneously; redeploying troops from
3416-648: The Polish Army re-enacted Poland's Wedding to the Sea ceremony, which had been celebrated for the first time in 1920 by General Józef Haller . After the battle the city for several weeks was under Soviet administration, the Germans that had not yet fled were expelled and the city was plundered by the Soviet troops. Freed Polish forced laborers remained and were joined by Polish railwaymen from Warsaw destroyed by
3538-471: The SS and Wehrmacht , many SS officers were former army officers, which ensured continuity and understanding between the two. Throughout the war, army and SS soldiers worked together in various combat situations, creating bonds between the two groups. Guderian noted that every day the war continued the Army and the SS became closer together. Towards the end of the war, army units would even be placed under
3660-599: The SS was to be "procured from the Wehrmacht upon payment", however "in peacetime, no organizational connection with the Wehrmacht exists." The army was however allowed to check the budget of the SS and inspect the combat readiness of the SS troops. In the event of mobilization, the Waffen-SS field units could be placed under the operational control of the OKW or the OKH. All decisions regarding this would be at Hitler's personal discretion. Though there existed conflict between
3782-445: The SS were stepped up as well. Following the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943, fitness and physical health standards for Wehrmacht recruits were drastically lowered, with the regime going so far as to create "special diet" battalions for men with severe stomach ailments. Rear-echelon personnel were more often sent to front-line duty wherever possible, especially during the final two years of the war where, inspired by constant propaganda,
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3904-669: The Soviet Union , including the Caucasian Muslim Legion , Turkestan Legion , Crimean Tatars, ethnic Ukrainians and Russians, Cossacks , and others who wished to fight against the Soviet regime or who were otherwise induced to join. Between 15,000 and 20,000 anti-communist White émigrés who had left Russia after the Russian Revolution joined the ranks of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS , with 1,500 acting as interpreters and more than 10,000 serving in
4026-491: The Spanish Civil War . The effectiveness of officer training and recruitment by the Wehrmacht has been identified as a major factor in its early victories as well as its ability to keep the war going as long as it did even as the war turned against Germany. As the Second World War intensified, Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe personnel were increasingly transferred to the army, and "voluntary" enlistments in
4148-595: The Telegram Crisis and the breakdown of cooperation between the Danish government and the German occupation force, Erich Lüdke was removed from the post, and its role was expanded to Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Dänemark . The post lasted until the surrender of Germany . With the creation of the Reichskommissariat Niederlande , the post of Wehrmachtbefehlshaber in den Niederlanden
4270-692: The Treaty of Grimnitz , was part of the Province of Pomerania . It became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701. In the 18th century, trade with Poland declined, while the production of textiles was developed. In 1761, during the Seven Years' War , the town was captured after three subsequent sieges by the Russian commander Peter Rumyantsev . At the end of the war, however, Kolberg was returned to Prussia. During Napoleon 's invasion of Prussia during
4392-646: The War of the Fourth Coalition , the town was besieged from mid-March to 2 July 1807 by the Grande Armée and by insurgents from Poland against Prussian rule (a street named after General Antoni Paweł Sułkowski , who led Polish them, is located within the present-day city). As a result of forced conscription, some Poles were also among Prussian soldiers during the battle. The city's defense, led by then Lieutenant-Colonel August von Gneisenau , held out until
4514-734: The Wehrmacht . By the time the war ended in Europe in May 1945, German forces (consisting of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine , the Luftwaffe , the Waffen-SS , the Volkssturm , and foreign collaborator units ) had lost approximately 11,300,000 men, about 5,318,000 of whom were missing, killed or died in captivity. Only a few of the Wehrmacht ' s upper leadership went on trial for war crimes, despite evidence suggesting that more were involved in illegal actions. According to Ian Kershaw , most of
4636-478: The pier in Międzyzdroje . A jetty positioned on the end of the pier enables small ships to sail for sightseeing excursions. In town, there is a museum of Polish weapons ( Muzeum Oręża Polskiego ), which are presented in the collections of militaria from the early Middle Ages to the present. The palace of Braunschweig include part of museum dedicated to the history of the city. In their collections branch presents
4758-524: The " battle of annihilation ", the Wehrmacht managed many lightning quick victories in the first year of World War II, prompting foreign journalists to create a new word for what they witnessed: Blitzkrieg . Germany's immediate military success on the field at the start of the Second World War coincides the favorable beginning they achieved during the First World War, a fact which some attribute to their superior officer corps. The Heer entered
4880-695: The "German Wehrmacht ", consisting of the Seemacht (sea force) and the Landmacht (land force). In 1919, the term Wehrmacht also appears in Article 47 of the Weimar Constitution , establishing that: "The Reich's President holds supreme command of all armed forces [i.e. the Wehrmacht ] of the Reich". From 1919, Germany's national defense force was known as the Reichswehr , a name that
5002-668: The 10th century, the trade of salt and fish led to the development of the settlement into a town. During Polish rule of the area in the late 10th century, the chronicle of Thietmar of Merseburg (975–1018) mentions salsa Cholbergiensis as the see of the Bishopric of Kołobrzeg , set up during the Congress of Gniezno in 1000 and placed under the Archdiocese of Gniezno . The congress was organized by Polish duke Bolesław Chrobry and Holy Roman Emperor Otto III , and also led to
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5124-465: The 15th century the city traded with Scotland , Amsterdam and Scandinavia . Beer, salt, honey , wool and flour were exported, while merchants imported textiles from England, southern fruits, and cod liver oil . In the 16th century, the city reached 5,000 inhabitants. The indigenous Slavs in the city were discriminated, and their rights in trade and crafts were limited, with bans on performing certain types of professions and taking certain positions in
5246-482: The Armed Forces, retaining the position until his suicide on 30 April 1945. The title of Commander-in-Chief was given to the Minister of the Reichswehr Werner von Blomberg , who was simultaneously renamed the Reich Minister of War. Following the Blomberg-Fritsch Affair , Blomberg resigned and Hitler abolished the Ministry of War. As a replacement for the ministry, the Wehrmacht High Command Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW), under Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel ,
5368-418: The Army Group Rear Area staff. From 15 October 1943, this staff was subordinate to the Wehrmachtsbefehlshaber Weißruthenien as "Commanding general of security forces and commanders in White Ruthenia". Parts of the staff were used in July 1944 for the formation of the Rothkirch General Command, which was reclassified as General Command LIII Army Corps on 13 November 1944. In Reichskommissariat Ukraine
5490-470: The British. Karl Doenitz , the U-Boat Chief, began unrestricted submarine warfare which cost the Allies 22,898 men and 1,315 ships. The U-boat war remained costly for the Allies until early spring of 1943 when the Allies began to use countermeasures against U-Boats such as the use of Hunter-Killer groups, airborne radar, torpedoes and mines like the FIDO . The submarine war cost the Kriegsmarine 757 U-boats, with more than 30,000 U-boat crewmen killed. In
5612-443: The Church of Saint Marcin where masses in Polish were held (initially throughout the season, after about 1890 all the year), were established. Dating back to 1261 Kolberg's Jewish population amounted to 528 people in 1887, rising to 580 two years later, and although many moved to Berlin after that date they numbered around 500 by the end of the Nineteenth century Between 1924 and 1935, the American-German painter Lyonel Feininger ,
5734-423: The German armed forces prior to 1941. With the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the government's positions changed. German propagandists wanted to present the war not as a purely German concern, but as a multi-national crusade against the so-called Jewish Bolshevism . Hence, the Wehrmacht and the SS began to seek out recruits from occupied and neutral countries across Europe: the Germanic populations of
5856-418: The German army's early success. In the strategies of the Blitzkrieg , the Wehrmacht combined the mobility of light tanks with airborne assault to quickly progress through weak enemy lines, enabling the German army to quickly take over Poland and France. These tanks were used to break through enemy lines, isolating regiments from the main force so that the infantry behind the tanks could quickly kill or capture
5978-521: The German authorities to concentration camps in 1940. During the World War II the German state brought in numerous forced laborers to the city, among them many Poles. The city's economy was changed to military production-especially after the German invasion of the Soviet Union . The forced laborers were threatened with everyday harassment and repression; they were forbidden from using phones, holding cultural events and sports events, they could not visit restaurants or swimming pools, or have contact with
6100-468: The German colonisation of the region. The settlers received several privileges such as exemption from certain taxes and several benefits, making it difficult for the indigenous Pomeranian population to compete with Germans. Henceforth, the nearby former stronghold was turned into a village and renamed "Old Town" ( Latin : antiqua civitatae Colbergensis , German: Altstadt , Polish : Stare Miasto ), first documented in 1277 and used until 1945 when it
6222-414: The German troops on the Scandinavian Peninsula had to withdraw, there was a reorganization of the command structure. The AOK Norway was dissolved on 18 December 1944; the powers of the Wehrmachtbefehlshaber passed to commander of the 20th Mountain Army. In the Reichskommissariat Ostland the military command was controlled by the Wehrmachtsbefehlshaber Ostland . The Wehrmachtsbefehlshaber
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#17327830272716344-469: The Germans . After World War II the region became again part of Poland, under territorial changes demanded by the Soviet Union and the Soviet-installed Polish Communist regime at the Potsdam Conference . Most Germans that had not yet fled were expelled from their homes in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement . The town was resettled by Polish citizens, many of whom were themselves Polish refugees from regions east of former eastern Poland annexed by
6466-422: The Jews serving in the Reichswehr given an automatic and immediate dishonorable discharge . Again, on his own initiative Blomberg had the armed forces adopt Nazi symbols into their uniforms in May 1934. In August of the same year, on Blomberg's initiative and that of the Ministeramt chief General Walther von Reichenau , the entire military took the Hitler oath , an oath of personal loyalty to Hitler. Hitler
6588-441: The Netherlands and Norway were recruited largely into the SS , while "non-Germanic" people were recruited into the Wehrmacht . The "voluntary" nature of such recruitment was often dubious, especially in the later years of the war when even Poles living in the Polish Corridor were declared "ethnic Germans" and drafted. After Germany's defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad , the Wehrmacht also made substantial use of personnel from
6710-920: The OKW, Hitler solidified his control over the Wehrmacht . Showing restraint at the beginning of the war, Hitler also became increasingly involved in military operations at every scale. Additionally, there was a clear lack of cohesion between the three High Commands and the OKW, as senior generals were unaware of the needs, capabilities and limitations of the other branches. With Hitler serving as Supreme Commander, branch commands were often forced to fight for influence with Hitler. However, influence with Hitler not only came from rank and merit but also who Hitler perceived as loyal, leading to inter-service rivalry, rather than cohesion between his military advisers. The German Army furthered concepts pioneered during World War I , combining ground ( Heer ) and air force ( Luftwaffe ) assets into combined arms teams. Coupled with traditional war fighting methods such as encirclements and
6832-419: The Soviet Union , from where they had been displaced by Soviet authorities. In 2000 the city business council of Kołobrzeg commissioned a monument called the Millennium Memorial as a commemoration of " 1000 years of Christianity in Pomerania ", and as a tribute to Polish-German Reconciliation, celebrating the meeting of King Bolesław I of Poland and King Otto III of Germany , at the Congress of Gniezno , in
6954-436: The Western Allies had air supremacy over the battlefield, denying support to German forces on the ground and using its own fighter-bombers to attack and disrupt. Following the losses in Operation Bodenplatte in 1945, the Luftwaffe was no longer an effective force. The Treaty of Versailles disallowed submarines, while limiting the size of the Reichsmarine to six battleships, six cruisers, and twelve destroyers. Following
7076-446: The army that existed in World War I. In the 1920s, Seeckt and his officers developed new doctrines that emphasized speed, aggression, combined arms and initiative on the part of lower officers to take advantage of momentary opportunities. Though Seeckt retired in 1926, his influence on the army was still apparent when it went to war in 1939. Germany was forbidden to have an air force by the Versailles treaty; nonetheless, Seeckt created
7198-456: The before existing staffs of Kommandant der deutschen Wehrmacht auf Korsika and Kommandant der deutschen Wehrmacht auf Sardinien . With the evacuation of Sardinia in September already and the evacuation of Corsica on 3 October 1943 (entirely finished on 5 October) finally, the staff ceased to exist. Wehrmacht The Wehrmacht ( German pronunciation: [ˈveːɐ̯maxt] , lit. ' defence force ' ) were
7320-410: The beginning, there was friction between the SS and the army, as the army feared the SS would attempt to become a legitimate part of the armed forces of Nazi Germany, partly due to the fighting between the limited armaments, and the perceived fanaticism towards Nazism. However, on 17 August 1938, Hitler codified the role of the SS and the army in order to end the feud between the two. The arming of
7442-425: The breach, and the path re-opened within a year. It was also extended in 2011 to connected with Ustronie Morskie 8 km (5 mi) to the east. South of Bagicz , some 4 km (2 mi) from Kołobrzeg, there is an 806-year-old oak (2008). Dated in the year 2000 as the oldest oak in Poland , it was named Bolesław to commemorate the king Boleslaus the Brave . Kołobrzeg is also a regional cultural center. In
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#17327830272717564-407: The burgh had been unsuccessful; although the duke had fled the burgh, the Polish army was unable to break through the fortifications and the two gates. The army had however looted and burned the suburbium, which was not or only lightly fortified. The descriptions given by the contemporary chroniclers make it possible that a second, purely militarily used castle existed near the settlement, yet neither
7686-407: The city joined the Hanseatic League . In 1446 it fought a battle against the nearby rival city of Koszalin . When the property of the Bishopric of Kammin was secularized during the Protestant Reformation in 1534, their secular reign including the Kolberg area became intermediately ruled by a Lutheran titular bishop, before it was turned into a Sekundogenitur of the House of Pomerania . In
7808-435: The city, for instance in 1564 it was forbidden to admit native Slavs to the blacksmiths ' guild. During the Thirty Years' War , Kolberg was occupied by imperial forces from 1627 to 1630, and thereafter by Swedish forces . Kolberg, with most of Farther Pomerania , was granted to Brandenburg-Prussia in 1648 by the Treaty of Westphalia and, after the signing of the Treaty of Stettin (1653) , and in accordance with
7930-430: The coast of Norway, which had been occupied since 1940, convoys from North America to the Soviet port of Murmansk could be intercepted though the Tirpitz spent most of her career as fleet in being . After the appointment of Karl Dönitz as Grand Admiral of the Kriegsmarine (in the aftermath of the Battle of the Barents Sea ), Germany stopped constructing battleships and cruisers in favor of U-boats. Though by 1941,
8052-403: The command of the SS , in Italy and the Netherlands. The relationship between the Wehrmacht and the SS improved; however, the Waffen-SS was never considered "the fourth branch of the Wehrmacht ." The Wehrmacht directed combat operations during World War II (from 1 September 1939 – 8 May 1945) as the German Reich 's armed forces umbrella command-organization. After 1941
8174-414: The country. A Nazi newspaper, the Kolberger Beobachter , listed Jewish shops and business that were to be boycotted. Nazis also engaged in hate propaganda against Jewish lawyers, doctors, and craftsmen. At the end of 1935, Jews were banned from working in the city's health spas. During Kristallnacht , the Jewish synagogue and homes were destroyed, and in 1938 the local Jewish cemetery was vandalised, while
8296-418: The creation of the Wehrmacht , the navy was renamed the Kriegsmarine . With the signing of the Anglo-German Naval Agreement , Germany was allowed to increase its navy's size to be 35:100 tonnage of the Royal Navy, and allowed for the construction of U-boats. This was partly done to appease Germany, and because Britain believed the Kriegsmarine would not be able to reach the 35% limit until 1942. The navy
8418-452: The early stage of Operation Barbarossa in the Soviet Union (June 1941). After Hitler declared war on the United States in December 1941, the Axis powers found themselves engaged in campaigns against several major industrial powers while Germany was still in transition to a war economy. German units were then overextended, undersupplied, outmaneuvered, outnumbered and defeated by its enemies in decisive battles during 1941, 1942, and 1943 at
8540-467: The emporium and the stronghold were located, was one of the Pomeranians ' core settlement areas. The stronghold consisted of a fortified burgh with a suburbium. The Pomeranians mined salt in salt pans located in two downstream hills. They also engaged in fishing, and used the salt to conserve foodstuffs, primarily herring , for trade. Other important occupations were metallurgy and smithery , based on local iron ore reserves, other crafts like
8662-436: The enemy troops. Originally outlawed by the Treaty of Versailles, the Luftwaffe was officially established in 1935, under the leadership of Hermann Göring . First gaining experience in the Spanish Civil War , it was a key element in the early Blitzkrieg campaigns (Poland, France 1940, USSR 1941). The Luftwaffe concentrated production on fighters and (small) tactical bombers, like the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter and
8784-722: The establishment of bishoprics in Kraków and Wrocław , connecting the territories of the Polish state. It was an important event not only in religious, but also political dimension in the history of the early Polish state, as it unified and organized medieval Polish territories. The missionary efforts of bishop Reinbern were not successful, the Pomeranians revolted in 1005 and regained political and spiritual independence. In 1013 Bolesław Chrobry removed his troops from Pomerania in face of war with Holy Roman Emperor Henry III . The Polish–German war ended with Polish victory, which
8906-686: The guard force of the Russian Protective Corps . In the beginning, women in Nazi Germany were not involved in the Wehrmacht , as Hitler ideologically opposed conscription for women, stating that Germany would " not form any section of women grenade throwers or any corps of women elite snipers. " However, with many men going to the front, women were placed in auxiliary positions within the Wehrmacht , called Wehrmachtshelferinnen ( lit. ' Female Wehrmacht Helper ' ), participating in tasks as: They were placed under
9028-524: The heart of Germany's politico-military power. In the early part of the Second World War , the Wehrmacht employed combined arms tactics (close-cover air-support, tanks and infantry) to devastating effect in what became known as Blitzkrieg (lightning war). Its campaigns in France (1940) , the Soviet Union (1941) and North Africa (1941/42) are regarded by historians as acts of boldness. At
9150-517: The heroic Prussian defence during the Napoleonic Wars . Tremendous resources were devoted to filming this epic, even diverting tens of thousands of troops from the front lines to have them serve as extras in battle scenes. Ironically, the film was released in the final few weeks of Nazi Germany's existence, when most of the country's cinemas were already destroyed. On 10 February 1945, the German torpedo-boat T-196 brought about 300 survivors of
9272-855: The intensifying theatre in the East to the West after the Normandy landings caused tensions between the General Staffs of both the OKW and the OKH ;– as Germany lacked sufficient materiel and manpower for a two-front war of such magnitude. Major campaigns and battles in Eastern and Central Europe included: For a time, the Axis Mediterranean Theatre and the North African Campaign were conducted as
9394-476: The last sea transports. Between 4 and 18 March 1945, there were major battles between the Soviet and Polish forces and the German army. Because of a lack of anti-tank weapons, German destroyers used their guns to support the defenders of Kolberg until nearly all of the soldiers and civilians had been evacuated. During the fights, Polish soldiers' losses were 1,013 dead, 142 MIA and 2,652 wounded. On 18 March,
9516-437: The local German population. Poles were only allowed to attend a church mass once a month – and only in the German language. They also had smaller food rations than Germans, and had to wear a sign with the letter P on their clothes indicating their ethnic background. Additionally, medical help for Polish workers was limited by the authorities. Arrests and imprisonment for various offences, such as "slow pace of work" or leaving
9638-572: The military control was given to the Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Ukraine , which was created on 1 September 1941. Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Sardinien und Korsika WB Korsika was formed in September 1943 in direct succession to Wehrmachtbefehlshaber auf Sardinien und Korsika when the latter HQ was renamed officially for the last time. The combined staff for Sardinia and Corsica was created before in summer 1943 by merging
9760-656: The name " Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Norwegen ". In order to prepare for the war against the USSR and the subsequent command on the Finnish theater of action, a "Command Center Finland" of the AOK Norway was set up. The Army High Command in Lapland emerged from this command post. On 14 January 1942, it took command of the AOK Norway's forces on the Finnish front. On 22 June 1942, AOK Lapland was renamed 20th Mountain Army . When
9882-523: The name " Wehrmacht "; the Reichswehr was officially renamed the Wehrmacht on 21 May 1935. Hitler's proclamation of the Wehrmacht ' s existence included a total of no less than 36 divisions in its original projection, contravening the Treaty of Versailles in grandiose fashion. In December 1935, General Ludwig Beck added 48 tank battalions to the planned rearmament program. Hitler originally set
10004-474: The navy had already lost a number of its large surface ships, which could not be replenished during the war. The Kriegsmarine ' s most significant contribution to the German war effort was the deployment of its nearly 1,000 U-boats to strike at Allied convoys. The German naval strategy was to attack the convoys in an attempt to prevent the United States from interfering in Europe and to starve out
10126-403: The new leadership from the best men of the general staff with ruthless disregard for other constituencies, such as war heroes and the nobility." Seeckt's determination that the Reichswehr be an elite cadre force that would serve as the nucleus of an expanded military when the chance for restoring conscription came essentially led to the creation of a new army, based upon, but very different from,
10248-529: The next decade until the Germans finally left in September 1933. However, the arms buildup was done in secrecy, until Hitler came to power and it received broad political support. After the death of President Paul von Hindenburg on 2 August 1934, Adolf Hitler assumed the office of President of Germany , and thus became commander in chief. In February 1934, the Defence Minister Werner von Blomberg , acting on his own initiative, had all of
10370-560: The oldest and youngest were being recruited and driven by instilled fear and fanaticism to serve on the fronts and, often, to fight to the death, whether judged to be cannon fodder or elite troops. Prior to World War II, the Wehrmacht strove to remain a purely ethnic German force; as such, minorities within and outside of Germany, such as the Czechs in annexed Czechoslovakia , were exempted from military service after Hitler's takeover in 1938. Foreign volunteers were generally not accepted in
10492-622: The opening year of the war. No aircraft carrier was operational, as German leadership lost interest in the Graf Zeppelin which had been launched in 1938. Following the loss of the German battleship Bismarck in 1941, with Allied air-superiority threatening the remaining battle-cruisers in French Atlantic harbors, the ships were ordered to make the Channel Dash back to German ports. Operating from fjords along
10614-522: The original Pomeranian settlement. The city later joined the Hanseatic League . Within the Duchy of Pomerania the town was the urban center of the secular reign of the prince-bishops of Kamień and their residence throughout the High and Late Middle Ages . In the modern age, it passed to Brandenburg and Prussia , and withstood a Polish-French siege in 1807. In the late 19th century it became
10736-459: The other half performed obligatory services connected to the war effort ( German : Kriegshilfsdienst ). Legally, the commander-in-chief of the Wehrmacht was Adolf Hitler in his capacity as Germany's head of state, a position he gained after the death of President Paul von Hindenburg in August 1934. With the creation of the Wehrmacht in 1935, Hitler elevated himself to Supreme Commander of
10858-586: The period 1935–1939. The total number of soldiers who served in the Wehrmacht during its existence from 1935 to 1945 is believed to have approached 18.2 million. The German military leadership originally aimed at a homogeneous military, possessing traditional Prussian military values. However, with Hitler's constant wishes to increase the Wehrmacht ' s size, the Army was forced to accept citizens of lower class and education, decreasing internal cohesion and appointing officers who lacked real-war experience from previous conflicts, especially World War I and
10980-537: The production of combs from horn, and in the surrounding areas, agriculture. Important sites in the settlement were a place for periodical markets and a tavern, mentioned as forum et taberna in 1140. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the Budzistowo stronghold was the largest of several smaller ones in the Persante area, and as such is thought to have functioned as the center of the local Pomeranian subtribe. By
11102-597: The same authority as ( Hiwis ), auxiliary personnel of the army ( German : Behelfspersonal ) and they were assigned to duties within the Reich, and to a lesser extent, in the occupied territories, for example in the general government of occupied Poland , in France , and later in Yugoslavia , in Greece and in Romania . By 1945, 500,000 women were serving as Wehrmachtshelferinnen , half of whom were volunteers, while
11224-476: The same time, the extent of advances strained the Wehrmacht's capacity to the breaking point, culminating in its first major defeat in the Battle of Moscow (1941); by late 1942, Germany was losing the initiative in all theatres. The German operational art proved no match to that of the Allied coalition , making the Wehrmacht's weaknesses in strategy, doctrine, and logistics apparent. Closely cooperating with
11346-518: The seaside was commissioned on 14 July 2004. The path extends from Kołobrzeg to Podczele. The path has been financed by the European Union , and is intended to be part of a unique biking path that will ultimately circle the entire Baltic Sea . The path was breached on 24 March 2010 due to the encroachment of the sea associated with the draining of the adjacent unique Eco-Park marsh area. The government of Poland has allocated PLN 90,000 to repair
11468-649: The summer take place – a number of concerts of popular singers, musicians, and cabarets. Municipal Cultural Center, is located in the Park teatralny . Keep under attachment artistic arts, theater and dance. Patron of youth teams and the vocal choir. Interfolk organizes the annual festival, the International Meeting of the folklore and other cultural events. Cinema is a place for meetings Piast Discussion Film Club. In Kołobrzeg there are many permanent and temporary exhibitions of artistic and historical interest. In
11590-502: The terms. Germany helped the Soviet Union with industrialization and Soviet officers were to be trained in Germany. German tank and air-force specialists could exercise in the Soviet Union and German chemical weapons research and manufacture would be carried out there along with other projects. In 1924 a fighter-pilot school was established at Lipetsk , where several hundred German air force personnel received instruction in operational maintenance, navigation, and aerial combat training over
11712-423: The three million Wehrmacht soldiers who invaded the USSR participated in war crimes. The German term "Wehrmacht " stems from the compound word of German : wehren , "to defend" and Macht , "power, force". It has been used to describe any nation's armed forces; for example, Britische Wehrmacht meaning "British Armed Forces". The Frankfurt Constitution of 1849 designated all German military forces as
11834-405: The town hall of Kołobrzeg is located Gallery of Modern Art, where exhibitions are exposed artists from Kołobrzeg, as well as outside the local artistic circles. Gallery also conducts educational activities, including organized by the gallery of art lessons for children and young people from schools. The Kołobrzeg Pier is currently the second longest pier in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship , after
11956-418: The town was predominantly German Protestant with Polish and Jewish minorities. Almost all of the pre-war German population fled or was expelled so that since 1945, Polish Catholics make up the majority of the population. Around the turn from the 18th to the 19th century an increase of the number of Catholics was observed, because military personnel had been moved from West Prussia to the town. Kołobrzeg today
12078-412: The treaty that, among other terms, imposed severe constraints on the size of Germany's armed forces. The army was limited to one hundred thousand men with an additional fifteen thousand in the navy. The fleet was to consist of at most six battleships , six cruisers , and twelve destroyers . Submarines , tanks and heavy artillery were forbidden and the air-force was dissolved. A new post-war military,
12200-596: The turn from the 10th to the 11th century, the smaller burghs in the Parseta area were given up. With the area coming under the control of the Polish Duke Mieszko I , only two strongholds remained and underwent an enlargement, the one at Budzistowo and a predecessor of later Białogard . These developments were most likely associated with the establishment of Polish power over this part of the Baltic coast. In
12322-572: The unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer (army), the Kriegsmarine (navy) and the Luftwaffe (air force). The designation " Wehrmacht " replaced the previously used term Reichswehr ( Reich Defence ) and was the manifestation of the Nazi regime's efforts to rearm Germany to a greater extent than the Treaty of Versailles permitted. After
12444-405: The vicinity of Kołobrzeg were centered around nearby deposits of salt and date to 6th and 7th century. In the late 9th century, the Pomeranian tribes erected a fortified settlement at the site of modern part of Kołobrzeg county called Budzistowo near modern Kołobrzeg, replacing nearby Bardy-Świelubie , a multi-ethnic emporium, as the center of the region. The Parseta valley, where both
12566-680: The war was ended by the Treaty of Tilsit . Kolberg was returned to the Prussian province of Pomerania in 1815, after the final defeat of Napoleon; until 1872, it was administered within the Fürstenthum District ("Principality District", recalling the area's former special status), then it was within Landkreis Kolberg-Körlin . Marcin Dunin , Archbishop of Poznań and Gniezno and Roman Catholic primate of Poland,
12688-480: The war with a minority of its formations motorized ; infantry remained approximately 90% foot-borne throughout the war, and artillery was primarily horse-drawn . The motorized formations received much attention in the world press in the opening years of the war, and were cited as the reason for the success of the invasions of Poland (September 1939), Denmark and Norway (April 1940), Belgium, France, and Netherlands (May 1940), Yugoslavia and Greece (April 1941) and
12810-489: The western front had not exceeded three per cent of the total from all fronts, in 1944 the figure jumped to about 14 per cent. Yet even in the months following D-day, about 68.5 per cent of all German battlefield deaths occurred on the eastern front, as a Soviet blitzkrieg in response devastated the retreating Wehrmacht. Ko%C5%82obrzeg Kołobrzeg ( Polish: [kɔˈwɔbʐɛk] ; Kashubian : Kòlbrzég ; German : Kolberg [ˈkɔlbɛʁk] )
12932-478: The workspace, were everyday occurrences. A labour subcamp of the Stalag II-D prisoner-of-war camp for Allied POWs was also operated in the city by Germany. In 1944, the city was selected as a fortress — Festung Kolberg . The 1807 siege was used for the last Nazi propaganda film, Kolberg shortly before the end of the war by Joseph Goebbels . It was meant to inspire the Germans with its depiction of
13054-475: The year 1000. It was designed and built by the artist Wiktor Szostalo in welded stainless steel. The two figures sit at the base of a 5-meter cross, cleft in two and being held together by a dove holding an olive branch . It is installed outside the Basilica Cathedral in the city center. Kołobrzeg has an oceanic climate ( Köppen climate classification : Cfb ). Before the end of World War II
13176-650: Was also prioritized last in the German rearmament scheme, making it the smallest of the branches. In the Battle of the Atlantic , the initially successful German U-boat fleet arm was eventually defeated due to Allied technological innovations like sonar , radar , and the breaking of the Enigma code. Large surface vessels were few in number due to construction limitations by international treaties prior to 1935. The "pocket battleships" Admiral Graf Spee and Admiral Scheer were important as commerce raiders only in
13298-417: Was confirmed by the 1018 Peace of Bautzen . During his campaigns in the early 12th century, Bolesław III Wrymouth reacquired Pomerania for Poland , and made the local Griffin dynasty his vassals. The stronghold was captured by the Polish army in the winter of 1107/08, when the inhabitants ( cives et oppidani ) including a duke ( dux Pomeranorum ) surrendered without resistance. A previous Polish siege of
13420-422: Was dedicated to the idea of reviving Tirpitz's High Seas Fleet. Officers who believed in submarine warfare led by Admiral Karl Dönitz were in a minority before 1939. By 1922, Germany had begun covertly circumventing the conditions of the Versailles treaty. A secret collaboration with the Soviet Union began after the Treaty of Rapallo . Major-General Otto Hasse traveled to Moscow in 1923 to further negotiate
13542-484: Was dropped in favor of Wehrmacht on 21 May 1935. While the term Wehrmacht has been associated, both in the German and English languages, with the German armed forces of 1935–45 since the Second World War, before 1945 the term was used in the German language in a more general sense for a national defense force. For instance, the German-aligned formations of Poles raised during the First World War were known as
13664-589: Was established, having control over the military in the area. By order of 17 May 1942, the Wehrmachtbefehlshaber received the position and powers of an army commander-in-chief. On 25 July 1940, Wilhelm Keitel added a supplement to the Führer Decree of 24 April 1940 on the exercise of governmental powers in Norway , which ordered that the commander of XXI Army Corps should immediately bear
13786-511: Was founded by German settlers some kilometres off the site of the Slavic/Lechitic one. It was located within the boundaries of today's downtown of Kołobrzeg and some of the inhabitants of the Polish town moved to the new settlement. On 23 May 1255 it was chartered under Lübeck law by Duke Wartislaw III of Pomerania , and more settlers arrived, attracted by the duke. Hermann von Gleichen , German bishop of Kammin also supported
13908-409: Was imprisoned for sedition by the Prussian authorities for ten months in 1839–1840 in the city and after his release, he tried to organise a chaplaincy for the many Polish soldiers stationed in Kolberg. In the 19th century the city had a small but active Polish population that increased during the century to account for 1.5% of the population by 1905. The Polish community funded a Catholic school and
14030-465: Was most surprised at the offer; the popular view that Hitler imposed the oath on the military is false. The oath read: "I swear by God this sacred oath that to the Leader of the German empire and people, Adolf Hitler, supreme commander of the armed forces, I shall render unconditional obedience and that as a brave soldier I shall at all times be prepared to give my life for this oath". By 1935, Germany
14152-539: Was often only available in relatively small numbers. Only 40% to 60% of all units in the Eastern Front were motorized, baggage trains often relied on horse-drawn trailers due to poor roads and weather conditions in the Soviet Union, and for the same reasons many soldiers marched on foot or used bicycles as bicycle infantry . As the fortunes of war turned against them, the Germans were in constant retreat from 1943 and onward. The Panzer divisions were vital to
14274-621: Was openly flouting the military restrictions set forth in the Versailles Treaty: German rearmament was announced on 16 March with the "Edict for the Buildup of the Wehrmacht " ( German : Gesetz für den Aufbau der Wehrmacht ) and the reintroduction of conscription. While the size of the standing army was to remain at about the 100,000-man mark decreed by the treaty, a new group of conscripts equal to this size would receive training each year. The conscription law introduced
14396-628: Was originally given to a Military Administration . However, in July 1944, after the dismissal of Alexander von Falkenhausen and the creation of the Reichskommissariat of Belgium and Northern France , the post of Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Belgien-Nordfrankreich was established. On 1 August 1944, Hitler appointed Dietrich von Choltitz , Commanding general and Wehrmachtbefehlshaber of greater Paris ( German : Kommandierenden General und Wehrmachtbefehlshaber von Groß-Paris ). Following
14518-431: Was put in its place. Placed under the OKW were the three branch High Commands: Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH), Oberkommando der Marine (OKM), and Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL). The OKW was intended to serve as a joint command and coordinate all military activities, with Hitler at the top. Though many senior officers, such as von Manstein , had advocated for a real tri-service Joint Command, or appointment of
14640-478: Was renamed " Budzistowo ". A new St. Mary's church was built within the new town before the 1260s, while St. Mary's in the former Pomeranian stronghold was turned into a nuns' abbey. In 1277 St. Benedict's monastery for nuns was founded, which in the framework of the Pomeranian Reformation in 1545 was then changed into an educational institution for noble Protestant ladies. Already in 1248,
14762-505: Was responsible for security within the occupied territories (including partisan control), to protect traffic connections and to record the harvest. It was created on 25 July 1941 and was transferred to Kolberg on 10 August 1944 as part of the withdrawal, and was dissolved on September 30, 1944. The Wehrmachtsbefehlshaber Weißruthenien staff was created on 18 April 1944 from the Commanding general of security forces and commanders in
14884-665: Was responsible for the housing of troops. In the occupied territories of the Soviet Union, the Wehrmachtsbefehlshaber was also responsible for securing the occupied territories, protecting transport links, and recording the crops. Following the Invasion of Yugoslavia , the commander of the 12th Army was designated "Commander-in-Chief of the German troops in the Balkans", which was later renamed Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Südost . In Belgium and Northern France, control
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