Radomsko


Radomsko is a town in central Poland with 45,843 inhabitants. It is situated on the Radomka river in the Łódź Voivodeship, having previously been in Piotrków Trybunalski Voivodeship. It is the capital of Radomsko county.

History

Radomsko received town privileges from Duke Leszek II the Black of Sieradz in 1266. It is the site of a Franciscan monastery built on behalf of Bona Sforza, the queen consort of King Sigismund I of Poland.

World War II

Following the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Radomsko was taken over by the Wehrmacht on 3 September 1939. In April 1940 a Nazi ghetto was set up in the Przedborze district for local Polish Jews. The ghetto was liquidated in two stages during the Holocaust. The first deportation action took place in early October 1942 with prisoners sent aboard freight trains to Treblinka. On 12 October, approximately 9,000 Jews were deported. A small group of Jewish slave labour was allowed to stay behind. They were sent to Treblinka in January 1943. Radomsko was declared Judenfrei. In retaliation, the unit of Armia Krajowa ambushed and shot the Chief of Gestapo Willy Berger and his deputy Johann Wagner on 27 May 1943. The German pacification action took place on 3 August 1943 in Rejowice. The settlement was levelled; some AK soldiers were captured and brought to Radomsko. The Nazi prison in Radomsko, located at the historic Ratusz, was attacked by AK on the night of 7–8 August 1943; and the prisoners were rescued. The attack was led by Porucznik Stanisław "Zbigniew" Sojczyński.
To eliminate the "Polish bandits" in the vicinity of Radomsko, some 1,000 SS and Wehrmacht soldiers were called in by the German administration. The battle was fought on 1 June 1944 near Krzętów, against about 80 AK partisans led by Florian "Andrzej" Budniak. The German army, unfamiliar with the local forest, lost 250 men and retreated. The second battle was launched on 12 September 1944 near Ewina. It was one of the biggest battles of the Polish underground in World War II, fought for several hours. The 3rd Brigade of Armia Ludowa with 600 partisans, stood against the German force ten times larger. The losses of the enemy were estimated at approximately 100 killed and 200 wounded. The Polish losses amounted to 12 killed partisans, 11 wounded, and several missing. The battles earned Radomsko the Nazi German nickname of 'Banditenstadt', meaning 'the City of Bandits'.

Transport

The town has access to the railway line from Warsaw to Katowice operated by the Polish State Railways. It can be reached by the national road No.1, the future A1 autostrada from Gdańsk to Gliwice at the Radomsko junction.

Sports

Twin towns — sister cities

Radomsko is twinned with: