Garmisch-Partenkirchen des Ostens. Planung der besetzten Stadt Zakopane im Zweiten Weltkrieg

Abstract

During World War Two, the city of Zakopane, located in the south of Poland in the Tatra Mountains, became part of the German-occupied General Government (GG). The oc-cupiers intended to transform Zakopane into a modern, world-renowned health resort and sports center. For this, a new special agency, the so called Bauamt, was established within the municipality, in which Polish and Polish/Goral architects headed by Stefan Żychoń worked relatively free under German supervision. Zakopane is an exception compared to other cities in the GG in terms of its political situation and urban planning conditions. Only in Zakopane were Polish architects allowed to work under their own names. In the implementation of the development program, Henryk Szatkowski played a crucial role, who had been the head of the health resort department of Zakopane municipality before the war and one of the Goralenvolk leaders during the occupation. This extraordinary Polish-German cooperation was made possible by the special status national socialists ascribed to the Goralenvolk and by values of modernity shared by both sides.