The Year 1945

In 1945, the final year of World War II, Stargard witnessed intense military operations. In the beginning of February, German civilians were evacuated from Stargard due to the approaching troops of the Soviet 1st Belorussian Front. Meanwhile at the Yalta Conference, the world leaders agreed on the changes of state borders after the war. On 5 March, the Red Army entered Stargard; on 23 March, the Soviet commander of the town appointed the first Polish town authorities which had jurisdiction over the part of Stargard located beyond the Ina river. First Polish settlers began to arrive in Stargard, including railway workers, officials and postal workers. On 12 May, the town authorities took over the governance of the entirety of Stargard. The Griffonet with a bunch of keys and a suitcase symbolises the great migration and the changes of the state borders after World War II. Changing borders also affected Stargard, as its German citizens had to leave the town and their place was taken by Polish citizens who found themselves in Pomerania due to the change of the eastern border of Poland or because they lost their homes and were looking for a new place to live.