The history of Gdańsk is rich and the people are proud. A separate post is worthy of mentioning a couple of the events.

Just near our cruise ship is the memorial commemorating the beginning of World War 2, when the Germans invaded Poland. On the September 1, 1939, where massive amount of German Nazi forces landed at the port of Gdańsk where they were met by Polish forces who fought for 8 hours before surrendering. When the Soviets liberated Poland on 9 May 1945, subsequently they took over and established their Communist government and the People’s Republic of Poland. The memorial sculpture is huge. So interesting in Europe that these types of memorials are always built.

The other history in Gdańsk worth remembering is the formation in 1980 (at the shipyards) a Polish non-governmental trade union by Lech Walesa. It became the first independent labor union in a Soviet-bloc country. This labor union became a force behind the Solidarity movement across all of the Eastern Bloc countries which ultimately led to the 1989 revolutions that brought down the Soviet Union’s control. The European Solidarity Center, a museum and library, is located in Gdańsk. Unfortunately we did not get to visit this site but just a drive by. There is a sculpture in front of the shipyard entrance of three crosses commemorating the Solidarity Movement.

Gdańsk is rich in so much more history. Poland was part of the Hanseatic era, becoming controlled by Germans and Dutch later, Mennonites fled from persecution and to farm in this area and Poland was also part of Prussia. We both love learning the history! And, another place where people mistake us for locals.