Zabrze
Polska / śląskie
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History
Adam Marczewski /
Most of Silesia was under the rule of the Kingdom of Prussia during the first Silesian War in 1742 (apart from Cieszyn Silesia and Duchy of Troppau).
Silesian Jews welcomed the era of the Prussian rules with great hope for a better life. Rabbi Marcus Brann, a Jewish historian, described the mood of that time, “It was a young Prussian king that oppressed Jews turned to as he came to Śląsk. They were full of hope and believed that a gleam of justice and gentleness will give some light to the dark paths of life” .
Firstly, Prussian authorities were indifferent to Silesian Jews. However, as the time passed, Frederick II of Prussia started striving for restriction of Jews’ freedom. Many different taxes were imposed on Jews, which contributed to some economic benefits for the country.
The Kingdom of Prussia announced the first regulation concerning Jews in 1748. All Jews living in Silesia for at least a year were ordered to pay 10% from the value of their property if they wanted to immigrate from the country. Specific restrictions were imposed on the Jews who were not successful in their economic activity. Those who went bankrupt or were claimed to be fences lost the right to live in Silesia and had to leave the country .
On April 17, 1750, Prussian authorities issued the General Prussian Code and General Privileges (Pruski Regulamin Główny i Generalne Przywileje), which in great detail governed the legal, social, political and economic situation of Jews. Jacob Jacobson commented on it as follows, “like everwhere else in Germany the aim of this code is to maintain a certian number of Jews living in the state, let them run a strictly specified economic activity within the state’s economic system and burden them with taxes as high as possible for protection and tolerance of their existence here.”.
„Juden Reglement”, issued on December 2, 1751, was the fundamental legal act regulating the status of Silesian Jews (except from Wrocław and Głogów). It obligated land owners and municipalities to notify county authorities and royal office for tolerance of every case of Jewish settlement within 14 days. A system of control over the inflow of Jews to Silesia was created by that. No Jewish beggars and vagabonds were tolerated by Prussian authorities. .
Local history
Adam Marczewski
The first mention of the village of Biskupice, located in this place, dates back to 1243, when it constituted the property of the Wrocław bishops (until 1810).In 1327, Prince Władysław Bytomski (1277-1352) rendered homage to the Bohemian King and since then the village of Zabrze remained under the Bohemian sovereignty, sharing the political fortunes of Silesia. Since 14th century, lead and iron were extracted from the local ores. Louis II Jagiellon (1506-1526), King of Hungary and Bohemia, died in 1526 without any offspring, thus the Bohemian throne was given to Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este from the Habsburg dynasty. In this way Zabrze went under the rule of the Habsburg dynasty. In 1672, 483 inhabitants lived in Zabrze.
Since 1742, Zabrze belonged to the state of Prussia. In 1774, the development of the settlements, which later became the districts of Zabrze, started. The discovery of rich bituminous coal deposits between Zaborze and Pawłów in 1790 constituted a turning point in the history of Zabrze. The discovery was made by Salomon Izaak from Brabant. The mining of the coal started in 1791. The economic development was fostered by the construction of the railway route to Wrocław and Mysłowice (1845), which facilitated rapid export of coal and goods produced in Zabrze and its vicinity, as well as import of the necessary raw materials. At the end of the 19th century the biggest in Europe bituminous coal mine operated in Zabrze (in 1893 a yearly output amounted to 3.3 million tones). The industrial development was accompanied by the development of the local villages, which gradually grew to become one large urban entity. In 1905, the Zabrze municipality was established, which was occupied by over 55 thousand inhabitants. During World War I, in December 1914, the name of the municipality was changed to Hindenburg.
During the interwar period the town of Zabrze was one of the most important centers of the Silesian uprisings (1919-21). As a result of the plebiscite of 1921, Zabrze remained within the boundaries of Germany. In 1922, Zabrze received city rights. In 1927, the city had 125 thousand inhabitants.
During the Second World War, in 1945 the Soviet Army took over Zabrze.
Summary
| Province: | śląskie / inne (before 1939) |
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| County: | zabrzański grodzki / (before 1939) |
| Community: | Zabrze / (before 1939) |
| Other names: | Zaborze Zobrze [j. śląski] Hindenburg [j. niemiecki] זאבזיה [jidysz] |
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Location
Adam Marczewski
The town of Zabrze is a county seat in the Silesian Province. It is located in the Silesian Upland, on the Kłodnica River and its tributary: the Bytomka.
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