History of Olsztyn

="EN-US">On 12 October 1939, after the German invasion of Poland that began World War II, the Wehrmacht established an Area Headquarters for Wehrkreis I that controlled the sub-areas of Allenstein, Lötzen (now Giżycko) and Zichenau (now Ciechanów). Beginning in 1939, members of the Polish-speaking minority, especially members of the Union of Poles in Germany, were deported to German death camps.

Allenstein was plundered and burnt by the invading Soviet Red Army on 22 January 1945, as the Eastern Front reached the city. Allenstein's German population evacuated the region or was subsequently expelled. On 2 August 1945, the city became part of Poland according to the Potsdam Agreement, and officially renamed to the Polish Olsztyn. In October 1945, the German population of Olsztyn was expelled by Order of the City Commanders of Olsztyn.

A tyre factory was founded in Olsztyn in 1967. Its subsequent names include OZOS, Stomil, and Michelin.

Olsztyn has been the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. It was previously in the Olsztyn Voivodeship