Gdansk/Danzig

Gdansk or Danzig, is a port city on the Baltic Sea. It was once a German city. After First World War it became a free city under the mandate of the League of nations. On the first of September 1939 German and Soviet forces invaded Poland as part of a secret agreement signed by their foreign ministers. It is known in history as the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. It took the Germans only thirty-five days to capture Poland. The Ukrainian and Slovenians sided with the Germans. Danzig, the city in the north was the first battlefield. After the Second World War Poland was partitioned and a portion was permanently ceded to the Soviet Union. The German population was evicted from its territories.  

During the Cold War Poland was part of the Soviet sphere of influence. After the Cold War ended Poland quickly joined the western camp and the country once known as the headquarter of Warsaw military pact became a member of the NATO and the EU. It quickly shed off the last vestiges of socialism and embraced capitalism with great fervor and enthusiasm.

Those of us, who have lived through the Cold War followed with interest the Solidarity movement. It was a trade union in Danzig led by Lech Wałęsa. This little-known electrician dock worker and the Roman Catholic Pope John Paul II, a polish born priest were glamorized by the West as the symbols of the anti-communist resistance. After the removal of the last communist leader General Wojciech Jaruzelski, elections were held and Wałęsa was elected as the President of Poland. He was in office from 1990 to 1995 and was awarded the Nobel peace prize.

John Paul II was beatified and elevated to the status of a saint.   

On 3 September 2009, President Vladimir Putin of Russia visited Sopot, a town not far Danzig to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the beginning of the Second World War. He met the Polish prime minister and praised the bravery of the Poles in the War. Ironically the Poles are now supporting the Ukrainians in their war against Russia.

Danzig is a very vibrant tourist city that boasts of many ancient buildings, churches and museums. The museums worth visiting are the World War II Museum, the Solidarity movement museum and the post office museum. The World War II Museum is housed in a postmodern building has a number of interesting permanent and temporary historical exhibit. The museum offers a free visit every Tuesday. On Monday all museums are closed. The cobblestoned roads and charming roadside restaurants are a perfect place to enjoy a restful vacation. Boat trips takes the visitor to the Westerplatte peninsula, where the Polish army had a transit depot that was attacked by the Germans. A museum gives the Polish version of the battle of Westerplatte.

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