Gdansk - City on the Baltic Sea

Gdansk is the home of our tour guide, Katherine (Kasia) Czaykowska who is married, has one son and is a grandmother. We spent three nights/two days in Gdansk which allowed us to explore this city whose current claims to fame are its massive shipyards/formation of the Solidarity movement/ Lech Walesa. Since Gdansk had much to offer, I segmented my description of Gdansk into the following:

• Oliwa Cathedral – home to one of the largest 18th century organs 
• Tour of Gdansk – first impressions of this fascinating city 
• Galleon Cruise – cruise the Gdansk Centrum waterfront to Westerplatte 
• Westerplatte – beginning of Nazi Germany assault; beginning of World War II 
• Solidarity Museum – history of non-violent movement to expel Soviet presence. 

Oliwa Cathedral

Kasia was married in this Cathedral which is a magnificent house of worship and home to a rare 18th century organ, one of the largest in the world. We walk the aisles of the Cathedral marveling at its beauty before being seated for the organ concert. The Cathedral is quite crowded.

Gdansk – a Brief History 

In order to understand a country, one needs to understand its history and Gdansk is central to Poland’s modern day history. Gdansk is a large seaport city located at the juncture of the Motlawa River and Baltic Sea. Its strategic location has resulted in a history where competing national powers attempted to take possession of this prized seaport. The Germans called it Danzig. It was a city without a country between World War I and World War II; defined as a free zone by the Treaty of Versailles. In World War II, the Germans turned Danzig into a large naval base, shipyard for the construction of U boat submarines, and a target for Allied bombers. At the end of World War II, Danzig returned to being Gdansk where it resumed construction/repair of merchant ships while playing a strategic role in Russia’s Warsaw Pact military alliance. It is the city where resistance to European Communism began in 1970 resulting in the 1980 formation of the non-violent Solidarity movement and the fall of communism in Poland in 1989.

Tour

  

After departing Oliwa Cathedral, we returned to Centrum Gdansk where Kasia led us on a two hour walking tour. We visited Saint Mary’s Cathedral which dates back to the 1400s, viewed the magnificent pink Old Arsenal building, marveled at Neptune’s statue, watched children admiring a local artist work, impressed by the size of medieval port granary, the three cross anchors identifying the Solidarity museum and wanting to ride the lovely carousel we discovered. The rest of the next day and a half was our time to explore. What Kasia’s tour did was show us what Gdansk had to offer.

Galleon Cruise

An enjoyable tourist attraction is the Galleon sailing tour that transports visitors on a replica of a two mast sailing pirate ship. One boards the ship in the Centrum portion of the city, sails out towards the mouth of the Motwala River, where one has a lovely view of Gdansk waterfront buildings, traverses the expansive Gdansk shipyards buzzing with activity and arrives at the area of Westerplatte. On board is a banjo playing musician who provided a degree of musical enjoyment.

Westerplatte 

Westerplatte is located just outside Gdansk and guards the entrance to the Motwala River; the doorway to Gdansk city and interior of Poland. It is one of the three locations that the Germans attacked on September 1, 1939 which led Britain and France to declare war on Germany; the beginning of World War II. 

After one disembarks from the Galleon ship, there is about a mile and a half walk to a monument honoring those that fought against the Nazi invaders. Along the journey to the memorial, there are constant reminders documenting the events that occurred.

Along the path to towards the monument are individuals dressed in 1930 Polish military uniforms reliving roles that provide context to what one sees. School children learn their history by talking to these “soldiers”. I talked to three “commandoes” and I came to find out that they serve a dual role; reenactment actors and police officers providing security.

 

 

World War II Museum

 

It is difficult to convey to the reader what I saw and experienced as I toured this museum. Hitler, a megalomaniac, started a World War that killed 1,000,000s of people....where entire countries were destroyed.... where indescribable atrocities were committed by men against other men/women/children. This museum documents the atrocities suffered by the Polish people at the hands of Nazi Germany. Of the 5,700,000 Polish people killed during World War II, 3,000,000 were Jews. The picture of a German soldier killing a family was sent by the soldier to his  own family extolling his service to “Der Fuhrer”; proof of man’s inhumanity to man.

In the end, 1945, one monster, Nazi Germany, was replaced by another monster, Communist Russia. Both Germany and Russia used the same techniques such as repression, torture, murder, mass executions. It was disheartening to see that the Allied Nations had forsaken Eastern Europe because of a sick President and poor leadership.

Solidarity Museum

At the end of World War II, Europe was divided into spheres of influence at the Yalta Conference. Unfortunately for most of Eastern Europe, Russia became their master. Poland was one of these unfortunate countries. From 1945 – 1993, Poland suffered under the weight of Soviet brutality, especially under the reign of Josef Stalin.

The Expulsion of Russian Influence - In September 1970, a major labor strike occurred at the Gdansk shipyard leading to the deaths of many strikers. In 1978, Polish Cardinal Karol J. Wojtyla was elevated by the Catholic Church and became Pope John Paul II. Margaret Thatcher was elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1979. Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980 as President of the United States. Last, the non-violent non-government trade union called Solidity was formed in August 1980 led by Lech Walesa. The Solidarity museum documents the history of these events and the beginning of the end of Communism in Eastern Europe.

When one visits the Solidarity museum, it conveys a feeling of victory over oppression; good defeating evil. I spent three hours touring this informative museum. It offers visitors a well designed route that provides a time line through history. You view events in a context of interrelated historic occurrences; you meet historical figures and gain an understanding of who they were, where they came from and their motivations. You gain an understanding of the strength of the Polish people and the adversity that they overcame to gain their freedom. It is a lesson that we in America may want to focus on by revisiting our own history.  

Gdansk.......What a wonderful city