Dziemiany

Dziemiany pronounced [ d͡ʑeˈmjanɨ ] (German: Dzimianen, or Sophienwalde during the Nazi occupation) is a village in Kościerzyna County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Dziemiany. It lies approximately 19 kilometres (12 mi) south-west of Kościerzyna and 70 km (43 mi) south-west of the regional capital Gdańsk. It was the location of the Nazi concentration camp Dzimianen - Sophienwalde, a subcamp of the concentration camp Stutthof. Here the SS-Truppenübungsplatz Westpreußen was located during the occupation of Poland in World War II.

The village has a population of 1,762.

Truppenübungsplatz Westpreußen

Dziemiany was overrun on the second day of the Nazi German invasion of Poland of September 1939. Several weeks later on 26 October 1939 by a decree of Adolf Hitler the region was annexed into the Reich as Reichsagau Danzig Westpreussen. Dziemiany was renamed Sophienwalde, population: 4,428 ethnic Poles. Deportations of all prominent citizens followed. Polish schools and all institutions were shut down.