Rebuilding the Unknown
Forced Resettlement and Urban Identity Formation in Szczecin between 1945 - 1980
P.M. Bączkowski (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
S. Calitz – Mentor (TU Delft - Architecture and the Built Environment)
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Abstract
This paper explores the forced resettlement and urban identity formation in the city of Szczecin. The city underwent significant political and architectural transformation after the events of World War II. By looking at forced displacement, this paper will examine the urban transformation that happened in the city post 1945. It will look at how the city’s new inhabitants, uprooted from eastern Polish territories, navigated a landscape filled with remnants of the German past. Szczecin, once a thriving German port city, was rebranded as part of “Recovered Territories” and was given to Poland in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Its new citizens were tasked with creating homes and identities in an unfamiliar environment. By focusing on personal narratives and spatial transformation of the city, I will investigate how these settlers adapted in the city. The paper will analyse the symbolic efforts to erase German heritage and how that played a role in constructing a new Polish identity. This study sheds light on the complexities of belonging in post-war urban spaces and the role of architecture and urban
design in the formation of collective identity. From looking at the transformation of the historical centre between 1945 and the 1950s and the construction of communist-era housing estates, this paper will analyse how those spaces were shaped by factors of forced resettlement. Through archival research, urban analysis, and oral histories, I will aim to offer insights into the lasting effects of forced resettlement on the cultural and architectural identity of post-war Szczecin.