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Discover Brody CommuneThe Lower Lusatian borderland after 1945
In 1945 the Lusatian Neisse became a state border, cutting across older urban, transport, family and economic connections.
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Thematic gallery
The thematic visuals are modern editorial works prepared for Fundacja Rokita and serve an illustrative purpose; they are not reproductions of specific archival photographs.
A river becomes a state frontier
After the Second World War the Lusatian Neisse became a state boundary. The eastern part of historical Lower Lusatia came under Polish administration. This meant far more than a line on a map: population replacement, new administrations, interrupted roads, bridges and economic links, and new place names.
The clearest examples are Guben/Gubin and Forst/Zasieki. Areas on the right bank that had belonged to the pre-war urban space of Forst are now in Poland. Zasieki includes the former Berge; Brożek corresponds to Scheuno, Brody to Pförten, Lubsko to Sommerfeld, Jasień to Gassen and Żary to Sorau.
Not the end of the region, but a new layer
The 1945 border is a fundamental modern turning point, but it does not erase older networks. Fundacja Rokita follows roads, railways, field names, industry, cemeteries and family memory on both sides of the Neisse.
Paired names tell the story
Guben ↔ Gubin
A Neisse town divided after 1945.
Forst ↔ Zasieki / Berge
Pre-war Forst extended to the right bank of the Neisse.
Scheuno ↔ Brożek
A settlement closely connected with the DSC Forst industrial complex.
Pförten ↔ Brody
A historic centre of the Standesherrschaft and local memory.
Sommerfeld ↔ Lubsko
An eastern Lower Lusatian town with a long economic and transport history.
Sorau ↔ Żary
Former district centre for a large part of the eastern region.