The Village of Brätz, Posen, Prussia


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The small town of Brätz, Posen, Prussia, is now part of Poland and renamed Brójce. Brójce is a village located in Lubuskie, Poland. The village is located in the Gnitej Obra river valley, between Poznan, Poland and Frankfurt on the Oder, Germany. Here is a book reference to the town:

Brätz existed as a village castle defense, and the preserved traces of the fortification is located 2 km to the south of the center of town. The defensive fortification was the primary purpose of the town, with agriculture and crafts also playing a part in the economy. After World War II, the frontier between Poland and Germany was moved to the west, encompassing this small town into Poland. For the most part, the German population left the area and it was reinhabited by Poles from Eastern and Central Poland.

The name Brätz comes from the name of the nearby King's Forest, called, in Polish, Brodcza. The name of the forest is close phonetically to the pronunciation of the Prussian name, Brätz.

Just outside of the town of Brätz, the Nazis established a labor camp for the Jews which was given the same name. A reference from a book is found here:

 

It was also a site of fighting at the end of WWII when the Russians swept into Central Europe on their way to Berlin, as discussed here:

 

Web Info Links:


Photos of Brojce: (translated from Polish)


Village History: (translated from Polish)

Graphics:

Map of Portions of Posen and Brandenburg, showing location of Brätz (sp. Braetz). It is located halfway between Posen and Frankfurt, just to the southeast of Meseritz.

Modern-day road map of Brätz (Now Named Brojce) area.

A commemorative pin from Brätz, for their 500th birthday in 1928, as the village was founded in 1428

Evangelical Church:

Postcard from 1914 showing scenes, including the downtown and the starch factory.

Postcard showing a memorial in Brätz, taken in 1920.

Modern-day Photos:

Downtown


Marketplace


Another Marketplace Photo


Alley


 


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