In Guben - W Gubinie

Guben:
German city on the left bank of 'Lausitzer Neisse' river
Town in the Spree-Neisse-District (SPN)
in the Lower Lausitz in the Federal State of Brandenburg.
35.500 inhabitants

Gubin:
Polish city on the right bank of Nysa Luzycka river
Town in the Voivodship Lubuskie (Gorzów Wlkp.) near Ziemia Lubuska.

after 1945:

The decision during the Potsdam conference has the biggest impact on the town of all historic events:

The city is divided, and the major part with Gothic town hall, church and historic town centre becomes Polish, only the western suburbs on the westbank remain German. Suddenly a State Boundary is in the middle of the river.

The German inhabitants leave the eastern part of the city (or have done so during the war already) and Poles resettle the city.

Germany:
The former quarters on the west bank form a new city without the historic heart, new modern suburbs are built and industry is developped.

PL
On the eastside most of the historic town centre is not rebuilt, but new quarters are built in the close hinterland/neighbourhood.

After the end of the cold war and the eastern block, there are more and more cultural and political activities between the two cities. Slowly the Polish authorities start to rebuild fragments of the old town, often encouraged by foreign investors.

BK 1992

	Border crossing: Looking from German Guben to the Polish side across the river.
	Historic view: The German-Polish border divides the city since 1945, before that date the Polish state boundary was 50 miles to the east from here. This photograph from 1940, who would have guessed the bridge would become a border check point only 5 years later?
	View of Gubin: This used to be the town centre, near the staircase was the Theatre Hall.
	In Gubin (PL) Trunk road to the border crossing and German side. ul. Obronców Pokoju
	in Guben (DE) On our way to the Polish side (bordercrossing in the background). Frankfurter Strasse
	In Gubin (PL) Ruins of the church and the town-hall, where now green grass grows, once were two storey buildings, yet the historic heart of what used to be old-Guben is gone.
	Historic view of Guben: Church and town hall and historic houses around the market. (see above for present situation)

Osobliwie situacje graniczne

(24) - GUBIN (PL) - GUBEN (D)

It is not the intention or idea of this documentation to question the existing border. One cannot turn back time or history. Only by accepting the given facts, a better future can be built together.