Editing Plauen (section)

==History==
Plauen was founded by [[Polabian Slavs]] in the 12th century as "Plawe" and was passed to the [[Kingdom of Bohemia]] in 1327. The town was captured by the Archbishop of [[Archbishopric of Magdeburg|Magdeburg]], {{Ill|Lippold von Bredow|de|Lippold von Bredow}}, in 1384. In 1466, it was passed to [[Albert III, Duke of Saxony|Albertine Saxony]] and later in 1569 to the [[Electorate of Saxony]]. Plauen became incorporated into the [[Kingdom of Saxony]] in 1806 during the [[Napoleonic Wars]], and in 1871 it became part of the [[German Empire]].

In the late-19th century, Plauen became a centre of [[textile]] manufacturing, specializing in [[Chemical lace]], called [[Plauen lace]]. Around 1910, Plauen, as an industrial 'boomtown' of the region, reached its population peak (1910 census: 121,000, 1912: 128,000). Plauen's population, however, has shrunk dramatically since the [[World War II|Second World War]] (1939: 111,000 inhabitants).

In the 1930s, Plauen hosted the first chapter of the [[Nazi Party]] outside of [[Bavaria]].

During the war, the Nazis operated a prison in the town,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=100000341|title=Untersuchungshaftanstalt Plauen|website=Bundesarchiv.de|accessdate=3 April 2021|language=de}}</ref> and three subcamps of the [[Flossenbürg concentration camp]]. Five hundred women, mostly Polish, but also Russian, Italian, French, Yugoslavian and Croatian, were imprisoned and used as [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labour]] in the first two subcamps,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gedenkstaette-flossenbuerg.de/en/history/satellite-camps/plauen-industriewerke|title=Plauen (Industriewerke AG) Subcamp|website=KZ-Gedenkstätte Flossenbürg|accessdate=3 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gedenkstaette-flossenbuerg.de/en/history/satellite-camps/plauen-baumwollspinnerei|title=Plauen (Cotton Mill) Subcamp|website=KZ-Gedenkstätte Flossenbürg|accessdate=3 April 2021}}</ref> and 50 men from various countries were imprisoned in the third subcamp.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gedenkstaette-flossenbuerg.de/en/history/satellite-camps/plauen-dr-th-horn|title=Plauen (Dr. Th. Horn) Subcamp|website=KZ-Gedenkstätte Flossenbürg|accessdate=3 April 2021}}</ref> It was occupied by [[United States|American]] troops on 16 April 1945 but was left to [[Red Army]] on 1 July 1945. On 15 December 1945, the city issued 7 semi-postal postage stamps of its own to raise money for reconstruction.

From 1945 onwards, Plauen fell into the [[Soviet occupation zone]] of Germany, which later became the [[East Germany|German Democratic Republic]] (1949–1990). Plauen hosted a large [[Red Army]] occupation garrison and, in the last years of the GDR (DDR), an officer school of the Border Guards ("Grenztruppen der DDR"). The first mass demonstration against the communist regime in the GDR began in Plauen on 7 October 1989; this was the beginning of a series of mass demonstrations across the country and ultimately led to the re-unification of Germany in 1990.

The exposé ''[[Fast Food Nation]]'' gives special mention to Plauen as the first city of the GDR to have a [[McDonald's Corporation|McDonald's]] restaurant following the collapse of the [[Berlin Wall]].

As part of Saxony's local government reform of July 1st 2008, Plauen lost its status as a [[Urban districts of Germany|district-free city]] and was integrated into the [[Vogtlandkreis]] district.