with other cities in Lower Silesia. During World War II, the Germans brought thousands of prisoners of war to the town and the surrounding area: Poles, Frenchmen, Belgians, Russians, Englishmen and Yugoslavs. Near the end of the war, in January 1945, the German authorities displaced all the town's population. The German mayor of the town ordered to blow up the town hall tower and the tower of the Holy Cross church. On one of the town's squares, Germans hanged six Polish workers, who were hiding in the abandoned town. It was severely damaged in the course of the Lower Silesian Offensive of the Red Army against the Wehrmacht in February 1945. In May 1945 Strzelin was handed over to the Polish administration. As of 2019, the town has a population of 12,460. Notable people Paul Ehrlich (1854–1915), physician Johann von Ravenstein (1889–1962), Wehrmacht general Utz Richter (1928–2015), actor and voice actor Błażej Augustyn, footballer, born 1988 Michał Masłowski, footballer, born 1989 Kacper "Uszaty" Kwiatkowski, actor, born 2012 Twin towns – sister cities See twin towns of Gmina Strzelin. References External links Official town homepage TelewizjaStrzelin, a local TV station strzelin.net, a local news site Jewish Community in Strzelin on Virtual Shtetl PTTK Strzelin local newspaper "Strzeliński Ekspress Ogłoszeniowy" which alone has in his title coat of arms ,official Cities and towns in Lower Silesian Voivodeship Strzelin County