Zduńska Wola is a city in central
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
with 40,730 inhabitants (2021).
It is the seat of
Zduńska Wola County
__NOTOC__
Zduńska Wola County () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Łódź Voivodeship, central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998 ...
in the
Łódź Voivodeship
Łódź Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province is named after its capital and largest city, Łódź, pronounced .
Łódź Voivodeship is bordered by six other voivodeships: Masovian Voivodeship ...
. The city was once one of the largest cloth, linen and cotton weaving centres in Poland and is the birthplace of Saint
Maximilian Kolbe
Maximilian Maria Kolbe (born Raymund Kolbe; ; 8 January 1894 – 14 August 1941) was a Polish Roman Catholic priest, Conventual Franciscan friar, missionary, saint, martyr, and a Nazi concentration camp victim, who volunteered to die in place ...
as well as
Maksymilian Faktorowicz, the founder of
Max Factor cosmetics company.
History
Early history
The city was first mentioned and documented in 1394. Zduńska Wola was then part of an important trade route which crossed through Poland and connected
Eastern and
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...
. Administratively, it was located in the
Sieradz Voivodeship
Sieradz Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by Łódź Voivodeship.
A Voivodeship is an area administered by a voivode (Governor), and the Sieradz Voivodesh ...
in the
Greater Poland Province of the Kingdom of Poland. Over the course of its history, the town was owned by nobles or
industrialists. At the beginning of the 18th century, Zduńska Wola was purchased by the aristocratic Złotnicki family.
The development of the village is closely linked with the rapid influx of the
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
. In 1824 the town's population reached 1,400 people, including 150 professional textile laborers in 125 private workshops.
Following rapid development, Zduńska Wola received town rights in October 1825.
In 1827 the population had reached 2,758 people and the town possessed 320 buildings, however, only 30 were made of brick or stone.
Due to the lack of available space for incoming weavers, the town was expanded and new districts were established by incorporating nearby villages and settlements.
Industrial development
The end of the 19th century was a period of dynamic development, which eventually transformed the rural town into a small industrial centre. In 1909 the population was already 22,504 people. Over 50 new industrial enterprises or textile corporations were set up, which employed 5,200 workers. Zduńska Wola gained the nickname "City of Weavers" and out of the 1,360 buildings now standing, approximately 600 were made of brick. In 1892 the first steam
brewery
A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...
was constructed, which contributed to the town's importance in the region. Under the patronage of the Złotnicki family and local business owners, Zduńska Wola was completely remodelled and urbanized; new housing estates were built for the workers and the first city park was opened during this period.

In 1903 the region was connected with
Kalisz
Kalisz () is a city in central Poland, and the second-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, with 97,905 residents (December 2021). It is the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of Gr ...
and
Łódź
Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
by rail. In 1902 Zenon Anstadt, a member of a wealthy family of brewers from Łódź, was responsible for the continuous development of the town's infrastructure. Shortly before the outbreak of
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
in 1914, the population of the city was 28,437 people. Under the
Imperial German occupation during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the town's population fell to just 12,000 in 1918.
After Poland regained independence in 1918, the city with its industries was rebuilt from the devastation of war. Alongside the former textile industry, new metallurgical enterprises, power plants, public schools, gymnasiums, city hospital and a fire station were established. In 1930 Zduńska Wola became an important transport hub, when it was connected by rail with the Polish port of
Gdynia
Gdynia is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With an estimated population of 257,000, it is the List of cities in Poland, 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in the Pomeranian Voivodeship after Gdańsk ...
on the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
. By 1939 Zduńska Wola was the largest city in the western part of
Łódź Voivodeship
Łódź Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship (province) of Poland. The province is named after its capital and largest city, Łódź, pronounced .
Łódź Voivodeship is bordered by six other voivodeships: Masovian Voivodeship ...
(province).
World War II

During the German
invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
, which started
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Germany invaded the town in 6 September 1939, and then the ''
Einsatzgruppe III'' entered the town to commit various crimes against the populace. The German occupiers incorporated the town directly into the newly formed
Wartheland
The Reichsgau Wartheland (initially Reichsgau Posen, also Warthegau) was a Nazi Germany, Nazi German ''Reichsgau'' formed from parts of Second Polish Republic, Polish territory Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, annexed in 1939 during World War ...
province of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
, and changed the town's name to ''Freihaus'' to erase traces of Polish origin.
In November 1939, the Germans carried out a public execution of six
Polish hostages from nearby
Sieradz
Sieradz (,) is a city on the Warta river in central Poland with 40,891 inhabitants (2021). It is the seat of the Sieradz County, situated in the Łódź Voivodeship. Sieradz is a capital of the historical Sieradz Land.
Sieradz is one of the olde ...
, and in December 1939 they carried out the first
expulsions of 420 Poles. During the ''
Intelligenzaktion
The ''Intelligenzaktion'' (), or the Intelligentsia mass shootings, was a series of mass murders committed against the Polish people, Polish intelligentsia (teachers, priests, physicians, and other prominent members of Polish society) during the ...
'', the Germans arrested 169 members of the local Polish
intelligentsia
The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...
already in 1939, and further 187 in 1940–1941.
Among the victims were local officials, activists, members of the
Polish underground resistance movement and
Catholic priests. In total several thousand Poles were deported to
forced labour
Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...
, expelled or arrested.
As local Nazi German governor
Arthur Greiser expressed during a meeting with the townspeople, Poles were supposed to be servants for the
Germans
Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
.
Germany operated a transit camp for German settlers, who were resettled in occupied Poland as part of the ''
Lebensraum
(, ) is a German concept of expansionism and Völkisch movement, ''Völkisch'' nationalism, the philosophy and policies of which were common to German politics from the 1890s to the 1940s. First popularized around 1901, '' lso in:' beca ...
'' policy.
Nevertheless, several Polish resistance organizations operated in the town and among their activities were secret trainings, intelligence, distribution of underground Polish press, sabotage actions and
secret schooling.
Nearly all members of the prominent and large
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
population of Zduńska Wola of around 8,000 at the beginning of the war were murdered as part of the
Holocaust
The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
On arrival of the German troops in September 1939, local ethnic Germans and Poles looted Jewish property. The Germans shot several Jews at that time and burned the synagogue. Over the next several months, the Jewish community was robbed, brutalized, and confined to a
ghetto
A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...
area. In 1940 and 1941, Jews from other locations were moved into the ghetto which population increased to around 11,000, crowded together and may without means of support. In August 1942, the Jewish population were gathered together. Several hundred were sent to the
Łódź ghetto
The Łódź Ghetto or Litzmannstadt Ghetto (after the Nazi German name for Łódź) was a Nazi ghetto established by the German authorities for Polish Jews and Roma following the Invasion of Poland. It was the second-largest ghetto in all of ...
. Hundreds were shot in the Zduńska Wola cemetery. More than 6,000 and perhaps as many as 9,000 were sent to the
Chełmno extermination camp
Chełmno, or Kulmhof, was the first of Nazi Germany's extermination camps and was situated north of Łódź, near the village of Chełmno nad Nerem. Following the invasion of Poland in 1939, Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, Germany annexed ...
where they were immediately gassed.
About 60 of Zduńska Wola's Jewish population are thought to have survived the war. The German administrator who oversaw the final selection,
Hans Biebow, was tried, convicted, and executed after the war for his crimes in Lodz and Zduńska Wola. In contrast, the head of the Jewish council in the town was lauded for his uprightness. Murdered by Biebow after the selection in August, he had refused to collaborate with the Germans or betray his fellow Jews.
The town was freed by the Soviets in January 1945, and then restored to Poland,
however with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which then stayed in power until the
Fall of Communism
The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts of the world. Th ...
in the 1980s. The town also suffered heavy destruction in the war, that was rebuilt with Soviet Union’s aide.
Modern times
Under
socialism
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
, between 1945 and 1989, Zduńska Wola and Łódź regained their pre-war importance as the textile industrial centres of central Poland. Since 2014,
the town has seen many opportunities and investments, and continues to flourish in the service sector.
It was administratively located in the
Sieradz Voivodeship
Sieradz Voivodeship () was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by Łódź Voivodeship.
A Voivodeship is an area administered by a voivode (Governor), and the Sieradz Voivodesh ...
from 1975 to 1998.
Culture
The museums of Zduńska Wola are the Museum of the History of Zduńska Wola, the railway museum in the Karsznice district and a museum dedicated to
Saint Maximilian Kolbe located at his birthplace.
Education
Primary schools
*
Tadeusz Kościuszko Primary School
High schools
*
Casimir the Great High School
Sports
The local
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
team is . It competes in the lower leagues.
Twin towns - Sister cities
Zduńska Wola is
twinned with:
*
Zarasai
Zarasai () is a city in northeastern Lithuania, surrounded by many lakes and rivers: to the southwest of the city is Lake Zarasas, to the northLake Zarasaitis, to the southeastLake Baltas, and the eastLake Griežtas. Lakes Zarasaitis and Griežtas ...
, Lithuania
*
Pietrasanta
Pietrasanta is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of northern Tuscany in Italy, in the province of Lucca. Pietrasanta is part of Versilia, on the last foothills of the Apuan Alps, about north of Pisa. The town is located off the coast, where the ...
, Italy
*
Valmiera
Valmiera () is the second largest city of the historical Vidzeme region, Latvia, with a total area of . As of 2002, Valmiera had a population of 27,323, and in 2020, it was at 24,879. It is a Administrative divisions of Latvia, state city, and ...
, Latvia
Notable people
*
Rafał Augustyniak (born 1993), professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
*
Danuta Dudzińska-Wieczorek (born 1966), opera singer
*
Max Factor Sr. (1877–1938), Polish-American businessman, beautician, entrepreneur and inventor; founder of the
Max Factor & Company
*
Magda Femme (born 1971), pop singer and songwriter
*
Riwka Herszberg, victim of
Nazism
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was fre ...
*
Wojciech Cezary Jagielski (born 1963), journalist
*
Maximilian Kolbe
Maximilian Maria Kolbe (born Raymund Kolbe; ; 8 January 1894 – 14 August 1941) was a Polish Roman Catholic priest, Conventual Franciscan friar, missionary, saint, martyr, and a Nazi concentration camp victim, who volunteered to die in place ...
(1894–1941),
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
priest and saint,
Conventual Franciscan friar who volunteered to die in place of a stranger in the death camp of
Auschwitz
Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...
*
Lazar Lyusternik (1899–1981), mathematician
*
Justyna Majkowska (born 1977), singer
References
External links
{{Authority control
Cities and towns in Łódź Voivodeship
Zduńska Wola County