For the Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 military facilities of Heydebreck, Cosel, and Blechhammer, see Heydebreck-Cosel

Heydebreck-Cosel

Heydebreck was a Nazi Germany village area with POW camps Arbeitskommando E711A and Bau und Arbeits camp 20 . Five km west in the Cosel district was a subcamp of Auschwitz III operated from April 1, 1944 to January 26, 1945...

 and Blechhammer

Blechhammer

The Blechhammer area was the location of Nazi Germany chemical plants, prisoner of war camps, and forced labor camps . Labor camp prisoners began arriving as early as June 17, 1942, and in July 1944, 400-500 men were transferred from the Terezin family camp to Blechhammer...

.

Kędzierzyn-Koźle k is the capital city of Kędzierzyn-Koźle County

Kedzierzyn-Kozle County

Kędzierzyn-Koźle County is a unit of territorial administration and local government in Opole Voivodeship, south-western Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998. Its administrative seat and only town is Kędzierzyn-Koźle,...

, Silesia

Silesia

Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...

, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

. Kędzierzyn-Koźle is a place of a major river port, has rail connections with all major cities of Poland and serves western outskirts of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union

Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union

The Metropolitan Association of Upper Silesia or Upper Silesia Metroplex, Silesia Metroplex / Silesia Metroplex is a union of 14 adjacent cities in the Polish province of Silesia....

.

History

Kędzierzyn was founded as a village in the 13th century. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Sławięcice was the location of two camps of several Arbeitslager Blechhammer

Blechhammer

The Blechhammer area was the location of Nazi Germany chemical plants, prisoner of war camps, and forced labor camps . Labor camp prisoners began arriving as early as June 17, 1942, and in July 1944, 400-500 men were transferred from the Terezin family camp to Blechhammer...

 labor and POW camps in the area (the crematorium was also in Sławięcice). Kędzierzyn, along with the eastern 25% of Germany's pre-war area was transferred from Germany

Territorial changes of Germany after World War II

-The Allies decide the postwar German-Polish border:As it became evident that the Allies were going to defeat Nazi Germany decisively, the question arose as to how to redraw the borders of Eastern European countries after the war...

 to Poland

Territorial changes of Poland after World War II

The territorial changes of Poland after World War II were very extensive. In 1945, following the Second World War, Poland's borders were redrawn following the decisions made at the Potsdam Conference of 1945 at the insistence of the Soviet Union...

 as stipulated by the Potsdam Agreement

Potsdam Agreement

The Potsdam Agreement was the Allied plan of tripartite military occupation and reconstruction of Germany—referring to the German Reich with its pre-war 1937 borders including the former eastern territories—and the entire European Theatre of War territory...

. In the years immediately following World War II, the majority of the area's population, ethnic Germans, was forcibly expelled

Expulsion of Germans after World War II

The later stages of World War II, and the period after the end of that war, saw the forced migration of millions of German nationals and ethnic Germans from various European states and territories, mostly into the areas which would become post-war Germany and post-war Austria...

 and their property was expropriated. The area was subsequently repopulated by ethnic Poles, some of which came from the former eastern territories of Poland.

In 1954, Blachownia and Lenartowice merged to form the Blachownia Śląska district in Sławięcice.

In 1975, the municipalities of Kędzierzyn, Koźle

Kozle

Koźle is a district of Kędzierzyn-Koźle and is at the junction of the Kłodnica and Odra rivers, 29 Ifl. southeast of Opole by rail. The district has a Roman Catholic church, a medieval chateau, remains of a 19th century fortress and a high school...

, Sławięcice, and Kłodnica combined to form Kędzierzyn-Koźle. In 1999, the branch line connecting the city with Strzelce Opolskie

Strzelce Opolskie

Strzelce Opolskie is a town in south-western Poland with 19,628 inhabitants , situated in the Opole Voivodeship. It is the capital of Strzelce County. Strzelce Opolskie is one of the biggest centers of German minority in Poland....

 closed as part of Polskie Koleje Państwowe

Polskie Koleje Panstwowe

is the dominant railway operator in Poland.The company was founded when the former state-owned operator was divided into several units based on the requirements laid down by the European Union...

 cost-cutting. In 2003, the Mostostal-Azoty Kędzierzyn-Koźle

Mostostal-Azoty Kedzierzyn-Kozle

ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle, previously known as Mostostal-Azoty Kędzierzyn-Koźle is a Polish volleyball team, based in Kędzierzyn-Koźle, playing in Polish Volleyball League...

 won the Polish Volleyball League

Polish Volleyball League

The Polish Volleyball League , is the highest level of men's volleyball in Poland, a professional league competition for volleyball clubs located in this country. It is overseen by Profesjonalna Liga Piłki Siatkowej S.A. . It is currently a 10 team league that plays a 18 game schedule from...

 title for the 4th straight year, and in 2006, the Chemik Kędzierzyn-Koźle football team was reactivated.

Twin towns

Racibórz

Racibórz

Racibórz is a town in southern Poland with 60,218 inhabitants situated in the Silesian Voivodeship , previously in Katowice Voivodeship...

, Poland Héricourt

Héricourt, Haute-Saône

Héricourt is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Franche-Comté in eastern France.-References:*...

, France Jonava

Jonava

Jonava is the ninth largest city in Lithuania with a population of ca 35,000.It is located in Kaunas County in central Lithuania, north east of Kaunas, the second-largest city in Lithuania. It is served by Kaunas International Airport. The largest fertilizer factory in the Baltic states is...

, Lithuania Kalush

Kalush, Ukraine

-Notable residents:*Stepan Bandera*August Aleksander Czartoryski*Jakub Sobieski*Jan "Sobiepan" Zamoyski*Tomasz Zamoyski*Fedir Danylak-Twin towns — sister cities:Kalush, Ukraine is twinned with:- Location :Local orientationRegional orientation...

, Ukraine Grand-Charmont

Grand-Charmont

Grand-Charmont is a commune in the Doubs department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France.-Population:-External links:*...

, France Přerov

Prerov

Přerov is a town in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic where the Bečva river flows through. Přerov is a statute town . It has population of about 47,373 to January 2, 2008. Přerov is about 22 km south west of Olomouc. In the past it was a major crossroad in the heart of Moravia in the...

, Czech Republic