NS Documentation Centre of the City of Cologne Poland, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, "for her extraordinary merits in the field of the development of German Polish relations" the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland, one of the most valuable awards of the Polish state. For more than ten years now Elzbieta Adamski is in charge of the visit program for former forced labourers. NS Documentation Centre of the City of Cologne The NS Documentation Centre of the City of Cologne () was founded by a resolution passed by the Cologne city council on December 13, 1979 and has become the largest regional memorial site in all of Germany
History of Cologne In 1074 the commune was formed. By the 13th century, the relationship between the city and its archbishop had become difficult, and after the Battle of Worringen in 1288, the forces of Brabant and the citizenry of Cologne captured Archbishop Siegfried of Westerburg (1274–97), resulting in almost complete freedom for the city. To regain his liberty the archbishop recognized the political independence of Cologne but reserved certain rights, notably the administration of justice. Cologne effectively became a free city after 1288, and in 1475 it was formally made a free imperial city, a status that it held until annexed by