Szymankowo (; german: Simonsdorf) is a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...
in the administrative district of
Gmina Lichnowy, within
Malbork County,
Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland.
It lies approximately south of
Lichnowy, north-west of
Malbork, and south-east of the regional capital
Gdańsk. The village has a population of 744.
History
Before 1772 the area was part of
Kingdom of Poland
The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to:
Historical political entities
* Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031
* Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom exi ...
, from 1772 to 1871 to the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
, from 1871 to 1919 to Germany, from 1920 to 1939 to
Free City of Danzig, from 1939 to 1945 to
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, and in 1945, it was returned to
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
.
World War II
In interwar period Szymankowo was on a territory of
Free City of Danzig. Hours before the German
invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, on September 1, 1939, the Germans sent two trains with soldiers to capture bridges at
Tczew
Tczew (, csb, Dërszewò; formerly ) is a city on the Vistula River in Eastern Pomerania, Kociewie, northern Poland with 59,111 inhabitants (December 2021). The city is known for its Old Town and the Vistula Bridge, or Bridge of Tczew, which pl ...
, disguised as freight trains. Polish railroaders on Szymankowo station directed the first train to a blind track, halting the assault. In revenge, local Germans
SA units murdered 23
Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in C ...
, railmen, customs officers and their families, including one pregnant woman, at the local train station.
References
Szymankowo
{{Malbork-geo-stub