Thursday 20th May 2010
The two memorials were both ones I wanted to visit.
First I made my way to the Solidarity Monument. This celebrates the shipyard
workers who in 1980 went on a strike which challenged the Communist Government
of Poland, but which increasingly gained widespread public support.
The workers produced a list of 21 Demands which really were a challenge to
government but in most cases would not have seemed out of place in many Western
nations. L We became the figurehead of the resistance. Some of the workers were
killed by government forces but in the end the weakening Polish Communist
Government gave in and the way was open for multiparty elections.
At the time the people of Poland were living in a very depressed nation and the
wages were not increasing to meet rising process. Party officials got
privileges which others did not.
This resistance has been described as the Road To Freedom, as it began a
movement which lead to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of communist
governments in Eastern Europe.
As you approach the memorial the road down to it begins with a portion of the
Berlin Wall and a portion of the Gdansk Shipyard wall which Leach Wensla (not
sure about the spelling here)climbed over to join the strikers.
The actual memorial is beside the shipyard gates and consists of three towering
columns each with a large anchor at the top. The columns are constructed out of
metal and it gives the impression of pieces of metal joined together. Near
ground level each column has pictorial plaques which depict moments in the
resistance.
There was a large anchor at ground level laying across the paving made out of
living yellow flowers. In addition were burning candles and bunches of flowers.
I thought of it as a privilege to visit the memorial as the events happened in
my lifetime and I recall my amazement that workers could challenge a communist
government and be successful.
The next memorial recalled an older event, just weeks before my birth.
When the German Army invaded Poland in 1939, there were a number of points of
determined resistance against the superior German forces. One was a resistance
by a group of Polish Post Office workers. They managed to keep the invaders at
bay for a number of days, but in the end were captured and the Germans executed
the surviving postal workers.
So this was a large stainless steel sculpture with a determent looking woman
being handed a rifle by a dying male solider or worker – I am not sure
exactly which. There were lots of jagged, pointed pieces of steel pointing
outwards.
Unexpectedly I decided to go down an alleyway to head towards the waterfront. To
my surprise I found a second part of the memorial. Here was a long old brick
wall and along it I noticed a number of small metal rectangles with finger and
hand prints impressed into the metal. At first the meaning escaped me, but then
I imagined a row of people standing facing the wall with their hands raised up
and pressed against the bricks. Then at the very end a small wall at right
angle showed a photo of people lined up against the wall. It was where the
remaining postal workers were executed. I found this an extremely moving moment
to stand and imaging the scene in 1939 and I did feel really sad. I wondered
what and how one group of humans could do this to an equally developed and
cultured group of fellow human beings.
The two museums looked back in the history of Poland.
I suppose the first was one of the things which attracted me to visit Gdansk in
the first place. I wanted to see the great medieval wharf crane that had been
restored following the war. This enclosed structure seems to appear in almost
every photo you see of Gdansk. It was or is, both a crane and a gate to the
city and it also looks like a tower. I have taken several photos of it already
and walked past it. Now today I pay my money and photography fee and visit it.
I had to climb up narrow stairs between floors where displays were mounted
showing the history of the port and a model of how the crane worked. At one
time it was the largest wharf crane in Europe
There were also displays of typical offices and a living room of a wealthy
merchant. Finally I went through a narrow entrance and was able to clamber up
and down a series of narrow and steep stairs beside the crane mechanism.
Essentially it consisted of two large wheels on different levels. Workers stood
inside the cage of the wheel and climbed up the steps, so making the wheel turn
and wind the lifting rope. There was actually a parallel system next to it, so
that two cranes could work at once. This was before the use of block and
tackle.
It was very interesting to me to be able to closely inspect such an example of
medieval technology.
My ticket included a short ferry ride across the narrow harbour to a further
museum complex. The little ferry just traveled back and forth the whole day
working to demand and carrying perhaps twenty five passengers at a maximum, I
suppose.
I went to the Granary Building which I assume had been a grain store house way
back. Now it houses Maritime Museum which is an extensive coverage of Polish
boating history, especially as it related to the Gdansk area. It was
interesting to follow through the development of local boats from the hollowed
out logs of very long ago. They even had genuine artifacts on display, although
there were lots of scale models and illustrations as well. At first I followed
the English guide sheets for each room carefully but I began to realise how
slowly I was moving through the rooms. So although I took a guide sheet in each
room I began to just refer to it for a particular item of interest to me. It was
a pity that usually reflections from windows tended to spoil my shots.
I did have a all building pass so I could have gone aboard the first Polish
cargo ship built after the war, but I decided that that would be some what of
an over kill.
Earlier coming around from the little ferry my way was blocked by a group of
small children dancing. It was simple but fairly well done. When they finished
I got past the wharf side performance area but on the other side I decided to
stop to watch a couple of teenage girls do a baton twisting performance to the
turn of Star Wars. That was good and I filmed most of it. Later as I was having
coffee in the nearby bar I noticed that the girls were also there with their
with their teacher or parent and some friends. So I went to their table and
offered to play the video back to them. They were wrapped to watch it.
Earlier in the day when moving from one memorial or museum to the next I also
took a quick look in a church or two or three, I visited the Old Town Hall, the
old mill (now a small shopping centre) called back at the covered market for a
French pastry which I thought was a bit too dry.
Now I spend the early evening wandering the main streets with countless others,
enjoying the sun and the mild evening. I was also interested in the way the
light hit and coloured the buildings.
Then with the sun set I headed back to the hostel to pack ready for an early
departure the next day.
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