A selection of images of pre-1945 Lissa / Leszno, Poland. Click on any image to enlarge.

Lissa into Leszno into Lissa into Leszno

From 1793 the town was part of the Posen province of Prussia and named Lissa. Following the end of the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles the town became part of Poland and renamed Leszno. In the 1939 the town was annexed by Germany and incorporated into the Reichsgau Wartheland, and once again named Lissa. After the defeat of Germany in the Second World War the town returned to Poland and the name Leszno used once again.

Three things you might not know about Leszno:

• In the census of 1905, 79% of the population of Lissa stated that they were German.
• In a similar survey in 1939, 89% of the population of Leszno stated that they were Polish.
• Leszno has one of the largest and best preserved synagogues in the Wielkopolska Region of Poland.

Related content on Polish Poland: Images of Leszno in the 1970s.