Editing Szczecin (section)

=== 19th to 20th centuries ===
In October 1806, during the [[War of the Fourth Coalition]], believing that he was facing a much larger force, and after receiving a threat of harsh treatment of the city, the Prussian commander [[Friedrich Gisbert Wilhelm von Romberg|Lieutenant General Friedrich von Romberg]] agreed to [[Capitulation of Stettin|surrender the city]] to the French led by [[Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle|General Lasalle]].<ref>Petre, 252–253</ref> In fact, Lasalle had only 800 men against von{{nbsp}}Romberg's 5,300 men. In March 1809 Romberg was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for giving up Stettin without a fight. In 1809, also Polish troops were stationed in the city, while the French remained until 1813.

[[File:Stettin Lange Brucke (1890-1900).jpg|thumb|left|Late 19th-century view of the city's riverfront]]

From 1683 to 1812, one Jew was permitted to reside in Stettin, and an additional Jew was allowed to spend a night in the city in case of "urgent business".<ref name=heitmann225/> These permissions were repeatedly withdrawn between 1691 and 1716, also between 1726 and 1730 although else the Swedish regulation was continued by the Prussian administration.<ref name=heitmann225/> Only after the [[Prussian Edict of Emancipation]] of 11{{nbsp}}March 1812, which granted Prussian citizenship to all Jews living in the kingdom, did a Jewish community emerge in Stettin, with the first Jews settling in the town in 1814.<ref name=heitmann225/> Construction of a synagogue started in 1834; the community also owned a religious and a secular school, an orphanage since 1855, and a retirement home since 1893.<ref name=heitmann226>{{citation|last=Heitmann|first=Margret|chapter=Synagoge und freie christliche Gemeinde in Stettin|title="Halte fern dem ganzen Lande jedes Verderben..". Geschichte und Kultur der Juden in Pommern|editor1-last=Heitmann|editor1-first=Margret|editor2-last=Schoeps|editor2-first=Julius|publisher=Olms|location=Hildesheim/Zürich/New York|year=1995|language=de|isbn=3-487-10074-6|pages=225–238; p. 226}}</ref> The Jewish community had between 1,000 and 1,200 members by 1873 and between 2,800 and 3,000 members by 1927{{nsndns}}28.<ref name=heitmann226/> These numbers dropped to 2,701 in 1930 and to 2,322 in late 1934.<ref name=heitmann226/>

After the [[Franco-Prussian war|Franco Prussian war of 1870–1871]], 1,700 French [[POW]]s were imprisoned there in deplorable conditions, resulting in the deaths of 600;<ref>Kultura i sztuka Szczecina w latach 1800–1945:materiały Seminarium Oddziału Szczecińskiego Stowarzyszenia Historyków Sztuki, 16–17 październik 1998 Stowarzyszenie Historyków Sztuki. Oddział Szczeciński. Seminarium, Maria Glińska</ref> after the Second World War monuments in their memory were built by the Polish authorities.

Until 1873, Stettin remained a fortress.<ref name=aps345/> When part of the defensive structures were levelled, a new neighbourhood, ''Neustadt'' ("New Town") as well as water pipes, [[Combined sewer|sewerage]] and drainage, and gas works were built to meet the demands of the growing population.<ref name=aps345/>

Stettin developed into a major Prussian port and became part of the [[German Empire]] in 1871. While most of the province retained its agrarian character, Stettin was [[Industrial Revolution|industrialised]], and its population rose from 27,000 in 1813 to 210,000 in 1900 and 255,500 in 1925.<ref name="Schmidt 2009 19–20">{{cite book|last=Schmidt|first=Roderich|title=Das historische Pommern. Personen, Orte, Ereignisse|volume=41|series=Veröffentlichungen der Historischen Kommission für Pommern|edition=2|publisher=Böhlau|location=Köln-Weimar|year=2009|isbn=978-3-412-20436-5|language=de|pages=19–20}}</ref> Major industries that flourished in Stettin from 1840 were shipbuilding, chemical and food industries, and machinery construction.<ref name=aps345/> Starting in 1843, Stettin became connected to the major German and Pomeranian cities by railways, and the water connection to the [[Bay of Pomerania]] was enhanced by the construction of the [[Kaiserfahrt]] (now Piast) canal.<ref name=aps345/> The city was also a scientific centre; for example, it was home to the [[Entomological Society of Stettin]].

[[File:Manzelbrunnen 3.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Sedina Monument (1899–1913)—Sedina was a personification of the city, symbolizing maritime trade and commerce.]]

On 20 October 1890, some of the city's Poles created the "Society of Polish-Catholic Workers" in the city, one of the first Polish organisations.<ref>Dzieje Szczecina:1806–1945 p.{{nbsp}}450 Bogdan Frankiewicz 1994</ref> In 1897, the city's ship works began the construction of the [[pre-dreadnought]] battleship ''[[SMS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse|Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse]]''. In 1914, before World War{{nbsp}}I, the Polish community in the city numbered over 3,000 people,<ref name="Bialecki"/> contributing about 2% of the population.<ref name="Schmidt 2009 19–20"/> These were primarily industrial workers and their families who came from the [[Poznań]] (Posen) area<ref name=Musekamp72>{{cite book|title=Zwischen Stettin und Szczecin|volume=27|series=Veröffentlichungen des Deutschen Polen-Instituts Darmstadt|first=Jan|last=Musekamp|publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag|year=2009|isbn=978-3-447-06273-2|language=de|page=72}}. Quote1: "[...] Polen, die sich bereits vor Ende des Zweiten Weltkrieges in der Stadt befunden hatten. Es handelte sich bei ihnen zum einen um Industriearbeiter und ihre Angehörigen, die bis zum Ersten Weltkrieg meist aus der Gegend um Posen in das damals zum selben Staat gehörende Stettin gezogen waren [...]"</ref> and a few local wealthy industrialists and merchants. Among them was Kazimierz Pruszak, director of the Gollnow industrial works and a Polish patriot, who predicted the eventual "return" of Szczecin to Poland.<ref name="Bialecki"/>

During the [[interwar period]], Stettin was [[Weimar Republic|Weimar Germany]]'s largest port on the Baltic Sea, and her third-largest port after [[Hamburg]] and [[Bremen]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Schmidt|first=Roderich|title=Das historische Pommern. Personen, Orte, Ereignisse|volume=41|series=Veröffentlichungen der Historischen Kommission für Pommern|edition=2|publisher=Böhlau|location=Köln-Weimar|year=2009|isbn=978-3-412-20436-5|language=de|page=20}}</ref> Cars of the [[Stoewer]] automobile company were produced in Stettin from 1899 to 1945. By 1939, the [[Reichsautobahn]] [[Berlin]]{{nsndns}}Stettin was completed.<ref name=aps345/>

Stettin played a major role as an entrepôt in the development of the Scottish herring trade with the Continent, peaking at an annual export of more than 400,000 barrels in 1885, 1894 and 1898. Trade flourished until the outbreak of the First World War and resumed on a reduced scale during the years between the wars.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scottishherringhistory.uk/statistics/AnnualExport.html|title=Annual Statistics|work=scottishherringhistory.uk}}</ref>

In the [[March 1933 German federal election|March 1933 German elections]] to the Reichstag, the Nazis and German nationalists from the [[German National People's Party]] (or DNVP) won most of the votes in the city, together winning 98,626 of 165,331 votes (59.3%), with the NSDAP getting 79,729 (47.9%) and the DNVP 18,897 (11.4%).<ref name="verwaltungsgeschichte.de">{{cite web |url=http://www.verwaltungsgeschichte.de/stettin.html |title=Deutsche Verwaltungsgeschichte Pommern, Kreis Stettin |publisher=Verwaltungsgeschichte.de |access-date=2011-06-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723075150/http://www.verwaltungsgeschichte.de/stettin.html |archive-date=23 July 2011 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

In 1935, the [[Wehrmacht]] made Stettin the headquarters for Wehrkreis{{nbsp}}II, which controlled the [[military organization|military units]] in all of [[Mecklenburg]] and Pomerania. It was also the area headquarters for units stationed at Stettin{{nbsp}}I and II; Swinemünde ([[Świnoujście]]); [[Greifswald]]; and [[Stralsund]].

In the interwar period, the Polish minority numbered 2,000 people,<ref name="Bialecki"/><ref name="AP & BD 1961">Polonia szczecińska 1890–1939 Anna Poniatowska Bogusław Drewniak, Poznań 1961</ref> less than 1% of the city's population at that time.<ref name="Schmidt 2009 19–20"/> A number of Poles were members of the [[Union of Poles in Germany]] (ZPN), which was active in the city from 1924.<ref>''Historyczna droga do polskiego Szczecina:wybór dokumentów i opracowań''. Kazimierz Kozłowski, Stanisław Krzywicki. Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, p.{{nbsp}}79, 1988</ref> A Polish consulate was located in the city between 1925 and 1939.<ref name=Musekamp73>{{cite book|title=Zwischen Stettin und Szczecin|volume=27|series=Veröffentlichungen des Deutschen Polen-Instituts Darmstadt|first=Jan|last=Musekamp|publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag|year=2009|isbn=978-3-447-06273-2|language=de|page=73}}</ref> On the initiative of the consulate<ref name=Musekamp73/> and ZPN activist Maksymilian Golisz,<ref name=Musekamp74>{{cite book|title=Zwischen Stettin und Szczecin|volume=27|series=Veröffentlichungen des Deutschen Polen-Instituts Darmstadt|first=Jan|last=Musekamp|publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag|year=2009|isbn=978-3-447-06273-2|language=de|page=74}}</ref> a number of Polish institutions were established, e.g., a Polish Scout team and a Polish school.<ref name="Bialecki"/><ref name=Musekamp73/> German historian Musekamp writes, "however, only very few Poles were active in these institutions, which for the most part were headed by employees of the [Polish] consulate."<ref name=Musekamp74/> The withdrawal of the consulate from these institutions led to a general decline of these activities, which were in part upheld by Golisz and Aleksander Omieczyński.<ref>{{cite book|title=Konsulat Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej w Szczecinie w latach 1925–1939. Powstanie i działalność|first=Wojciech|last=Skóra|publisher=Pomorska Akademia Pedagogiczna w Słupsku|year=2001|isbn=83-88731-15-7|language=pl|page=139}}</ref> Intensified repressions by the Nazis,<ref name="Bialecki"/><ref name="AP & BD 1961"/> who exaggerated the Polish activities to propagate an infiltration,<ref name=Musekamp74/> led to the closing of the school.<ref name="Bialecki"/> In 1938, the head of Szczecin's Union of Poles unit, Stanisław Borkowski, was imprisoned in [[Sachsenhausen]] concentration camp in [[Oranienburg, Germany]].<ref name="Bialecki"/> In 1939, all Polish organisations in Stettin were disbanded by the German authorities.<ref name="Bialecki"/> Golisz and Omieczyński were murdered during the war.<ref name="Bialecki"/> After the defeat of Nazi Germany, a street was named after Golisz.<ref name=Musekamp74/> According to German historian Jan Musekamp, the activities of the Polish pre-war organizations were exaggerated after World War II for propaganda purposes.<ref>Musekamp, Jan: Zwischen Stettin und Szczecin, p. 74, with reference to: Edward Wlodarczyk: "Próba krytycznego spojrzenia na dzieje Polonii Szczecińskiej do 1939 roku" in Pomerania Ethnica, Szczecin 1998 Quote: ''"..und so musste die Bedeutung der erwähnten Organisationen im Sinne der Propaganda übertrieben werden."''</ref>

==== World War II ====
[[File:Szczecin godlo z konsulatu.jpg|thumb|upright|Emblem of the pre-war Polish Consulate, removed by the Germans in September 1939 and thrown into the Oder River; now an exhibit of the [[National Museum in Szczecin]]]]
During [[World War II]], Stettin was the base for the [[2nd Infantry Division (Germany)|German 2nd Motorised Infantry Division]], which cut across the so-called [[Polish Corridor]] and was later used in 1940 as an embarkation point for [[Operation Weserübung]], Germany's assault on Denmark and [[Norway]].<ref>Gilbert, M (1989) Second World War, Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, P52</ref>

On 15 October 1939, neighbouring municipalities were joined to Stettin, creating Groß-Stettin, with about 380,000 inhabitants, in 1940.<ref name=aps345>Peter Oliver Loew, ''Staatsarchiv Stettin: Wegweiser durch die Bestände bis zum Jahr 1945'', German translation of Radosław Gaziński, Paweł Gut, Maciej Szukała, ''Archiwum Państwowe w Szczecinie, Poland. Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwów Państwowych'', Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 2004, p.{{nbsp}}345, {{ISBN|3-486-57641-0}}</ref> The city had become the third-largest German city by area, after Berlin and Hamburg.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stolzenburg|first=Katrin|chapter=Hans Bernhard Reichow (1899–1974)|title=Architektur und Städtebau im südlichen Ostseeraum zwischen 1936 und 1980|editor-first=Bernfried|editor-last=Lichtnau|publisher=Lukas Verlag|year=2002|isbn=3-931836-74-6|language=de|pages=137–152; p. 140}}</ref>

As the war started, the number of non-Germans in the city increased as [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|slave workers]] were brought in. The first transports came in 1939 from [[Bydgoszcz]], [[Toruń]] and [[Łódź]]. They were mainly used in a synthetic silk factory near Stettin.<ref name="Bialecki"/> The next wave of slave workers was brought in 1940, in addition to PoWs who were used for work in the agricultural industry.<ref name="Bialecki"/> According to German police reports from 1940, 15,000 Polish slave workers lived within the city.<ref name="Bialecki"/><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tey6mM1RCs0C&q=autochthons+poland&pg=PA72 |title=Zwischen Stettin und Szczecin |first1=Jan |last1=Musekamp |publisher=Deutsches Polen-Institut |year=2010 |isbn=978-3-447-06273-2 |page=72 |language=de |access-date=20 September 2011}}</ref>

During the war, 135 forced labour camps for slave workers were established in the city. Most of the 25,000 slave workers were Poles, but [[Czechs]], [[Italians]], Frenchmen and [[Belgians]], as well as Dutch citizens, were also enslaved in the camps.<ref name="Bialecki"/> A Nazi prison was also operated in the city, with forced labour subcamps in the region.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=100001209|title=Gefängnis Stettin|website=Bundesarchiv.de|access-date=15 May 2021|language=de}}</ref>

[[File:Szczecin1945.JPG|left|thumb|The city centre in 1945]]

In February 1940, [[History of Pomerania (1933–1945)#Deportation of the Pomeranian Jews|the Jews of Stettin were deported]] to the [[Nisko Plan|Lublin reservation]]. International press reports emerged, describing how the Nazis forced Jews, regardless of age, condition and gender, to sign away all property and loaded them onto trains headed to the camp, escorted by members of the [[Sturmabteilung|SA]] and [[SS]]. Due to publicity given to the event, German institutions ordered such future actions to be made in a way unlikely to attract public notice.<ref>''The Origins of [[Final Solution|the Final Solution]]'' [[Christopher Browning|Christopher R. Browning]], [[Jürgen Matthäus]], page 64 [[University of Nebraska system|University of Nebraska]] Press, 2007</ref> The action was the first deportation of Jews from prewar territory in Nazi Germany.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Holocaust: The Fate of European Jewry|url=https://archive.org/details/holocaustfateofe00yahi|url-access=limited|last=Yahil|first=Leni|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1990|isbn=0-19-504522-X|location=Oxford|pages=[https://archive.org/details/holocaustfateofe00yahi/page/140 140]}}</ref>

[[Allies of World War II|Allied]] [[Strategic bombing|air raids]] in 1944 and heavy fighting between the German and [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] armies destroyed 65% of Stettin's buildings and almost all of the city centre, the seaport, and local industries. Polish [[Home Army]] intelligence assisted in pinpointing targets for Allied bombing in the area of Stettin.<ref>Polski ruch oporu 1939–1945 Andrzej Chmielarz, Wojskowy Instytut Historyczny im. Wandy Wasilewskiej, Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, 1988 page 1019</ref> The city itself was covered by the Home Army's "Bałtyk" structure, and [[Polish resistance movement in World War II|Polish resistance]] infiltrated Stettin's naval yards.<ref>Wywiad Związku Walki Zbrojnej—Armii Krajowej, 1939–1945 Piotr Matusak 2002 page 166</ref><ref>Wywiad Polskich Sił Zbrojnych na Zachodzie 1939–1945 Andrzej Pepłoński AWM, 1995 page 342</ref> Other activities of the resistance consisted of smuggling people, including Polish and British POWs who escaped from German captivity, to Sweden,<ref>Cudzoziemcy w polskim ruchu oporu: 1939–1945 Stanisław Okęcki 1975 page 49</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Chrzanowski|first=Bogdan|title=Organizacja sieci przerzutów drogą morską z Polski do Szwecji w latach okupacji hitlerowskiej (1939–1945)|journal=Stutthof. Zeszyty Muzeum|language=pl|volume=5|page=30|issn=0137-5377}}</ref> and distribution of [[Polish underground press]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Chrzanowski|first=Bogdan|year=2022|title=Polskie Państwo Podziemne na Pomorzu w latach 1939–1945|language=pl|location=Gdańsk|publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance|IPN]]|page=57|isbn=978-83-8229-411-8}}</ref>

The Soviet [[Red Army]] captured the city on 26{{nbsp}}April 1945. While the majority of the almost 400,000 inhabitants had left the city, between 6,000 and 20,000 inhabitants remained in late April.<ref name=Dok>{{cite book| first1=Jörg |last1=Hackmann|  first2=Tadeusz | last2=Bialecki|title=Stettin Szczecin 1945-1946 Dokument – Erinnerungen, Dokumenty - Wspomnienia |publisher=Hinstorff|year=1995 | pages=97, 283, 287 |isbn= 3-356-00528-6|language=de}}</ref>

[[File:WOPR, Barka i Zamek Książąt Pomorskich.jpg|thumb|right|View of the [[Stare Miasto, Szczecin|Old Town]] from the [[Oder]] River. Most of the medieval buildings in the city centre were completely destroyed during [[World War II]]. The [[Ducal Castle, Szczecin|Ducal Castle]] can be seen in the background.]]

On 28 April 1945 Polish authorities tried to gain control,<ref name="Bialecki"/><ref name=Dok/> but in the following month, the Polish administration was twice forced to leave. The reason for this was, according to Polish sources, that the Western Allies raised protest against the Soviet and Polish policy of creating a fait-accomplit in [[Former eastern territories of Germany|Eastern Germany]].<ref name=Musekamp72/> Finally the permanent handover occurred on 5{{nbsp}}July 1945.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.szczecin.pl/strasse/kalendar_uk.htm|title=Chronicle of the most important events in the history of Szczecin|work=Szczecin.pl|date=2000|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607192402/http://www.szczecin.pl/strasse/kalendar_uk.htm |archive-date=7 June 2011}}</ref> In the meantime, part of the German population had returned, believing it might become part of the [[Soviet occupation zone of Germany]].<ref name=Piskorski376>Jan M Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeiten, 1999, p.{{nbsp}}376, {{ISBN|83-906184-8-6}} {{OCLC|43087092}}</ref> The Soviet authorities had already appointed the German Communists Erich Spiegel and [[Erich Wiesner]] as mayors.<ref>Grete Grewolls: ''Wer war wer in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern? Ein Personenlexikon''. Edition Temmen, Bremen 1995, {{ISBN|3-86108-282-9}}, p.{{nbsp}}467.</ref> Stettin is located mostly west of the Oder River, which was expected to become Poland's new western border, placing Stettin in East Germany. This would have been in accordance with the [[Potsdam Agreement]] between the victorious Allied powers, which envisaged the [[Oder-Neisse border|new border]] to be in "a line running from the Baltic Sea immediately west of Swinemünde, and thence along the Oder River[...]". Because of the returnees, the German population of the town swelled to 84,000.<ref name=Piskorski376/> The [[mortality rate]] was at 20%, primarily due to starvation.<ref name=Piskorski377>Jan M Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeiten, 1999, p.{{nbsp}}377, {{ISBN|83-906184-8-6}} {{OCLC|43087092}}</ref> However, Stettin and the mouth of the Oder River became Polish on 5{{nbsp}}July 1945, as had been decided in a treaty signed on 26{{nbsp}}July 1944 between the Soviet Union and the Soviet-controlled [[Polish Committee of National Liberation]] (PKWN) (also known as "the Lublin Poles", as contrasted with the [[London]]-based [[Polish government-in-exile]]).<ref name="Bialecki"/> On 4{{nbsp}}October 1945, the decisive land border of Poland was established west of the 1945 line,<ref name="Bialecki"/><ref name=Piskorski380381>Jan M Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeiten, 1999, pp. 380–381, {{ISBN|83-906184-8-6}} {{OCLC|43087092}}</ref> and the city was renamed to its historic Polish name Szczecin, but the area excluded the [[Police, West Pomeranian Voivodeship|Police]] area, the Oder River itself and the port of Szczecin, which remained under Soviet administration.<ref name=Piskorski380381/> The Oder River was handed over to Polish administration in September 1946, followed by the port between February 1946 and May 1954.<ref name=Piskorski380381/>

==== Post-war ====
[[File:0907 Pomnik Czynu Polaków Szczecin SZN 1.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Monument to the Polish Endeavor]], dedicated to three Generations of Poles in [[West Pomeranian Voivodeship|Western Pomerania]]: the pre-war Poles in Szczecin, the Poles who rebuilt the city after [[World War II]], and the modern generation]]

While in 1945 the number of pre-war inhabitants dropped to 57,215 on 31 October 1945, the [[Flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland during and after World War II|systematic expulsion of Germans]] started on 22 February 1946 and continued until late 1947, in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement. In December 1946 about 17,000 German inhabitants remained, while the number of Poles living in the city reached 100,000.<ref name=Dok/> To ease the tensions between settlers from different regions, and help overcome fear caused by the continued presence of the Soviet troops, a special event was organised in April 1946 with 50,000 visitors in the partly destroyed city centre.<ref name=mcnamara3>{{cite book|last=McNamara|first=Paul|chapter=Competing National and Regional Identities in Poland's Baltic|title=History of Communism in Europe|volume=3|year=2012|isbn=9786068266275|pages=30–31; p. 31 |others=Bogdan C. Iacob |publisher=Zeta Books |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=70ECBQAAQBAJ}}</ref> Settlers from Central Poland made up about 70% of Szczecin's new population.<ref name=musekamp20>{{cite book|last=Musekamp|first=Jan|chapter=Der Königsplatz in Stettin als Beispiel kultureller Aneignung nach 1945|title=Wiedergewonnene Geschichte. Zur Aneignung von Vergangenheit in den Zwischenräumen Mitteleuropas|volume=22|series=Veröffentlichungen des Deutschen Polen-Instituts Darmstadt|editor1-first=Peter Oliver|editor1-last=Loew|editor2-first=Christian|editor2-last=Pletzing|editor3-first=Thomas|editor3-last=Serrier|publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag|year=2006|isbn=3-447-05297-X|language=de|pages=19–35; p. 20}}</ref> In addition to Poles, Ukrainians from [[Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union|Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union]] settled there.<ref name=musekamp20/> Also Poles repatriated from [[Harbin]], China and [[Greeks]], [[refugees of the Greek Civil War]], settled in Szczecin in the following years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://szczecin.tvp.pl/42971441/wyjatkowa-wystawa-o-historii-w-chinskiej-mandzurii-i-jej-finale-w-szczecinie|title=Wyjątkowa wystawa o historii w chińskiej Mandżurii i jej finale w Szczecinie|website=TVP3 Szczecin|author=Przemysław Plecan|access-date=15 May 2021|language=pl}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Kubasiewicz|first=Izabela|editor-last1=Dworaczek|editor-first1=Kamil|editor-last2=Kamiński|editor-first2=Łukasz|year=2013|title=Letnia Szkoła Historii Najnowszej 2012. Referaty|language=pl|location=Warszawa|publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance|IPN]]|pages=117–118|chapter=Emigranci z Grecji w Polsce Ludowej. Wybrane aspekty z życia mniejszości}}</ref> In 1945 and 1946, the city was the starting point of the northern route used by the Jewish underground organisation [[Brichah]] to channel Jewish [[displaced person]]s from [[Central and Eastern Europe]] to the [[American occupation zone of Germany|American occupation zone]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Königseder|first=Angelika|chapter=Durchgangsstation Berlin. Jüdische Displaced Persons 1945–1948|title=Überlebt und unterwegs. Jüdische Displaced Persons im Nachkriegsdeutschland|editor-last=Giere|editor-first=Jacqueline|publisher=Campus Verlag|year=1997|isbn=3-593-35843-3|language=de|pages=189–206; pp. 191–192|display-editors=etal}}</ref>

Szczecin was rebuilt, and the city's industry was expanded. At the same time, Szczecin became a major Polish industrial centre and an important seaport (particularly for [[Silesia]]n coal) for Poland, [[Czechoslovakia]] and [[East Germany]]. Cultural expansion was accompanied by a campaign resulting in the "removal of all German traces".<ref name=musekamp2223>{{cite book|last=Musekamp|first=Jan|chapter=Der Königsplatz in Stettin als Beispiel kultureller Aneignung nach 1945|title=Wiedergewonnene Geschichte. Zur Aneignung von Vergangenheit in den Zwischenräumen Mitteleuropas|volume=22|series=Veröffentlichungen des Deutschen Polen-Instituts Darmstadt|editor1-first=Peter Oliver|editor1-last=Loew|editor2-first=Christian|editor2-last=Pletzing|editor3-first=Thomas|editor3-last=Serrier|publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag|year=2006|isbn=3-447-05297-X|language=de|pages=19–35; pp. 22–23}}</ref> In 1946, [[Winston Churchill]] prominently mentioned the city in his [[Iron Curtain]] speech: "From Stettin in the Baltic to [[Trieste]] in the [[Adriatic]] an iron curtain has descended across the Continent".<ref>British Information Services [https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/FO371-51624.jpg excerpt of Churchill's speech]</ref><ref>Peter H. Merkl, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=dduIXz8kpEsC&dq=Winston+Churchill+Iron+curtain+Szczecin&pg=PA338 German Unification]'', Penn State Press, 2004, p.{{nbsp}}338</ref>

[[File:Strajk w stoczni szczecinskiej 1980.jpg|thumb|[[Szczecin Shipyard]] workers' strike against the [[Polish United Workers' Party|communist government authorities]] in Poland, August 1980]]

The city witnessed [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]] revolts in 1956,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.szczecin.uw.gov.pl/?type=article&action=view&id=14767|title=Upamiętnienie wydarzeń z 10 grudnia 1956 r|website=szczecin.uw.gov.pl|date=10 December 2019|access-date=21 April 2023|language=pl}}</ref> [[Polish 1970 protests|1970]] and 1980.<ref name=pr>{{cite web|url=https://www.polskieradio.pl/39/156/Artykul/674436,Porozumienie-szczecinskie-krok-ku-wolnosci|title=Porozumienie szczecińskie: krok ku wolności|website=PolskieRadio.pl|access-date=15 May 2021|language=pl}}</ref> On 30 August 1980, first of the four ''[[August Agreements]]'', which led to the first legalisation of the trade union [[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]], was signed in Szczecin.<ref name=pr/> The introduction of [[Martial law in Poland|martial law]] in December 1981 met with a strike by the dockworkers of Szczecin shipyard, joined by other factories and workplaces in a [[general strike]]. All these were suppressed by the authorities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naszemiasto.stetinum.pl/pl/wiadomosci/kalendarium/Dzis_rocznica_wprowadzenia_stanu_wojennego|title=Dziś rocznica wprowadzenia stanu wojennego – Szczecin|trans-title=Today is the anniversary of the imposition of martial law – Szczecin|publisher=Naszemiasto.stetinum.pl|access-date=3 June 2011}}{{dead link|date=March 2016}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.13grudnia81.pl/sw/galeria-1/szczecin/6067,Manifestacje-studenckie.html |title=Wprowadzenie stanu wojennego w Szczecinie – Wiadomości – Szczecin |publisher=Sedinum.stetinum.pl |date=13 December 2009 |access-date=2011-06-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222123959/http://www.13grudnia81.pl/sw/galeria-1/szczecin/6067,Manifestacje-studenckie.html |archive-date=22 December 2015 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> Pope [[John Paul II]] visited the city on 11{{nbsp}}June 1987.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gs24.pl/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080411/SZCZECIN/542492938 |title=Papież w Szczecinie |author=Monika Stefanek |date=11 April 2008 |publisher=GS24.pl – Serwis Głosu Szczecińskiego |access-date=19 April 2011 |language=pl}}</ref> Another wave of strikes in Szczecin broke out in [[1988 Polish strikes|1988]] and 1989, which eventually led to the [[Polish Round Table Agreement|Round Table Agreement]] and first [[Contract Sejm|semi-free elections in post-war Poland]].

Szczecin has been the capital of the [[West Pomeranian Voivodeship]] since 1999.