Port 77 Gdansk, Poland

by Ed · May 31, 2022

Dzien dobry! (Good day!)

At 5:30 AM the sun was already bright when we entered Gdansk’s waters on May 23rd, 2022.

A tug joined us by 6 AM, and ended up pulling us backwards through a race course of channel markers!

Then it dragged us into the river. We skipped past where the river splits to the left and right.

The old lighthouse and the new port authority look great together in the morning sun!

We finally see how far down the river we’ll be going. We’ll dock in front of that ship on the left.

And then the fog rolls in! But it doesn’t last long.

We have an excurion today to visit the Stutthof concentration camp, and then take a little walking tour of Gdansk! I decided to add this photo to remind you that the tours have been planned to never have more than 50% occupancy of the buses! I like to sit on the right, and Joy on the left! There’s plenty of room!

Like several previous ports, there is lovely flat agricutural land here! The yellow blooms are rapeseed plants, used to make canola oil!

We finally arrive at Stutthof. Apologies for the lousy photo, but I like the sign!

The first building is the Guardhouse. Eveyone entering or leaving the camp were controlled by the SS guards manning this post.

We go down to the Command building to watch a 20-minute video on the history of Stutthof. It was the first camp built in Poland. It began in 1939 as a collection place for political dissidents, then in 1942 became a concentration camp. This Command building had the kitchen and mess for the SS officers, a canteen for the guards, and administrative offices and storage for the camp.

The first barracks building is the canteen. Prisoners here could purchase cigarettes and other sundries – at least they could when this was a prison and not a concentration camp.

Now the canteen holds a display of the shoe soles that were once piled outside of the gate.

These are only the soles. All of the good leather from the uppers were repurposed by the Germans long ago to make their wallets, eyeglass cases, pen cases, and other goodies. The photo in the background was the pile of shoes they had taken from all of the men, women, and children brought here.

It’s time to enter the Gate of Death. Over half of the people who went through this gate never left.

For buildings that don’t exist anymore they maintained the foundation lines. This is the camp kitchen.

Part of the tiled area and fireplace still exist.

Hmmm, no one talked about this. A well? A refuse pit? This is at the end of the kitchen building, so it could be either!

The few barracks that still stand now have the displays in them.

We start at the Block VIII barracks – the quarantine barracks where prisoners first lived while they were trained on how to live in the camp – formations of five, lining up, when to put on and take off caps, among other necessary actions. At the entrance the first display is a broken gate. This represents the end of the camp when the Soviet Red Army rolled in. (I am a little disappointed that the gate pole on display is not the gate pole in the photo.)

Heinrich Himmler came here for a visit once. The story is that he was only shown the parts of the camp that were freshly painted and in good repair. So he never saw how the prisoners really lived or were treated.

I am intrigued by this wall. It was clearly painted, but when and by whom?

The camp had an expansion plan. The building we are standing in is in the first phase, the bottom right. We are in the black building to the left of the lower blue building.

The last phase was the “Special Camp” in the red box on the upper left.

This is the view across the square. Picture a building in the middle, and this is what the prisoners saw. That’s the Gate of Death in the far corner. Across the way is the Womens Block, but for now it houses the medical facility display, the Infirmary. We’ll visit there next.

Looking to the right, this is where the prisoners of the concentration camp lived. And where they died. The actual Infirmary was at the far end, near the crematoruim.

This is a wash area next to the medical facilities.

This is the table where thousands were experimented on, most injected with phenol to kill them.

The Infirmary beds were few. Anyone who needed too much time to recuperate were taken out and shot.

The regular beds for the women weren’t different, just one level taller and more dense since doctors didn’t need to maneuver around them.

Contrary to popular depictions, very few of the prisoners wore uniforms.

Most just wore the clothes they were allowed to keep, and had to sew their numbers on them. The prisoners were given color codes, based on who they were and why they were incarcerated:

Red triangle – political prisoners
Green triangle – criminals – typically German inmates brought in to be thugs and house leads
Pink triangle – homosexuals
Black triangle – social criminals
Yellow star – Jews

The ovens used for cremating have been preserved and enclosed in a building to protect them.

Immediately outside is the Gas Chamber. There is a fire heat box outside the door.

There is a door on each end, a hole in the ceiling, and a drain in the floor.

Prisoners were piled in to the chamber, the doors closed, and the heaters fired up to raise the temperature. Once the temperature was high enough the canister with Cyclone B, which at high temperatures emits a poisonous gas, was dropped through the hole in the ceiling.

Then if injections and gas chambers weren’t enough, they also used a gallows to hang certain prisoners.

The building closest to the Crematorium was the Morgue, so the bodies didn’t have to be moved far for disposal. Over by the trees is a monument to the 65,000 killed here.

This monument has a compartment that holds the cremated remains recovered here. There is a glass window on the other side.

On our way back toward the entrance we walk by the Phase 2 barracks. These were built with stone, and each building had its own number, unlike the earlier wooden buildings that had multiple sections, each with their own numbers.

Then we go in to see one last display – the Death March. When the Nazis heard the Soviet troops were on their way they decided to evacuate the prisoners from Stutthof. They moved 50,000 prisoners under forced march through deep snow. Those too weak to march were killed. One of the prisoners, Josef Lapin, was able to capture the event in sketches. Here are a few of those sketches. “Marsz Smierci” is “Death March.”

“Sleeping in the Snow”

“Night in the Church in Zuckow”

No title – prisoners heading out into the snow

I can’t find a solid translation for “Nad Wiska” but I think it means “view from above” since this drawing is kinda seeing the group from above.

“Night in a Church in Luzino”

No title – prisoners starting the march

We head out the gate by the new barracks.

The Polish Special War Crimes trials convicted many of the former Stutthof guards and staff of murder. Many received death sentences (kara smerci), and a few were aquitted (uniewinniony). Most received between 3 and 15 years in prison (x lat wiezienia).

The only picture I care to share from the drive back to Gdansk is this one of a color suspension bridge!

Now we’re in Gdansk, beginning our walking tour. The first thing that catches my attention is a parking spot for scooters!

We head to the Green Bridge. This becomes the focal point for the tour, as this is our rendezvous point if we get separated from the group.

The waterfront along the river is beautiful and exciting! The funky building in the distance actually houses a crane that is used to remove freight from boats on the river. It disguises the ugliness of the hardware amidst the brick waterfront.

The Green Gate overlooks the Green Bridge.

On the other side of the Green Gate is the Long Street with its market and beautifully endowed buildings!

One example of the buildings is this one, near the tower in the photo above. The story behind this one is two sets of facade decorations were contracted for this home. The most beautiful one was lost in shipment from Italy. So the second most beautiful one was received and installed. The world wonders what was lost? This one is stunning!

The nearby tower is the City Hall. It has a 37-bell carillon that plays every fifteen minutes!

In front of City Hall is this Fountain of Neptune. A security fence had to be installed around the fountain because women kept climbing up the fountain to touch Neptune’s penis – thought to be a token of good luck for pregnancy! The seahorse’s tail that covers his privates was broken off repeatedly, until now the tail is bolted to his penis!

This is the Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption. It’s a marvelous structure!

The sundial on the side is almost perfectly accurate if you allow for Daylight Saving’s Time!

We get to go inside!

The interior is high, but not very wide. The view down the length of the nave is broken up by 1) a roof over the entrance, 2) a fount in front of the organ pipes, 3) a large chandelier in the center of the nave, 4) a cross bar supporting Saints Mary and Joseph with Jesus on a cross, then 5) the altar. The pulpit is pretty centrally located.

The fount was apparently protected by a fence. But that was unceremoniously and destructively removed without an attempt at repair.

Here is the crossbar with Saint Mary, Saint Joseph and Jesus on the cross.

The beautiful gold-leafed altar is beautifully backed with a flowing stained-glass piece.

I found these pieces tucked in a corner of the transcept. I’m guessing these had all spent their time on top of the basilica’s spires, but the spires I see are far too narrow for these pieces. Hmmm…

In the opposite nave is this stunning clockwork! Adam and Eve stand at the top to sound the quarter hours. A tier of archangels over a tier of apostles take a spin at the noon hour each day. The next section has a 24-hour clock, a zodiac, and a moon phase indicator. Finally, the lower section is a very detailed calender.

The horrible story behind this clock is the church was very proud of this amazing clock! When another church asked the clockmaker to make one for them he agreed. This church, out of jealousy refused to let the clockmaker make one for the other church, and to ensure that didn’t happen, they blinded the clockmaker.

Many years later, this clock stopped working. No clock repairman would touch this, so the church called to original clockmaker. He agreed to come and see what he could do. When he opened up the back of the clock he took a hammer and smashed the interior of the clockworks. Now only the top section works, and nothing else. The clockmaker got his revenge on the church for their pettiness.

From the Basilica we head down Mariaka Street. This is a lovely tight street that ensures no vehicles can drive through without pre-coordination. Each of the home or store fronts has been restored, and all are lovely!

Here’s an example of one! The doors, balcony fronts, posts, rails, and even the “vomitors” are stunning!

The vomitors are extensions of the downspouts that bring the rainwater out away from the front balcony.

Long Gate is even more beautiful than Green Gate! But this is no longer a passage.

We turn back toward the Green Bridge. The carillon at City Hall is ringing 4:00 PM! It’s time to head back to the ship!

A glance down the road by the Green Gate distracts us for a few minutes. Look at these downspouts! They’re all unique, all wonderful!

A little farther down the downspouts begin doubling up!

OK, now it’s time to head back to the ship!

As we approach the port we see this monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers in the foreground, and the rusty building in the background is the European Solidarity Center, intended to look like a rusting ship hulk.