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Chronology of Events:

1428 Village of Kuflew (originally called 'Stok') belonged to Jasienczykow of Otwock (then Oborskich) - Coat of arms Roch

1515 Church was founded

1521 Village name changed from Stok to Kuflew. The name derives from the Polish 'Kufel' - pitcher / mug for beer, which originally came from the German 'Kufe' - a Vat or Barrel of beer.

1700s Village and Estate owned by Jana Meisner

1793 Estate (6750 hectares) is sold to Melchior Lacki. Kuflew is under Austrian Rule.

1831 Inherited by 2 sons, Wincenty-Antoni and Jan Nepomucen Lacki. There are no heirs. Battle of Kuflew 25th April 1831: Village is destroyed by Russian artillery. See following Link:Battle of Kuflew

1842 Weronika Korzbok-Łącka marries 27 year old son of Jan Henyrk Dabrowski, Bronislaw Dabrowski. He receives Kuflew as dowry.

1846 Bronislaw Dabrowski is arrested for his part in the Greater Poland Uprising. He was to be commander of the Vistula coast but plans were foiled by the Prussian authorities. Gen Oberpolicmajster Nesselrode is said to have found out the plans. Nesselrode's daugher warned Dabrowski and he was able to escape to Winnogory (Poznan area). There he was arrested and brought for trial in Berlin (Berlin Process) and spends 2 years in jail. The dworek is confiscated as a result. After his release he leaves for Winnogóry to carry on the national struggle.


1863 Dworek is given back to Weronika Lackich-Dabrowski after she has met the Tsar Alexander II at a ball and pleaded for its return. She errected a large monument to St Athony in the parklands as an act of gratitude. Archives mention:

Sygn.: 491 Tytuł: Akta dotyczące podania Weroniki z Łąckich Dąbrowskiej o powrócenie jej dóbr Kuflew [pow. stanisławowski, gub. warszawska] , w r. 1846 skonfiskowanych [w następstwie oskarżenia, że mąż petentki Bronisław Dąbrowski dowodził w r. 1846 w zbrojnym napadzie na Siedlce i w innych zaburzeniach w Królestwie Polskim.] [Wniosek Wydziału Próśb i Zażaleń o przekazanie sprawy do Rady Administracyjnej z przychylną opinią. Protokół rady Administracyjnej zawierający rozkaz cesarski o "zdjęciu w drodze szczególnej łaski" rzeczonej konfiskaty] Daty: 1862-1863 Opis: poszyt, s. 21 Dawna Sygn.: Sek. V/8, vol. 52; dawna sygn. AGAD 652 Język: pol., ros. Mikrofilm: 31415


1880 Bronislaw Dabrowski dies.

1897 Weronika Lackich-Dabrowski dies without heir. After her death Kuflew with 6750 hectares was inherited by her nephew, Lacki z Posadowa in Poznan area. He had difficulties with running such a big estate. He sold it fairly quickly to Prince Stanislaw Lubomirski.

1907 Estate of 6,500 hectares was sold by Prince Stanislaw Lubomirski to Michal Szweycer (1843-1919). Michal developed a spirit producing business, as well as building sawmills (near the station at Mrozy). Special timber railtracks were built to and from the sawmills. Much of the wood went to the UK.

1880-1910 At some point in this time the current stone manor is built. We have found a brick in the stable block with 1866 engraved in it.

1917 Before Szweycer's death in 1919, Kuflew went to his son Bronislaw, and his other properties eg Lask goes to Janusz, eg Rzeczyce goes to Michal. (see Photo gallery).

1939

Mrozy

80 years ago the hearts of Poles quivered. "So it's war!" was the tragic message of Polish Radio. On September 1, 1939, a tragic war began with German aggression against Poland, followed by Russian invasion on the 17th of September which claimed tens of millions of victims around the world.

The first bombs on Mrozy began to fall already on September 3. The goal was a railway line and a road leading from Kałuszyn to Mrozów. People ran away from their homes in panic. They sought shelter in scattered rural buildings, far from the center and, above all, from the railway line, which carried out heavy military transports. It was thought that the military activities would be short-lived, that Poles would be helped by Great Britain and France quickly. Polish soldiers bravely and devotedly resisted the German invaders. There was fierce fighting in the Mrozy area. The bloodiest events took place in Kałuszyn on 11 and 12 September with the participation of the First Infantry Division of the Legions. After the capture of Kałuszyn, a retreat was ordered, including through Mrozy, Grodzisk and Kuflew. Wounds were healed in a hurry and the dead were buried - without major honors, in a hurry, in randomly located graves.

At the same time, about 17 evacuation transports (railway units, balloonists, sappers, pilots, farm warehouses) were blocked on the railway line from Mińsk Mazowiecki to Siedlce, including the "Piłsudczyk" armored train. Some Polish units, when it was unmasked by the Germans on the evening of 13 September, left the wagons and, bearing heavy losses, headed for Topor, where a bloody battle took place on 14 September. As a result, both Polish and German soldiers died. Among the Poles killed were cadets from the aviation school in Dęblin - in 1940 they were exhumed and transferred to the cemetery in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, on the section Mrozy - Skruda from the remaining branches an independent operational group was created under the command of Lt. Mikołaj Więckowski. The command center was in Skruda. Until 19 September they bravely resisted, fighting initially for Mrozy, then for Grodzisk. The "Piłsudczyk" armored train played an important role in defense activities, causing significant losses to the enemy.

On September 17, shocking news came that Soviet troops had entered Poland. In the absence of assistance from allied France and Great Britain, surrender became necessary. In this situation, all you could do was give the enemy as little as possible. September 19 to fight against an operational group in the Mrozy area, in the so-called "Cauldron", German combat vehicles were directed. The Polish command decided to retreat. However, before this happened, the ammunition and weapons were destroyed. The "Piłsudczyk" armored train was also destroyed. Sergeant Dolczewski ran the train into previously blown up track. On September 21, soldiers left our area. Capitulation was announced on September 30.

In October 1939, the period of German occupation began. Residents returned to their homes, hoping "that it would be work out somehow". Nothing yet predicted the extermination that would take place in later years. They first witnessed the mass drama Mrozy in December 1939, when a large rail transport of displaced people from around Poznań arrived. The village leaders were ordered to deploy the displaced. In 1940, Jews were banned from leaving designated places. Exports began. Two labor camps for Jews were organized in the Mrozy commune, one in Jeziorek (Kuflewo) and the other in Mrozy. Residents from nearby communes were brought to them. Ironically, for many, getting to such a camp gave hope to avoid death in Treblinka. In the autumn of 1942, the Kuflewo camp was liquidated. About 200 people were shot and buried in the forest in Mrozy. The rest were taken to Treblinka. The Mrozy camp was finally liquidated in 1943. Again, about 70 executed men were brought to the murder site in Mrozy.

On February 28, 1943, Mrozy saw another drama - the drama Children of the Zamość region. On a frosty day, a train with 1064 people from the transit camp in Zamość arrived at the railway station in Mrozy. Among them were 462 children between 0 and 10 years of age, separated from their parents by force. The society of Mrozów, Kuflew, Kałuszyn and Cegłów started to help. The entire assistance campaign was managed by the head of the primary school in Mrozy - Stefan Wolf. A hospital for the most sick children was organized, care and shelter was provided.

Then came 1944. The end of the Nazis was near. On July 30, 1944, the Red Army entered Mrozy. Among other things, the Russians calmly waited here for Warsaw fighting in the uprising to bleed out. It also effectively blocked local members of the Home Army from getting to Warsaw to provide support. Later, they entered the destroyed capital, saying they were "friends".

In 1945, the war officially ended. That however only open the gate to more oppression from the second enemy - Stalin.


Pilsudczyk train in Mrozy 1939


Kuflew:

21 - 24th Sep German 1. Kavallerie-Brigade (1 KD) enter Kuflew.

The calendar for the 1.KD

31.8.1939 in East Prussia on the Polish border near Myszyniec
1.9.1939 advance to Dylewo
2.9.1939 advance to Drazdzewo area.
3.9.1939-4.9.1939 to Przasnysz area
5.9.1939 Makow to Rozan
6.9.1939-11.9.1939 Rozan-Kumin-Mala-Majdan-Wierezbno
12.9.1939-16.9.1939 Wierezbno to Zabki just to NE of Warsaw.
17.9.1939-20.9.1939 to area of Katuszyn
21.9.1939-24.9.1939 in the area of Kuflew
25.9.1939-4.10.1939 in the area of Rudzienko

According to locals, a private plane landed near dworek to pick up Szweycers prior to German occupation. We understand that 10 Germans occupied the house. Villagers were made to work in the estate. We hear that a Jewish girl was sheltered first in the cellars and tunnels under the Dworek, and then in cellars and tunnells in the nearby spirit house. She was successfully hidden throughout the war years and lived to be 89 years old.

1941 Forced labour camp for Jews set up in Kuflew. See http://deutschland-ein-denkmal.de/ded/database/detailViewFromSelection?request_locale=en&reqEntryId=2484

1943 Village was burned by Germans for active participation in resistance.

1944 The manor was used as a meeting point for AK fighters as part of the Burza action of the Warsaw Uprising

1945 5 February: Myron King lands his B 17 Flying Fortress bomber makes an emergency landing in Kuflewo airfield. The aircraft had suffered engine damage whilst bombing Berlin. The Russians had flooded a field which then iced up creating a flat surface for an airfield. Whilst at Kuflewo, a young Pole boarded the plane, pretending to be a member of the crew; Jack Smith. The plane flew on to Szczuczyn. There, the Russians uncovered the Pole who was later executed, and the Russian authorities quickly used the incident to accuse the allies of attempting to smuggle a Polish terrorist-sabateur brought in from London to Poland. This served as a convenient injury to deflect Britain complaints against Russia after the Warsaw uprising. In March 1945 American Russian relations reached an all time low. On Friday March 30 General A.E Antonov, chief of the Red Army General Staff wrote to General Deane, head of USMM in Moscow, complaining of “a number of instances when crews of American Army rudely violated the order established by the Command of the Red Army in territory occupied by the Soviet troops, and did not live up to elementary rules of a relationship between friendly nations.” Lt King was court marshalled in Moscow, but according to the navigator of the plane who served as witness in the trial, it was clear that the Americans intended to find him guilty to appease the Russians.


Photo of Maiden USA, the plane which landed at Kuflew.


1946 21 September the estate was taken over by Polish State and divided into parcels.

1958 Bronislaw Szweycer dies

1946-1997 The property was first used as a part (spoldzielnia Kolek Rolniczych) communist farming meeting place and part flats. In one room was a library.

1998 The property was sold to Mr Andre Kuhn but little was done to maintain or protect the building for the next 7 years.