Send Gift Baskets to Pruszkow, Poland

From the beginning of the 15th century, Pruszków is first mentioned. The manuscript Metryka Mazowiecka (collection of AGAD) from the time of Janusz, the Elder contains a reference to the knight Święsk (Swansek), who came from “de Praskow” (October 1414). Pruszków’s development was positively impacted by the opening of the Warsaw-Vienna Railway in the 19th century. During the January Uprising, two insurgent squadrons attacked Russian military posts at Pruszków and Grodzisk Mazowiecki railway stations on November 1-2, 1864. An iron casting factory was established in 1889. An asylum for the mentally ill was built in 1891 in the village of Tworki (now a district of Pruszków).

The first workers’ strikes and demonstrations occurred in 1905 and continued from 1908 to 1910. During World War I, the Battle of Pruszków was fought between October 12-18, 1914. As a result of the fighting, the Russians managed to push the Germans westward. In 1916, city rights were granted to the settlement. A council of workers’ delegates was established in 1918, later becoming a cell of the Communist Party of Poland.

1923 saw the founding of the Znicz Pruszków sports club, while 1927 saw the launch of the Electric Commuter Railways. We launched a municipal power plant, expanded railway repair facilities, and transformed a cast iron foundry into a machine tool factory. Workers’ strikes swept the country in 1931.

About 1,500 Jews were executed by the Nazis during World War II (most of the Jewish population living in Pruszków). There were almost 100 Pruszków residents who died in World War II as soldiers of the Polish Army and over the same number killed as Home Army soldiers. Stanislaw Aciski “Tomek” from District AL Warszawa – Lewa Podmiejska died fighting the Germans in Pruszków on February 8, 1944.

In August 1944, the German occupiers established Durchgangslager 121 (Dulag 121) on the closed Rolling Stock Repair Plant in Pruszków for Polish civilians. In the camp were, expelled residents of Warsaw and surrounding towns removed from their homes during and after the Warsaw Uprising. Between 390,000 and 410,000 people were passed through the base (550,000 can be found in older sources). A museum dedicated to these events opened in 2010 to commemorate these events.