Aktualności
Exactly a week ago, the exhibition ‘Pomeranian Crimes of 1939’ was opened at the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk. The exhibition has received recognition from both the museum community and our visitors.
The building of the former Military Transit Depot (MTD) power plant on Westerplatte, although currently located on the outskirts and not open to the public, will become one of the key points on the tour path of the new open-air museum on the peninsula in just a few years.
The ammunition base currently serves as a wharf and a support facility for maritime equipment belonging to law enforcement agencies, including the Border Guard. Ninety-four years ago, the surrounding area looked different from what we see today. However, the purpose of the area as a closed space is still maintained. As part of the #HistoriaWesterplatte series, we invite you to travel back in time to the most modern part of the peninsula in 1926.
The arrival of the first guard unit on Westerplatte, formed by the forces of the 4th Infantry Division, marked the beginning of Poland's military presence at the entrance to the port of Gdańsk. Due to the League of Nations' decision coming into effect, Poland had the right to maintain a permanent unit on Westerplatte.
Yet another of the presented structures from the former Military Transit Depot on Westerplatte that no longer exists today. Only remnants of its foundations have been preserved, which were discovered during archaeological research in 2016. At one time, this representative building housed officers serving on the Military Depot's premises, including its commanders. The building, which once stood in the center of the Polish outpost, will soon have the opportunity to be presented to the public, and its location next to the emerging cemetery will be duly emphasized.
In December 2020, an international architectural competition was held for a new cemetery design on Westerplatte. In the coming years, all of the identified fallen defenders of the Polish Military Transit Depot from September 1939 will be buried there.
As a supplement to the article discussing the transformations and forms of the cemetery at Westerplatte, we would like to commemorate, separately, those for whom this place of eternal rest was established.
For several decades, Westerplatte has been associated with the Monument to the Defenders of the Coast, unveiled ceremoniously in October 1966. Since the late sixties, its silhouette has become one of the most frequently used symbols of this place in various photographs, postcards, and other souvenirs. The upcoming Westerplatte museum aims to reverse this trend and emphasize the authentic dimension of this place, which was a battleground for Polish soldiers in 1939. The Monument to History at Westerplatte will eventually be restored to its former glory. In this text, we would like to show that there have been more monuments and memorials over the years, and their history is not as well-known as the example of the largest monument mentioned here. We invite you to familiarize yourself with the content of the article.
The remains of the destroyed Guardhouse No. 5, next to the foundations of the dismantled officer's villa, will soon become educational elements accessible to visitors while preserving and securing the remains of the former Military Transit Depot on Westerplatte. They will be located at the entrance to the new area leading to the Polish Army Soldiers' cemetery on Westerplatte. In the following text, we would like to present the exceptional yet short and turbulent history of Guardhouse No. 5. The most dramatic events related to the defense of the Polish outpost on Westerplatte took place in this facility. Guardhouse No. 5 is also inseparably linked to commemorating the fallen Polish soldiers on Westerplatte through the cemetery located on its ruins. We invite you to read on.