Treuenbrietzen

Infobox Ort in Deutschland
Art = Stadt
Wappen = Wappen von Treuenbrietzen.pnglat_deg = 52 |lat_min = 05 |lat_sec = 50
lon_deg = 12 |lon_min = 52 |lon_sec = 16
Lageplan = Treuenbrietzen in PM.pngBundesland = Brandenburg
Landkreis = Potsdam-Mittelmark
Höhe = 59
Fläche = 211.33
Einwohner = 8207
Stand = 2006-12-31
PLZ = 14929
Vorwahl = 033748
Kfz = PM
Gemeindeschlüssel = 12 0 69 632
Gliederung = 16 Ortsteile
Straße = Großstr. 105
Website = [http://www.treuenbrietzen.de/ Treuenbrietzen]
Bürgermeister = Michael Knape
Partei = FDP

Treuenbrietzen is a town in the Bundesland of Brandenburg, Germany.

The town has existed since the Middle Ages and the first written evidence about it is from 1217. During the Reformation, Martin Luther came in 1537 to preach in the town, but his way to the church was blocked. He preached instead under a basswood, which is called to this day "Lutherlinde".

During the Industrial Revolution, several textile factories have been founded in the town. After the opening of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in 1936, a sub-camp was opened in the town, where slave labourers were forced to work in a weapons plant. With the approach of the Red Army, on April 23, 1945, the Wehrmacht executed 127 Italian POWs, who were interned in the camp [http://www.swr.de/report/archiv/sendungen/050321/05/frames.html] . Between April 24 and May 1, 1945, much fighting occurred around the town, between the Wehrmacht and the Soviet 5th Guards Mechanised Corps.

According to an article in Der Tagesspiegel entitled "Stadt ohne Männer" ("City without men") soldiers from the Red Army executed roughly 1000 civilian inhabitants of the city shortly after its capture. Many women from the town were also raped during this "victory celebration" by the Red Army.:"Die Rote Armee hatte an den letzten April- und ersten Maitagen rund 1000 Zivilisten im Wald erschossen, vorrangig männlichen Geschlechts." Translation: The Red Army had during the last days of April and early days of May shot roughly 1000 civilians in the forest, mainly of male sex. [Claus-Dieter Steyer, "Stadt ohne Männer" ("City without men") , Der Tagesspiegel online June 21 2006 , viewed November 11 2006 at [http://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/archiv/21.06.2006/2610181.asp] ] (see also Red Army atrocities). According to German Wikipedia article "Massaker von Treuenbrietzen" the number of victims was between 80 and more than 1000, 125 graves exist.

The town suffered damages during the war, although the historic town centre remained intact. Since 1945, the town's economy concentrates in cattle cultivation. In 2005, it had 8,548 residents. The mayor of Treuenbrietzen is Michael Knape, of the FDP.

Famous Residents

* Martin Chemnitz (theologian)
* Friedrich Heinrich Himmel (composer)
* Henry Maske (boxer)

Notes

Links

* [http://www.treuenbrietzen.de/ Treuenbrietzen Homepage] de icon