Old maps of Prussia. Liberation of Koenigsberg and East Prussia. Interesting places in modern East Prussia
I think that many residents of the Kaliningrad region, like many Poles, have repeatedly asked themselves the question - why does the border between Poland and the Kaliningrad region run exactly this way and not otherwise? In this article we will try to understand how the border between Poland and the Soviet Union was formed on the territory of the former East Prussia.
Those who are at least a little knowledgeable in history know and remember that before the outbreak of the First World War, the Russian and German empires had, and partly it ran approximately the same as the current border of the Russian Federation with the Republic of Lithuania.
Then, as a result of events associated with the Bolsheviks coming to power in 1917 and a separate peace with Germany in 1918, the Russian Empire collapsed, its borders changed significantly, and individual territories that were once part of it received their own statehood. This is exactly what happened, in particular, with Poland, which regained independence in 1918. In the same year, 1918, the Lithuanians founded their own state.
Fragment of a map of the administrative divisions of the Russian Empire. 1914.
The results of the First World War, including Germany's territorial losses, were consolidated by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. In particular, significant territorial changes occurred in Pomerania and West Prussia (the formation of the so-called “Polish corridor” and Danzig and its surrounding areas receiving the status of a “free city”) and East Prussia (the transfer of the Memel region (Memelland) to the control of the League of Nations).
Territorial losses of Germany after the end of the First World War. Source: Wikipedia. The following (very minor) border changes in the southern part of East Prussia were associated with the results of the war carried out in Warmia and Mazury in July 1921. At its end, the population of most of the territories that Poland, counting on the fact that a significant number of ethnic Poles live there, would not mind annexing into the young Polish Republic. In 1923, the borders in the East Prussian region changed again: in the Memel region, the Union of Lithuanian Riflemen raised an armed uprising, the result of which was the entry of Memelland into Lithuania with autonomy rights and the renaming of Memel to Klaipeda. 15 years later, at the end of 1938, elections to the city council were held in Klaipeda, as a result of which the pro-German parties (acting as a single list) won with an overwhelming advantage. After on March 22, 1939, Lithuania was forced to accept Germany’s ultimatum on the return of Memelland to the Third Reich, on March 23, Hitler arrived in Klaipeda-Memel on the cruiser Deutschland, who then addressed the residents from the balcony of the local theater and received a parade of Wehrmacht units. Thus, the last peaceful territorial acquisition of Germany before the outbreak of World War II was formalized.
The redistribution of borders in 1939 did not end with the annexation of the Memel region to Germany. On September 1, the Polish campaign of the Wehrmacht began (the same date is considered by many historians to be the date of the beginning of World War II), and two and a half weeks later, on September 17, units of the Red Army entered Poland. By the end of September 1939, the Polish government in exile was formed, and Poland, as an independent territorial entity, ceased to exist again.
Fragment of a map of the administrative divisions of the Soviet Union. 1933. The borders in East Prussia again underwent significant changes. Germany, represented by the Third Reich, having occupied a significant part of the territory of the Second Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, again received a common border with the heir of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union.
The next, but not the last, change in borders in the region we are considering occurred after the end of World War II. It was based on decisions made by Allied leaders in Tehran in 1943 and then at the Yalta Conference in 1945. In accordance with these decisions, first of all, the future borders of Poland in the east, common with the USSR, were determined. Later, the Potsdam Agreement of 1945 finally determined that defeated Germany would lose the entire territory of East Prussia, part of which (about a third) would become Soviet, and most of which would become part of Poland.
By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated April 7, 1946, the Koenigsberg Region was formed on the territory of the Koenigsberg Special Military District, created after the victory over Germany, which became part of the RSFSR. Just three months later, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated July 4, 1946, Koenigsberg was renamed Kaliningrad, and the Koenigsberg region was renamed Kaliningrad.
Below we offer the reader a translation of the article (with slight abbreviations) by Wieslaw Kaliszuk, author and owner of the website “History of the Elbląg Upland” (Historija Wysoczyzny Elbląskiej), about how the process of border formation took placebetween Poland and the USSR in the territory former East Prussia.
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The current Polish-Russian border begins near the town of Wiżajny ( Wiżajny) in the Suwałki region at the junction of three borders (Poland, Lithuania and Russia) and ends in the west, at the town of Nowa Karczma on the Vistula (Baltic) Spit. The border was formed by a Polish-Soviet agreement signed in Moscow on August 16, 1945 by the Chairman of the Provisional Government of National Unity of the Polish Republic, Edward Osubka-Morawski, and the USSR Foreign Minister, Vyacheslav Molotov. The length of this section of the border is 210 km, which is approximately 5.8% of the total length of Poland's borders.
The decision on the post-war border of Poland was made by the Allies already in 1943 at a conference in Tehran (11/28/1943 – 12/01/1943). It was confirmed in 1945 by the Potsdam Agreement (07/17/1945 - 08/02/1945). In accordance with them, East Prussia was to be divided into the southern Polish part (Warmia and Mazury), and the northern Soviet part (about a third of the former territory of East Prussia), which on June 10, 1945 received the name “Königsberg Special Military District” (KOVO). From 07/09/1945 to 02/04/1946, the leadership of KOVO was entrusted to Colonel General K.N. Galitsky. Prior to this, the leadership of this part of East Prussia captured by Soviet troops was carried out by the Military Council of the 3rd Belorussian Front. The military commandant of this territory, Major General M.A. Pronin, appointed to this position on 06/13/1945, already on 07/09/1945 transferred all administrative, economic and military powers to General Galitsky. Major General B.P. was appointed Commissioner of the NKVD-NKGB of the USSR for East Prussia in the period from 03.11.1945 to 04.01.1946. Trofimov, who from May 24, 1946 to July 5, 1947 served as head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Koenigsberg/Kaliningrad region. Before this, the post of NKVD Commissioner for the 3rd Belorussian Front was Colonel General V.S. Abakumov.
At the end of 1945, the Soviet part of East Prussia was divided into 15 administrative regions. Formally, the Königsberg region was formed on April 7, 1946 as part of the RSFSR, and on July 4, 1946, with the renaming of Königsberg to Kaliningrad, the region was also renamed Kaliningrad. On September 7, 1946, a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was issued on the administrative-territorial structure of the Kaliningrad region.
"Curzon Line" and the borders of Poland after the end of World War II. Source: Wikipedia. The decision to move the eastern border to the west (approximately to the “Curzon Line”) and “territorial compensation” (Poland was losing 175,667 square kilometers of its territory in the east as of September 1, 1939) was made without the participation of the Poles by the leaders of the “Big Three” - Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin during the conference in Tehran from November 28 to December 1, 1943. Churchill had to convey to the Polish government in exile all the “advantages” of this decision. During the Potsdam Conference (July 17 - August 2, 1945), Joseph Stalin made a proposal to establish Poland's western border along the Oder-Neisse line. Poland’s “friend” Winston Churchill refused to recognize Poland’s new western borders, believing that “under Soviet rule” it would become too strong due to the weakening of Germany, while not objecting to Poland’s loss of eastern territories.
Options for the border between Poland and the Kaliningrad region. Even before the conquest of East Prussia, the Moscow authorities (read “Stalin”) determined the political borders in this region. Already on July 27, 1944, the future Polish border was discussed at a secret meeting with the Polish Committee of People's Liberation (PKNO). The first draft borders on the territory of East Prussia was presented to the PKNO State Defense Committee of the USSR (GKO USSR) on February 20, 1945. In Tehran, Stalin outlined the future borders in East Prussia for his allies. The border with Poland was to run from west to east immediately south of Königsberg along the Pregel and Pissa rivers (about 30 km north of the current Polish border). The project was much more profitable for Poland. She would receive the entire territory of the Vistula (Baltic) Spit and the cities of Heiligenbeil (now Mamonovo), Ludwigsort (now Ladushkin), Preußisch Eylau (now Bagrationovsk), Friedland (now Pravdinsk), Darkemen (Darkehmen, after 1938 - Angerapp, now Ozersk), Gerdauen (now Zheleznodorozhny), Nordenburg (now Krylovo). However, all cities, regardless of which bank of the Pregel or Pissa they are located on, will then be included in the USSR. Despite the fact that Königsberg was supposed to go to the USSR, its location near the future border would not prevent Poland from using the exit from the Frisches Half Bay (now the Vistula/Kaliningrad Bay) to the Baltic Sea together with the USSR. Stalin wrote to Churchill in a letter dated February 4, 1944, that the Soviet Union planned to annex the northeastern part of East Prussia, including Königsberg, since the USSR would like to have an ice-free port on the Baltic Sea. In the same year, Stalin mentioned this more than once in his communications with both Churchill and British Foreign Minister Anthony Eden, as well as during a Moscow meeting (10/12/1944) with the Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile Stanislaw Mikolajczyk. The same issue was raised during meetings (from September 28 to October 3, 1944) with the delegation of the Krajowa Rada Narodowa (KRN, Krajowa Rada Narodowa - a political organization created during the Second World War from various Polish parties and which was planned to be subsequently transformed into parliament - admin) and PCNO, organizations in opposition to the London-based Polish government in exile. The Polish government in exile reacted negatively to Stalin's claims, pointing out the possible negative consequences of the inclusion of Königsberg into the USSR. On November 22, 1944 in London, at a meeting of the Coordination Committee, consisting of representatives of the four parties included in the government in exile, it was decided not to accept the dictates of the Allies, including the recognition of borders along the “Curzon Line”.
Map showing variations of the Curzon Line drawn up for the 1943 Tehran Allied Conference. The draft borders proposed in February 1945 were known only to the State Defense Committee of the USSR and the Provisional Government of the Polish Republic (VPPR), transformed from the PKNO, which ceased its activities on December 31, 1944. At the Potsdam Conference, it was decided that East Prussia would be divided between Poland and the Soviet Union, but the final demarcation of the border was postponed until the next conference, already in peacetime. The future border was only outlined in general terms, which was supposed to begin at the junction of Poland, the Lithuanian SSR and East Prussia, and pass 4 km north of Goldap, 7 km north of Brausberg, now Braniewo and end on the Vistula (Baltic) Spit about 3 km north of the present village of Nowa Karczma. The position of the future border on the same terms was also discussed at a meeting in Moscow on August 16, 1945. There were no other agreements on the passage of the future border in the same way as it is laid now.
By the way, Poland has historical rights to the entire territory of the former East Prussia. Royal Prussia and Warmia went to Prussia as a result of the First Partition of Poland (1772), and the Polish crown lost fief rights to the Duchy of Prussia due to the Welau-Bydgoszcz treaties (and the political shortsightedness of King John Casimir), agreed upon in Welau on September 19, 1657, and ratified in Bydgoszcz November 5-6. In accordance with them, Elector Frederick William I (1620 - 1688) and all his descendants in the male line received sovereignty from Poland. In the event that the male line of the Brandenburg Hohenzollerns was interrupted, the Duchy was again to fall under the Polish crown.
The Soviet Union, supporting the interests of Poland in the west (east of the Oder-Neisse line), created a new Polish satellite state. It should be noted that Stalin acted primarily in his own interests. The desire to push the borders of Poland under his control as far west as possible was the result of a simple calculation: Poland’s western border would simultaneously be the border of the USSR’s sphere of influence, at least until the fate of Germany became clear. Nevertheless, violations of agreements on the future border between Poland and the USSR were a consequence of the subordinate position of the Polish People's Republic.
The agreement on the Polish-Soviet state border was signed in Moscow on August 16, 1945. The change in preliminary agreements on the border on the territory of the former East Prussia in favor of the USSR and the consent of Great Britain and the United States to these actions undoubtedly indicate their reluctance to strengthen the territorial strength of Poland, doomed to Sovietization.
After adjustment, the border between Poland and the USSR was supposed to pass along the northern borders of the former administrative regions of East Prussia (Kreiss. - admin) Heiligenbeil, Preussisch-Eylau, Bartenstein (now Bartoszyce), Gerdauen, Darkemen and Goldap, about 20 km north of the current border. But already in September-October 1945 the situation changed dramatically. In some sections, the border was moved without permission by the decision of the commanders of individual units of the Soviet Army. Allegedly, Stalin himself controlled the passage of the border in this region. For the Polish side, the eviction of the local Polish administration and population from towns and villages already settled and taken under Polish control came as a complete surprise. Since many settlements were already populated by Polish settlers, it got to the point that a Pole, leaving for work in the morning, could upon returning find out that his home was already on the territory of the USSR.
Władysław Gomulka, at that time the Polish Minister for the Returned Lands (Recovered Lands (Ziemie Odzyskane) is the general name for the territories that belonged to the Third Reich until 1939, and were transferred after the end of World War II to Poland according to the decisions of the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, as well as the results of bilateral agreements between Poland and the USSR - admin), noted:
“In the first days of September (1945), facts of unauthorized violation of the northern border of the Masurian district by Soviet army authorities were recorded in the territories of the Gerdauen, Bartenstein and Darkemen regions. The border line, defined at that time, was moved deeper into Polish territory to a distance of 12-14 km.”
A striking example of a unilateral and unauthorized change of the border (12-14 km south of the agreed line) by the Soviet army authorities is the Gerdauen region, where the border was changed after the delimitation act signed by the two parties on July 15, 1945. Commissioner for the Masurian District (Colonel Jakub Prawin - Jakub Prawin, 1901-1957 - member of the Communist Party of Poland, brigadier general of the Polish Army, statesman; was the plenipotentiary representative of the Polish government at the headquarters of the 3rd Belorussian Front, then the government representative in the Warmia-Masurian District, head of the administration of this district, and from May 23 to November 1945, the first governor of the Olsztyn Voivodeship. admin) was informed in writing on September 4 that the Soviet authorities had ordered the Gerdauen mayor, Jan Kaszynski, to immediately leave the local administration and resettle the Polish civilian population. The next day (September 5), representatives of J. Pravin (Zygmunt Walewicz, Tadeusz Smolik and Tadeusz Lewandowski) expressed an oral protest against such orders to the representatives of the Soviet military administration in Gerdauen, Lieutenant Colonel Shadrin and Captain Zakroev. In response, they were told that the Polish side would be notified in advance of any changes to the border. In this area, the Soviet military leadership began to evict the German civilian population, while prohibiting Polish settlers from entering these territories. In this regard, on September 11, a protest was sent from Nordenburg to the District Prosecutor's Office in Olsztyn (Allenstein). This indicates that back in September 1945 this territory was Polish.
A similar situation was in the Bartenstein (Bartoszyce) district, the headman of which received all the acceptance documents on July 7, 1945, and already on September 14, the Soviet military authorities gave the order to free the areas around the villages of Schönbruch and Klingenberg from the Polish population. Klingenberg). Despite protests from the Polish side (09/16/1945), both territories were transferred to the USSR.
In the Preussisch-Eylau area, the military commandant, Major Malakhov, transferred all powers to the headman Pyotr Gagatko on June 27, 1945, but already on October 16, the head of the Soviet border troops in the area, Colonel Golovkin, informed the headman about the transfer of the border one kilometer south of Preussisch-Eylau. Despite protests from the Poles (10/17/1945), the border was moved back. On December 12, 1945, on behalf of Pravin's deputy Jerzy Burski, the mayor of Preussisch-Eylau vacated the city administration and handed it over to the Soviet authorities.
In connection with the unauthorized actions of the Soviet side to move the border, Yakub Pravin repeatedly (September 13, October 7, 17, 30, November 6, 1945) appealed to the central authorities in Warsaw with a request to influence the leadership of the Northern Group of Forces of the Soviet Army. The protest was also sent to the representative of the Server Group of Forces in the Masurian District, Major Yolkin. But all Pravin's appeals had no effect.
The result of arbitrary border adjustments not in favor of the Polish side in the northern part of the Masurian district was that the borders of almost all northern powiats (powiat - district. - admin) were changed.
Bronislaw Saluda, a researcher on this problem from Olsztyn, noted:
“...subsequent adjustments to the border line could lead to the fact that some of the villages already occupied by the population could end up on Soviet territory and the work of the settlers to improve it would be in vain. In addition, it happened that the border separated a residential building from the outbuildings or land plot assigned to it. In Shchurkovo it so happened that the border passed through a cattle barn. The Soviet military administration responded to complaints from the population that the loss of land here would be compensated by lands on the Polish-German border.”
The exit to the Baltic Sea from the Vistula Lagoon was blocked by the Soviet Union, and the final demarcation of the border on the Vistula (Baltic) Spit was carried out only in 1958.
According to some historians, in exchange for the agreement of the Allied leaders (Roosevelt and Churchill) to include the northern part of East Prussia with Königsberg into the Soviet Union, Stalin offered to transfer Bialystok, Podlasie, Chelm and Przemysl to Poland.
In April 1946, the official demarcation of the Polish-Soviet border on the territory of the former East Prussia took place. But she did not put an end to changing the border in this region. Until February 15, 1956, 16 more border adjustments took place in favor of the Kaliningrad region. From the initial draft of the border, presented in Moscow by the State Defense Committee of the USSR for consideration by the PKNO, in reality the borders were moved 30 km to the south. Even in 1956, when the influence of Stalinism on Poland weakened, the Soviet side “threatened” the Poles with “adjusting” the borders.
On April 29, 1956, the USSR proposed to the Polish People's Republic (PPR) to resolve the issue of the temporary state of the border within the Kaliningrad region, which had persisted since 1945. The border agreement was concluded in Moscow on March 5, 1957. The PPR ratified this treaty on April 18, 1957, and on May 4 of the same year, an exchange of ratified documents took place. After a few more minor adjustments, in 1958 the border was defined on the ground and with the installation of boundary pillars.
The Vistula (Kaliningrad) Lagoon (838 sq. km) was divided between Poland (328 sq. km) and the Soviet Union. Poland, contrary to initial plans, found itself cut off from the exit from the bay to the Baltic Sea, which led to the disruption of the once established shipping routes: the Polish part of the Vistula Lagoon became the “dead sea”. The “naval blockade” of Elblag, Tolkmicko, Frombork and Braniewo also affected the development of these cities. Despite the fact that an additional protocol was attached to the agreement of July 27, 1944, which stated that peaceful ships would be allowed free access through the Pilau Strait to the Baltic Sea.
The final border passed through railways and roads, canals, settlements and even farmsteads. For centuries, the emerging single geographical, political and economic territory was arbitrarily dismembered. The border passed through the territory of six former territories.
Polish-Soviet border in East Prussia. Yellow indicates the version of the border as of February 1945; blue indicates August 1945; red indicates the actual border between Poland and the Kaliningrad region. It is believed that as a result of numerous border adjustments, Poland lost about 1,125 square meters in this region relative to the original border design. km of territory. The border drawn “along the line” led to numerous negative consequences. For example, between Braniewo and Gołdap, out of 13 roads that once existed, 10 turned out to be cut by the border; between Sempopol and Kaliningrad, 30 out of 32 roads were broken. The unfinished Masurian Canal was also cut almost in half. Numerous power and telephone lines were also cut. All this could not but lead to a worsening of the economic situation in settlements adjacent to the border: who would want to live in a settlement whose affiliation is not determined? There was a fear that the Soviet side might once again move the border to the south. Some more or less serious settlement of these places by settlers began only in the summer of 1947, during the forced resettlement of thousands of Ukrainians to these areas during Operation Vistula.
The border, practically drawn from west to east along the latitude, led to the fact that throughout the entire territory from Gołdap to Elbląg the economic situation never improved, although at one time Elbing, which became part of Poland, was the largest and most economically developed city (after Königsberg ) in East Prussia. Olsztyn became the new capital of the region, although until the end of the 1960s it was less populated and less economically developed than Elblag. The negative role of the final partition of East Prussia also affected the indigenous population of this region - the Masurians. All this significantly delayed the economic development of this entire region.
Fragment of a map of the administrative divisions of Poland. 1945 Source: Elbląska Biblioteka Cyfrowa. 
Legend to the above map. The dotted line is the border between Poland and the Kaliningrad region according to the agreement of August 16, 1945; solid line—voivodeship boundaries; dot-dotted line - borders of powiats. The option of drawing a border using a ruler (a rare case in Europe) was subsequently often used for African countries gaining independence.
The current length of the border between Poland and the Kaliningrad region (since 1991, the border with the Russian Federation) is 232.4 km. This includes 9.5 km of water border and 835 m of land border on the Baltic Spit.
Two voivodeships have a common border with the Kaliningrad region: Pomeranian and Warmian-Masurian, and six poviats: Nowodworski (on the Vistula Spit), Braniewski, Bartoszycki, Kieszynski, Węgorzewski and Gołdapski.
There are border crossings on the border: 6 land crossings (road Gronowo - Mamonovo, Grzechotki - Mamonovo II, Bezledy - Bagrationovsk, Goldap - Gusev; railway Braniewo - Mamonovo, Skandava - Zheleznodorozhny) and 2 sea.
On July 17, 1985, an agreement was signed in Moscow between Poland and the Soviet Union on the delimitation of territorial waters, economic zones, marine fishing zones and the continental shelf of the Baltic Sea.
The western border of Poland was recognized by the German Democratic Republic by the treaty of July 6, 1950, the Federal Republic of Germany recognized the border of Poland by the treaty of December 7, 1970 (clause 3 of Article I of this treaty states that the parties do not have any territorial claims to each other, and renounce any claims in the future. However, before the unification of Germany and the signing of the Polish-German border treaty on November 14, 1990, the Federal Republic of Germany officially declared that the German lands ceded to Poland after World War II were in the “temporary possession of the Polish administration.” "
The Russian enclave on the territory of the former East Prussia - the Kaliningrad region - still does not have international legal status. After World War II, the victorious powers agreed to transfer Königsberg to the jurisdiction of the Soviet Union, but only until an agreement was signed in accordance with international law, which would ultimately determine the status of this territory. An international treaty with Germany was signed only in 1990. The signing of it was previously prevented by the Cold War and Germany, divided into two states. And although Germany has officially renounced its claims to the Kaliningrad region, formal sovereignty over this territory has not been formalized by Russia.
Already in November 1939, the Polish government in exile was considering the inclusion of all of East Prussia into Poland after the end of the war. Also in November 1943, the Polish ambassador Edward Raczynski, in a memorandum handed over to the British authorities, among other things mentioned the desire to include all of East Prussia in Poland.
Schönbruch (now Szczurkowo/Shchurkovo) is a Polish settlement located near the border with the Kaliningrad region. During the formation of the border, part of Schönbruch ended up on Soviet territory, part on Polish territory. The settlement was designated on Soviet maps as Shirokoe (now does not exist). It was not possible to find out whether Shirokoe was inhabited.
Klingenberg (now Ostre Bardo/Ostre Bardo) is a Polish settlement a few kilometers east of Szczurkovo. It is located near the border with the Kaliningrad region. ( admin)
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It seems to us that it would be appropriate to cite the texts of some official documents that formed the basis for the process of dividing East Prussia and delimiting the territories allocated to the Soviet Union and Poland, and which were mentioned in the above article by V. Kalishuk.
Excerpts from the Materials of the Crimean (Yalta) Conference of the leaders of the three allied powers - the USSR, the USA and Great Britain
We have gathered at the Crimean Conference to resolve our differences on the Polish issue. We have fully discussed all aspects of the Polish question. We reaffirmed our common desire to see the establishment of a strong, free, independent and democratic Poland, and as a result of our negotiations we agreed on the terms on which a new Provisional Polish Government of National Unity would be formed in such a way as to gain recognition from the three major powers.
The following agreement has been reached:
“A new situation was created in Poland as a result of its complete liberation by the Red Army. This requires the creation of a Provisional Polish Government, which would have a broader base than was previously possible before the recent liberation of Western Poland. The Provisional Government currently operating in Poland must therefore be reorganized on a broader democratic basis, with the inclusion of democratic figures from Poland itself and Poles from abroad. This new government should then be called the Polish Provisional Government of National Unity.
V. M. Molotov, Mr. W. A. Harriman and Sir Archibald K. Kerr are authorized to consult at Moscow as a Commission primarily with the members of the present Provisional Government and with other Polish democratic leaders both from Poland itself and from abroad. borders, having in mind the reorganization of the present Government on the above principles. This Polish Provisional Government of National Unity must commit itself to holding free and unobstructed elections as soon as possible on the basis of universal suffrage by secret ballot. In these elections, all anti-Nazi and democratic parties must have the right to participate and nominate candidates.
When the Polish Provisional Government of National Unity has been duly formed in accordance with (270) the above, the Government of the USSR, which at present maintains diplomatic relations with the present Provisional Government of Poland, the Government of the United Kingdom and the Government of the United States will establish diplomatic relations with the new Polish Provisional Government of National Unity and exchange ambassadors, from whose reports the respective governments will be informed of the situation in Poland.
The Heads of the Three Governments believe that the Eastern border of Poland should run along the Curzon line with deviations from it in some areas of five to eight kilometers in favor of Poland. The Heads of the Three Governments recognize that Poland must receive significant increases in territory in the North and West. They believe that on the question of the size of these increments the opinion of the new Polish Government of National Unity will be sought in due course and that thereafter the final determination of the Western border of Poland will be postponed until the peace conference."
Winston S. Churchill
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Where is Prussia right now? and got the best answer
Answer from Leonid Yaroshevsky[guru]
Prussia is a state, then a state in Germany (until 1945). The main historical core of Prussia is Brandenburg, which united in 1618 with the Duchy of Prussia (which arose in 1525 on part of the lands of the Teutonic Order, captured by it from the Prussians). The Brandenburg-Prussian state became in 1701 the Kingdom of Prussia (capital Berlin). The Junkers played a leading role in the economic and political life of Prussia. Prussian kings from the Hohenzollern dynasty (Frederick II and others) in the 18th - 1st half of the 19th centuries. significantly expanded the territory of the state. In 1871, the Prussian Junkers, led by Bismarck, completed the unification of Germany on a Prussian-militarist basis with iron and blood; the Prussian king also became the German emperor. As a result of the November Revolution of 1918 in Germany, the monarchy in Prussia was abolished, Prussia became one of the German states. After the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, the territory of Prussia was divided into separate states (1945); in 1947, the Control Council for Germany adopted a law on the liquidation of the Prussian state as a stronghold of militarism and reaction.
Answer from Cameroonian Mgwanga[guru]
Well, look at the map - Western and Eastern Prussia - at different times occupied the lands of modern states (from west to east) - East Germany, Poland, Russia (Kaliningrad region), Lithuania
And here is a map of East Prussia within the borders of 1939: 
Answer from Ena Balakireva[guru]
In Russia, and in pieces in other countries
Answer from Victoria Mikhailevskaya[newbie]
part in Poland part in Russia
Answer from Secret[guru]
Prussia (German: Preußen) is the historical name of a number of regions in eastern and central Europe, namely
A region inhabited by the people of the same name (Prussians) on the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea, conquered by the Teutonic Knights during the Middle Ages. This region later became known as East Prussia
A kingdom that had been under the rule of the German Hohenzollern dynasty since 1701. Included (East) Prussia proper, as well as Brandenburg. The capital was initially located in Königsberg, and after the Thirty Years' War - in Berlin.
A territorial entity within the Weimar Republic that arose after the fall of the Hohenzollerns in 1918, comprising most of the former kingdom. In 1947, Prussia was abolished as a territorial entity by decision of the Allies as part of the post-war reconstruction of Europe.
Answer from Bumako mambuto[guru]
Hello, East Prussia is the Kaliningrad region and part of it went to Poland. idiots - Berlin is Brandenburg
Originally posted by chistoprudov at Germany in Russian.
These lands are often called the Koenigsber region. This is the westernmost and smallest region of the Russian Federation. It is located in Central Europe and is separated from the rest of Russia by the territory of other states - Poland in the south and Lithuania in the north and east. A piece of the former Prussia, and then the former Germany, is now a semi-exclave, which is located 400-500 kilometers from Russia.
Here they say: “in Russia”, here there are different ideas about distances (which for locals is “very far”, for many Russians it is a daily journey from home to work), here on weekends many go to buy groceries abroad. Everything here seems to be in Russian, but somehow different.
Brief historical background:
“At the end of the 19th century, after the division of the Prussian province, East Prussia became an independent province of the German Empire.
After the defeat of Germany in the First World War, under pressure from the victorious countries (USA, France, Great Britain), the country was forced to cede to Poland a number of its territories in the lower reaches of the Vistula River plus a 71-kilometer stretch of the Baltic Sea coast. Thus, Poland gained access to the Baltic Sea and, accordingly, isolated the territory of East Prussia by land, which turned into a German semi-exclave.
After 1945, by decision of the Potsdam Conference, Prussia was liquidated as a state entity. East Prussia was divided between the Soviet Union and Poland. One third of East Prussia, along with the capital Königsberg (which was renamed Kaliningrad), was given to the Soviet Union. With the collapse of the USSR, this region became a semi-exclave territory of the Russian Federation. A small part, including part of the Curonian Spit, was transferred to the Lithuanian SSR.
All settlements and many geographical objects (rivers, bays of the Baltic Sea) of the former East Prussia were renamed, replacing German names with Russian ones.”
My journey through the Kaliningrad region began in Baltiysk, the westernmost city in Russia, where the largest naval base on the Baltic Sea is located. After visiting the destroyer Bespokoiny, I went to a car rental and rented a Skoda Octavia for 1,600 rubles for a day. Bloggers from Kaliningrad helped me create a short route around the region. In Kaliningrad itself I saw almost nothing. Visually, the “scoop” occupied the entire city, and there were almost no beautiful buildings left.
1. Kaliningrad city military registration and enlistment office.
2. Residential building on repair street. One part is German, the other is Soviet.
I took a ride along Pobedy Avenue, Kutuzov Street and neighboring alleys, but I couldn’t find anything special without a guide.
3. Gothic against the backdrop of a scoop. The Königsberg Cathedral, built in the Baltic Gothic style (1333), is one of the few Gothic buildings in Russia.
Pre-war photograph of the cathedral ()
4. I decided to spend the night in Sovetsk (this is the former Tilsit). A large town and the second largest town in the Kaliningrad region. 120 km from Kaliningrad.
A single room at the Rossiya Hotel cost me 1,200 rubles, guarded parking - 60 rubles. Someone was crying behind the wall all night.
5. Father Lenin does not understand why his monument stands on the square of a European town. View from my room window.
6. Morning in Sovetsk. Departure from the guarded parking lot in the backyard of the hotel. The very center.
7. I drove to the Neman embankment, left the car at the Sovetsk-Panemune international checkpoint (international road checkpoint between Russia and Lithuania) and went for a walk.
On the left is Russia, on the right, after 300 meters is Lithuania. You can even see the houses.
8. The customs terminal is connected to the Lithuanian coast via the Queen Louise Bridge. Construction of the bridge began in 1904. The width of the river in this place reached 220 meters. The bridge rested on two bulls and with the rise of its three arches became the pride of the city. Unfortunately, on October 22, 1944, Wehrmacht engineering units blew up the bridge to delay the advance of the Soviet army. The spans of the bridge and its northern portal were destroyed. Only the southern portal of the bridge has survived. It is he who is depicted on the coat of arms of Sovetsk and is a symbol of the city.
This is what the bridge looked like before the war:
This is what the main streets of the city looked like:
9. Now the main street of the city looks like this.
10. What a balcony! What a grille! You just need to repair everything.
11. Beauty!
12. Suddenly, under a layer of asphalt - German paving stones. On many streets it has been preserved - it has been laid for centuries. It’s a pity that it’s not pleasant to drive a car on paving stones, so they roll it into asphalt.
13. Some buildings have been restored, but such examples are few. The 1899 house definitely needs to be decorated with a creepy green sign.
15. Unfortunately, instead of restoring the magnificent building and turning it into a tourist attraction (as they do in Europe), people are using the castle as a support for an external pipeline.
17. Almost all old roads in the region are densely lined with linden trees.
18. In Gusev, even the locals couldn’t advise me on what’s best to see. I had to look for it myself.
A beautiful former people's bank building in neo-Gothic style. Today it is a dormitory for a lighting fixtures factory.
19. An incredibly monstrous addition to a wonderful building. Having found nothing interesting, I go to Chernyakhovsk (formerly Insterburg).
20. I park next to the building of St. Michael's Church, which used to be a Lutheran church.
22. Church of St. Bruno of Querfurt - a Catholic church in the city center. After World War II, the church building was used as a military warehouse until the early 90s, when the badly damaged structure was transferred to the Ministry of Culture for reconstruction into an organ hall. In July 1993, the temple was returned to the Catholic community.
23. Clothes from Europe. The city of Insterburg was founded as a castle in 1336 by the German knights of the Teutonic Order during the conquest of Prussia.
24. Many interesting German buildings have been preserved in Chernyakhovsk, but it’s a pity that they are not in perfect condition.
25. Window frames in entrances with only one glass (single-glazed unit).
26. Exit from the entrance to the street.
27. In Chernyakhovsk he joined me Vasya Maksimov from Reedus. It became more fun.
28. “Basement” and a swastika on the door.
30. Homeless Volodya.
31. Artifact “Construction company H. Osterreuth” and “greetings from Andrey.” This Andrey, who wrote the miracle inscription, is, of course, incredibly cool.
32. There are three types of buildings in the city:
- old German houses,
- laconic soviet buildings (as in the upper right corner)
33. - and modern freaks.
34. On some streets, bicycle paths are visible under the snow. Nowadays cars are parked there.
35. The quality and elegance of German and Soviet brickwork.
36. Residents are renovating their apartments as best they can. White plastic windows look like false teeth.
37. Old German water tower built in 1898.
Pre-war photographs of the city:
Insterburg Castle. Now there is almost nothing left of him.
38. Not far from the city there are a stud farm and the Georgenburg castle, which was built in 1337 on the high bank of the Inster River. After the War of 1812, the castle was bought by immigrants from Scotland, the Simpsons, who founded a stud farm there. In 1899, the castle and estate were bought by the Prussian state for three million marks.
After the war, all the horses became our war trophies. On the basis of the former German stud farm "Georgenburg" in 1948, the Chernyakhovskaya state stable was formed. Since then, the stud farm has been famous far beyond the region.
After the war, transit camp No. 445 for German prisoners of war was located in the castle; almost 250 thousand people passed through it. After this, the castle was used first as a place of detention, then as an infectious diseases hospital, which existed until the 70s.
39. Territory of the stud farm.
40. Try to translate the inscription...
41. A typical village of a completely non-Russian appearance.
43. The final point of our journey was the city of Gerdauen (now Zheleznodorozhny). It is the best example of a city with medieval buildings preserved intact, although fairly dilapidated and continuing to collapse.
45. Several buildings from the 17th century have survived. But, alas, they don’t have long left.
46. Children ride down the slide against the backdrop of the 15th century Order Church.
48. 15th century!
50. Vasya and I wanted to look at the abandoned Kinderhof brewery, which is now being torn down into bricks, but we were detained by border guards. It turned out that we did not notice the sign that we were entering the border zone. And within two hours we had to return the car at the airport and rush to catch our return flight...
We spent 40 minutes at the border post, received a warning and rushed back to Kaliningrad. On the way, I idiotically flew into a ditch. We were lucky - we were quickly pulled out by a passing Niva. Thanks to the good people!
51. Due to a traffic jam at the local Moscow Ring Road, we barely had time to check in for the flight. In the inspection area they took away my favorite adjustable wrench, although they let me through to Sheremetyevo with it. And so my journey through the Koenigsberg region ended.
One of the most significant operations carried out by the Red Army in 1945 was the storming of Königsberg and the liberation of East Prussia.
Fortifications of the Grolman upper front, Oberteich bastion after capitulation/
Fortifications of the Grolman upper front, Oberteich bastion. Courtyard.
Troops of the 10th Tank Corps of the 5th Guards Tank Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front occupy the city of Mühlhausen (now the Polish city of Mlynar) during the Mlawa-Elbing operation.
German soldiers and officers captured during the assault on Konigsberg.
A column of German prisoners walks along Hindenburg Strasse in the city of Insterburg (East Prussia), towards the Lutheran Church (now the city of Chernyakhovsk, Lenin Street).
Soviet soldiers carry the weapons of fallen comrades after a battle in East Prussia.
Soviet soldiers learn to overcome barbed wire barriers.
Soviet officers inspect one of the forts in occupied Konigsberg.
An MG-42 machine gun crew fires near the railway station of the city of Goldap in battles with Soviet troops. 
Ships in the frozen harbor of Pillau (now Baltiysk, Kaliningrad region of Russia), late January 1945.
Königsberg, Tragheim district after the assault, damaged building.
German grenadiers are moving towards the last Soviet positions in the area of the railway station in the city of Goldap.
Koenigsberg. Kronprinz Barracks, tower.
Koenigsberg, one of the inter-fort fortifications.
The air support ship Hans Albrecht Wedel receives refugees in Pillau harbor.
Advanced German troops enter the East Prussian town of Goldap, which was previously occupied by Soviet troops.
Koenigsberg, panorama of the ruins of the city.
The corpse of a German woman killed by an explosion in Metgethen in East Prussia.
The Pz.Kpfw tank belonging to the 5th Panzer Division. V Ausf. G "Panther" on the street of the city of Goldap.
A German soldier hanged on the outskirts of Königsberg for looting. The inscription in German “Plündern wird mit-dem Tode bestraft!” translated as “Whoever robs will be executed!”
A Soviet soldier in a German armored personnel carrier Sdkfz 250 on one of the streets of Konigsberg.
Units of the German 5th Panzer Division move forward for a counterattack against Soviet forces. Kattenau region, East Prussia. Ahead is a Pz.Kpfw tank. V "Panther".
Koenigsberg, barricade on the street.
A battery of 88 mm anti-aircraft guns is preparing to repel a Soviet tank attack. East Prussia, mid-February 1945.
German positions on the approaches to Koenigsberg. The inscription reads: “We will defend Koenigsberg.” Propaganda photo.
The Soviet self-propelled gun ISU-122S is fighting in Koenigsberg. 3rd Belorussian Front, April 1945.
German sentry on a bridge in the center of Konigsberg.
A Soviet motorcyclist passes by German StuG IV self-propelled guns and a 105 mm howitzer abandoned on the road.
A German landing ship evacuating troops from the Heiligenbeil pocket enters Pillau harbor.
Koenigsberg, blown up by a pillbox.
Damaged German self-propelled gun StuG III Ausf. G in front of the Kronprinz Tower, Königsberg.
Koenigsberg, panorama from the Don Tower.
Koenisberg, April 1945. View of the Royal Castle
A German StuG III assault gun knocked out in Königsberg. In the foreground is a killed German soldier.
German equipment on Mitteltragheim street in Königsberg after the assault. To the right and left are StuG III assault guns, in the background is a JgdPz IV tank destroyer.
Grolman upper front, Grolman bastion. Before the capitulation of the fortress, it housed the headquarters of the 367th Wehrmacht Infantry Division.
On the street of Pillau port. Evacuated German soldiers throw their weapons and equipment before loading onto ships.
A German 88-mm FlaK 36/37 anti-aircraft gun abandoned on the outskirts of Königsberg.
Koenigsberg, panorama. Don Tower, Rossgarten Gate.
Koenigsberg, German bunker in the Horst Wessel Park area.
Unfinished barricade on Herzog Albrecht Alley in Königsberg (now Thälmann Street).
Koenigsberg, destroyed German artillery battery.
German prisoners at the Sackheim Gate in Königsberg.
Koenigsberg, German trenches.
German machine gun crew in position in Koenigsberg near the Don Tower.
German refugees on Pillau Street pass by a column of Soviet SU-76M self-propelled guns.
Koenigsberg, Friedrichsburg Gate after the assault.
Koenigsberg, Wrangel Tower, fortress moat.
View from the Don Tower on Oberteich (Upper Pond), Königsberg.
On the street of Koenigsberg after the assault.
Koenigsberg, Wrangel Tower after the surrender.
Corporal I.A. Gureev at his post at the border marker in East Prussia.
A Soviet unit in a street battle in Koenigsberg.
Traffic police officer Sergeant Anya Karavaeva on the way to Konigsberg.
Soviet soldiers in the city of Allenstein (currently the city of Olsztyn in Poland) in East Prussia.
Artillerymen of the guard of Lieutenant Sofronov are fighting on Avaider Alley in Konigsberg (now Alley of the Brave).
The result of an airstrike on German positions in East Prussia.
Soviet soldiers are fighting in the streets on the outskirts of Koenigsberg. 3rd Belorussian Front.
Soviet armored boat No. 214 in the Koenigsberg Canal after a battle with a German tank.
German collection point for faulty captured armored vehicles in the Königsberg area.
Evacuation of the remnants of the "Gross Germany" division to the Pillau area.
German equipment abandoned in Konigsberg. In the foreground is a 150 mm sFH 18 howitzer.
Koenigsberg. Bridge over the moat to the Rossgarten Gate. Don Tower in the background
An abandoned German 105-mm howitzer le.F.H.18/40 at a position in Konigsberg.
A German soldier lights a cigarette near a StuG IV self-propelled gun.
A damaged German Pz.Kpfw tank is on fire. V Ausf. G "Panther". 3rd Belorussian Front.
Soldiers of the Grossdeutschland division are loaded onto homemade rafts to cross the Frisches Huff Bay (now Kaliningrad Bay). Balga Peninsula, Cape Kalholz.
Soldiers of the Grossdeutschland division in positions on the Balga Peninsula.
Meeting of Soviet soldiers on the border with East Prussia. 3rd Belorussian Front.
The bow of a German transport sinking as a result of an attack by Baltic Fleet aircraft off the coast of East Prussia.
The observer pilot of the Henschel Hs.126 reconnaissance aircraft takes pictures of the area during a training flight.
A damaged German StuG IV assault gun. East Prussia, February 1945.
Seeing off Soviet soldiers from Koenigsberg.
The Germans inspect a damaged Soviet T-34-85 tank in the village of Nemmersdorf.
Tank "Panther" from the 5th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht in Gołdap.
German soldiers armed with Panzerfaust grenade launchers next to an MG 151/20 aircraft cannon in the infantry version.
A column of German Panther tanks is moving towards the front in East Prussia.
Broken cars on the street of Königsberg, which was taken by storm. Soviet soldiers in the background.
Troops of the Soviet 10th Tank Corps and the bodies of German soldiers on Mühlhausen Street.
Soviet sappers walk down the street of burning Insterburg in East Prussia.
A column of Soviet IS-2 tanks on a road in East Prussia. 1st Belorussian Front.
A Soviet officer inspects the German Jagdpanther self-propelled gun that was knocked out in East Prussia.
Soviet soldiers sleep, resting after the fighting, right on the street of Königsberg, which was taken by storm.
Koenigsberg, anti-tank barriers.
German refugees with a baby in Konigsberg.
A short rally in the 8th company after reaching the state border of the USSR.
A group of pilots of the Normandie-Niemen air regiment near a Yak-3 fighter in East Prussia.
A sixteen-year-old Volkssturm fighter armed with an MP 40 submachine gun. East Prussia.
Construction of defensive structures, East Prussia, mid-July 1944.
Refugees from Königsberg moving towards Pillau, mid-February 1945.
German soldiers at a rest stop near Pillau.
German quad anti-aircraft gun FlaK 38 mounted on a tractor. Fischhausen (now Primorsk), East Prussia.
Civilians and a captured German soldier on Pillau Street during garbage collection after the end of the fighting for the city.
Boats of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet undergoing repairs in Pillau (currently the city of Baltiysk in the Kaliningrad region of Russia).
German auxiliary ship "Franken" after an attack by Il-2 attack aircraft of the Baltic Fleet Air Force.
Bomb explosion on the German ship Franken as a result of an attack by Il-2 attack aircraft of the Baltic Fleet Air Force
A gap from a heavy shell in the wall of the Oberteich bastion fortifications of the Grolman upper front of Koenigsberg.
The bodies of two German women and three children allegedly killed by Soviet soldiers in the town of Metgethen in East Prussia in January-February 1945. German propaganda photo.
Transportation of the Soviet 280-mm mortar Br-5 in East Prussia.
Distribution of food to Soviet soldiers in Pillau after the end of the fighting for the city.
Soviet soldiers pass through a German settlement on the outskirts of Konigsberg.
A broken German StuG IV assault gun on the streets of Allenstein (now Olsztyn, Poland.)
Soviet infantry, supported by the SU-76 self-propelled gun, attacks German positions in the Königsberg area.
A column of self-propelled guns SU-85 on the march in East Prussia.
Sign "Motorway to Berlin" on one of the roads in East Prussia.
Explosion on the tanker Sassnitz. The tanker with a cargo of fuel was sunk on March 26, 1945, 30 miles from Liepaja by aircraft of the 51st mine-torpedo air regiment and the 11th attack air division of the Baltic Fleet Air Force.
Bombing of German transport and port facilities of Pillau by Red Banner Baltic Fleet Air Force aircraft.
The German hydroaviation mother ship Boelcke, attacked by an Il-2 squadron of the 7th Guards Attack Aviation Regiment of the Baltic Fleet Air Force, 7.5 km southeast of Cape Hel.
