Editing Bielsko-Biała (section)

===Bielsko-Biała===
{{Historical populations|1880|20312|1890|22195|1900|24854|1910|27236|1921|36857|1931|47465|1939|54723|1946|45289|1960|75527|1970|105700|1980|163741|1990|181278|2000|178611|2010|175008|2020|169756|footnote=For the period before 1951, aggregated data for Bielsko and Biała. Source: [https://www.polskawliczbach.pl/Bielsko_Biala ''Polska w liczbach'' web site] for data since 1995, ''Monografia Bielska-Białej'' for data before 1945, ''Roczniki statystyczne'' for data 1945–1990}}
{{multiple image
| align = left
| direction = vertical
| image1 = Synagoga Bielsko, zniszczona 1939.jpg
| caption1 = German soldiers in the ruins of a destroyed synagogue in 1939
| image2 = Bielsko-Biała, Stary Cmentarz Ewangelicki, grób Sennewaldtów - usunięte niemieckie napisy.jpg
| caption2 = German grave inscriptions removed after World War II as part of the "de-Germanisation" of the city
| image3 = Bielsko-Biała, 1974, Bazary Zamkowe - Wysoki Trotuar, wyburzanie 02.jpg
| caption3 = Demolition of the so-called Castle Markets to build a two-lane thoroughfare through the inner city in 1974
| image4 = Bielsko-Biała, 1973-1977, Fabryka Samochodów Małolitrażowych, produkcja samochodów Fiat 126p (Maluch) 02.jpg
| caption4 = Production of the Polski Fiat 126p "Maluch" in the FSM factory (1970s)
| image5 = Bielsko-Biała, Osiedle Beskidzkie, 1989, widok lotniczy 02.jpg
| caption5 = Beskidzkie housing estate in the 1980s
| image6 = PL Bielsko-Biala Fabryka.JPG
| caption6 = The abandoned Finex textile factory on the site of the current Galeria Sfera, pictured in 2006}}
Although the two towns effectively functioned as one urban area for a long time, they were administratively combined for the first time by the Nazi authorities after the [[invasion of Poland]] in September 1939. Biała became a district of Bielsko under the name ''Bielitz-Ost''. During the [[World War II]], the city belonged to the [[Third Reich]], within the [[province of Upper Silesia]]. Germans committed various crimes against the Polish and Jewish population. Several Polish teachers and principals were deported to [[Nazi concentration camps]] and murdered there.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wardzyńska|first=Maria|year=2009|title=Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=IPN|page=58}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Megargee |first1=Geoffrey |title=Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos |date=2012 |publisher=University of Indiana Press |location=Bloomington, Indiana |isbn=978-0-253-35599-7 |volume=II|pages=137–139, 144–145}}</ref> Many [[Jews|Jewish]] residents were murdered at the nearby [[Auschwitz extermination camp]]. Only less than 1000 people of the city's Jewish community of nearly 8000 survived the war. Several widely known [[Holocaust survivors]] from Bielsko-Biała were [[Roman Frister]], [[Gerda Weissmann Klein]] and [[Kitty Hart-Moxon]], all of whom wrote accounts of their experiences during the war.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Frister |first1=Roman |title=The Cap or the Price of Life |date=1999 |publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |location=London |pages=352}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Klein |first1=Gerda Weissman |title=All but My Life |date=1957 |publisher=Hill and Wang}}</ref> However, when it comes to material losses, the city survived the war almost intact. It was not bombed, and fighting during the [[Western Carpathian offensive|Soviet offensive]] in the winter of 1945 was limited to today's peripheral districts, such as [[Hałcnów]] and the eastern part of [[Lipnik, Bielsko-Biała|Lipnik]].

After World War II, the ethnic structure of the place changed. Most of the German population [[1944–50 flight and expulsion of Germans|was expelled]] and those who remained assimilated with the Poles. In the 21st century, there is only a small [[German minority in Poland|German minority]] circle in the town. [[Polish population transfers (1944–1946)|Poles transferred]] from the [[Kresy|eastern areas that had been annexed to the USSR]], as well as new settlers from central Poland, especially [[Lesser Poland]], came to Bielsko-Biała.

The new Polish authorities initially restored the pre-war borders, including the division into Bielsko and Biała in two different voivodeships. But soon the decision to re-unify the two towns was made. The new municipality under the name ''Bielsko-Biała'' was created on 1 January 1951.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thefirstnews.com/article/they-say-love-dont-come-easy---but-it-does-in-bielsko-biala-41533 |title=They say love don't come easy - but it does in Bielsko-Biała! |website=thefirstnews.com |author=Alex Webber |date=22 September 2023 |access-date=22 September 2023}}</ref> Until 1975, it was part of the [[Katowice Voivodeship]].

In post-war Poland, the city has remained an important centre of [[textile industry]] (second only to [[Łódź]]), alongside which new branches have developed: in 1946 the [[Szybowcowy Zakład Doświadczalny|Gliding Institute]] was established and in 1948 the car engine plant WSM, on the basis of which the [[Fabryka Samochodów Małolitrażowych|FSM Automobile Factory]] was founded in 1972. The factory was born from an agreement between the [[Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych|FSO]] and [[Fiat]] for the construction of a new model, the [[Polski Fiat]] 126p, Polish version of [[Fiat 126]] commonly known as ''Maluch''. A huge industrial complex has been built in the northern part of the city. Thousands of people came from all over Poland to work then; in the 1970s Bielsko-Biała observed the biggest population boom in its history. The influx of new residents was associated with the construction of new housing estates with [[large panel system-building]]s, like Złote Łany (1970–1975), Wojska Polskiego (1976–1980), Beskidzkie (1976–1982) or Karpackie (1979–1982). The population has also increased due to the incorporation of surrounding communes: [[Kamienica, Bielsko-Biała|Kamienica]] and [[Mikuszowice]] (together with {{ill|Olszówka (Bielsko-Biała)|lt=Olszówka|pl}}) in 1969, [[Straconka, Bielsko-Biała|Straconka]] in 1973, [[Stare Bielsko]], [[Komorowice, Bielsko-Biała|Komorowice]], [[Hałcnów]] and [[Wapienica]] in 1977.

Bielsko-Biała was made famous on a large scale by the [[Studio Filmów Rysunkowych]] (Animated Film Studio), founded in 1947. It was one of five animation studios in post-war Poland. Among the children's TV series produced here were ''[[Reksio]]'', ''[[Bolek i Lolek]]'', ''[[Margo the Mouse]]'' and ''[[Porwanie Baltazara Gąbki (TV series)|Porwanie Baltazara Gąbki]]''.

[[1981 general strike in Bielsko-Biała|The general strike]] launched by the workers of the Bewelana textile factory in January 1981 is considered the most effective strike of the [[History of Solidarity#First Solidarity (1980–1981)|first wave of Solidarity]]. The strikers forced the mayor of the city, the provincial governor, the commander of [[Milicja Obywatelska]] and the municipal and voivodeship secretaries of the [[Polish United Workers' Party|Communist party]] to resign.

From 1975 to 1998, Bielsko-Biała was the capital of the [[Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship]], covering most of Polish [[Cieszyn Silesia]] and south-western [[Lesser Poland]] (counties of [[Żywiec County|Żywiec]], [[Oświęcim County|Oświęcim]], [[Wadowice County|Wadowice]] and [[Sucha Beskidzka County|Sucha Beskidzka]]). To describe its territory, the name ''[[Podbeskidzie]]'' was adopted, which is still popular among Bielsko-Biała residents ("Bielsko-Biała - the capital of Podbeskidzie"), but elsewhere it is criticized as an artificial term that is trying to replace traditional historical and geographical lands.<ref name="podbeskidzie one">{{cite news |last1=Borówka |first1=Tomasz |title=Mamy na Śląsku wyimaginowaną krainę. Kto i kiedy właściwie wymyślił nazwę "Podbeskidzie"? |url=https://www.slazag.pl/co-to-jest-podbeskidzie-wymyslona-kraina |language=Polish|access-date=12 July 2023 |agency=Ślązag |date=2022-11-06}}</ref><ref name=
"podbeskidzie two">{{cite news |last1=Drost |first1=Jacek |title=Co to jest Podbeskidzie? Podręcznik edukacji regionalnej utrwala taką nazwę |url=https://dziennikzachodni.pl/co-to-jest-podbeskidzie-podrecznik-edukacji-regionalnej-utrwala-taka-nazwe/ar/9436065 |access-date=12 July 2023 |language=pl|agency=[[Dziennik Zachodni]] |date=2016-02-25}}</ref><ref name="podbeskidzie three">{{cite news |title=Podbeskidzie? Małopolska? Górny Śląsk? Beskidy? – Czyli gdzie leży Żywiecczyzna |url=https://zywiecinfo.pl/magazyn/podbeskidzie-malopolska-gorny-slask-beskidy-czyli-gdzie-lezy-zywiecczyzna |access-date=12 July 2023 |work=Stowarzyszenie Beskidzki Dom |agency=zywiec.info.pl |date=2022-05-22 |language=pl}}</ref> The subject of a lively public debate is the long-term effects of the loss of the status of a provincial capital as a result of the [[Administrative divisions of Poland|administrative reform in 1998]], when the area of the former Bielsko-Biała Voivodeship was divided and Bielsko-Biała was incorporated into the [[Silesian Voivodeship]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Drobik |first1=Andrzej |title=Bielsko-Biała: to miasto jest seksi i nie ma żadnych kompleksów. Naprawdę [Rozmowa z Filipem Springerem] |url=https://plus.dziennikzachodni.pl/bielskobiala-to-miasto-jest-seksi-i-nie-ma-zadnych-kompleksow-naprawde-rozmowa/ar/10683620 |access-date=12 July 2023 |publisher=[[Dziennik Zachodni]] |language=pl|date=2016-09-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Czaiński |first1=Kamil |title=Na marginesie każdej mapy, czyli o tożsamości Bielska-Białej |url=https://wachtyrz.eu/na-marginesie-kazdej-mapy-czyli-o-tozsamosci-bielska-bialej/ |access-date=12 July 2023 |publisher=wachtyrz.eu |date=2021-05-14 |language=pl}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Okrzesik |first1=Janusz |title=Województwo bielskie. Czy mogło być inaczej? |url=https://bbfan.pl/artykul/wojewodztwo-bielskie/1298081 |access-date=12 July 2023 |publisher=Kurier BB |date=2022-04-19 |language=pl}}</ref>

The [[Balcerowicz Plan|economic transformation]] after 1989 affected the industrial city with a serious socio-economic crisis. The textile industry, which almost disappeared from Bielsko-Biała, was the most affected. The car factory bought directly by [[Fiat]] limited its production only to components. The bad condition of the historic Old Town was the clearest sign of the city's decline in the 1990s, while its gradual [[revitalization]] started in 2002 became an important symbol of changes for the better. During the first and second decades of the 21st century, Bielsko-Biała managed to return to the path of economic prosperity. Between 2001 and 2009, on the site of the demolished Lenko and Finex textile factories, a large shopping mall, [[Sfera (mall)|Galeria Sfera]], was built. It is a characteristic post-modernist architectural structure on the banks of the Biała river, however criticised for its negative influence on the traditional commercial zone located around the nearby 11 Listopada Street pedestrian zone.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Drost |first1=Jacek |title=Deptak w Bielsku-Białej zmieni się w ulicę rzemiosł. Czy ożywi centrum? |url=https://dziennikzachodni.pl/deptak-w-bielskubialej-zmieni-sie-w-ulice-rzemiosl-czy-ozywi-centrum/ar/3382881 |access-date=12 July 2023 |date=2014-03-29|publisher=[[Dziennik Zachodni]] |language=pl}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Furtak |first1=Ewa |title=Ulica na tysiąc kroków. Musimy wspólnie znaleźć na nią pomysł |url=https://katowice.wyborcza.pl/katowice/7,151344,24549546,ulica-na-tysiac-krokow-musimy-wspolnie-znalezc-na-nia-pomysl.html |access-date=12 July 2023 |publisher=[[Gazeta Wyborcza]] |date=2019-03-15 |language=pl}}</ref> Like other contemporary cities, Bielsko-Biała is strongly affected by [[suburbanization]], which results in a decrease in the number of inhabitants while the population of the neighboring communes is increasing.