Date: 16 June 2025 Author: Jakub Anders

Gdynia: Where the Sea Meets Dreams

Cradled between the Baltic Sea and the rolling moraine hills, a once-sleepy Kashubian fishing village gave way, in the 1920s and 1930s, to one of the most visionary enterprises in the modern history of the Polish nation.

Photo: Shutterstock

The Return of Gdańsk Pomerania to Poland

As World War I raged on, Polish activists in France and America worked behind the scenes to persuade Entente leaders that the new Polish state, once born, should stretch to the Baltic Sea—along borders reminiscent of those erased by the First Partition of 1772. These diplomatic efforts bore fruit in January 1918, when President Woodrow Wilson, addressing the U.S. Congress, proclaimed as one of his Fourteen Points the necessity of a sovereign Polish state with unfettered access to the sea. Since the Middle Ages, Gdańsk Pomerania has been a crossroads of Polish, German, and Kashubian cultures—where identities met, mingled, and often clashed. In the fourteenth century, the region fell under the control of the German Teutonic Order, only to return to the Kingdom of Poland in the fifteenth century—thanks in part to a popular uprising led by the burghers and merchants of Gdańsk and neighboring cities. Over time, the cosmopolitan port of Gdańsk became one of the wealthiest and most influential cities in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, enjoying broad autonomy and a host of privileges. Yet by the close of the First World War, Gdańsk Pomerania had long been under the shadow of Prussia, and later the German Reich—nearly 150 years of foreign dominion. In an attempt to erase the region’s Polish roots, the province’s name was changed from Gdańsk Pomerania to West Prussia (Westpreußen), distancing it from its historical identity. According to 1923 estimates, only 15 percent of Gdańsk’s inhabitants identified as Polish [2]. In contrast, Poles and Kashubians formed the majority in the surrounding countryside. As a legacy of nearly 150 years of Germanization, the region’s demographic split led the Treaty of Versailles to grant Poland access to the sea through Gdańsk Pomerania—yet not to the city of Gdańsk itself. Gdańsk, together with the seaside resort of Sopot and the fertile plains of the Żuławy Wiślane (Vistula Fens), was transformed into a semi-independent city-state (Free City of Danzig) governed under the auspices of the League of Nations. As outlined in the treaty, the region was to stay free of military presence and fall within the bounds of Poland’s customs system. However, the Free City’s authorities—largely composed of German merchants and industrialists unhappy with the postwar compromise—used their broad autonomy to obstruct Polish settlement and limit the growth of Polish businesses within the city. The final straw came in 1920, when German dockworkers and railwaymen went on strike, refusing to unload shipments of weapons destined for Poland at a critical moment during the Polish-Bolshevik War [3]. Thus unfolds the history of Gdynia––a city crafted from nothing but ambition and vision.

Poster: „Gdynia – nowy port nad Bałtykiem” [Gdynia – A New Port on the Baltic Sea], Stefan Norblin

Polish Aspirations on the Baltic Sea

February 1920 marked a momentous occasion: with the Treaty of Versailles ratified, Poland was formally wed to the sea in a solemn ceremony. With the main port beyond its reach, Poland held the ceremony in Puck, a small fishing town largely populated by Kashubians. From the outset, the Kashubian minority boldly declared their longing to become part of the nascent Polish nation during the efforts to secure Gdańsk Pomerania. The act was a deliberate political gesture, underscoring Poland’s intent to develop an independent military and commercial maritime presence. At that time, Poland was a young state—modest in resources and with a still unsettled legal standing—but numerous officers who once had served in the navies of the partitioned powers expressed readiness to serve the emerging country. Among them was Józef Unrug, a former commander of the submarine fleet in the German Empire. Before Poland was granted access to the sea, Józef Unrug personally had purchased the Polish Navy’s first ship—the hydrographic vessel ORP Pomorzanin—in Hamburg. In addition, the post-war division of the former German navy resulted in the Entente states awarding Poland a number of small torpedo boats. There were plans to bolster the fleet with the purchase of cutting-edge destroyers and submarines from France and Great Britain. Amid Gdańsk’s autonomous status and its overt hostility toward Poland, the fledgling fleet sought a harbor elsewhere. In May 1920, Tadeusz Wenda, a notable civil engineer, scoured the Polish shoreline, seeking the perfect place to establish a new naval harbor. The most promising spot was found to be a small fishing village. In October 1920, authorities approved the building of a “temporary military port and fishers’ shelter” in Gdynia. In the span of just a few months, workers from throughout Poland migrated to Gdynia, turning the once-small village into a significant construction zone. It was not long before Gdynia’s promise as a commercial harbor was recognized. The situation gained momentum against the backdrop of the 1925 customs war between Poland and Germany, coupled with the 1926 general strike in British coal mines. As a consequence of the three uprisings in Upper Silesia from 1919 to 1921, Poland annexed a significant mining basin in the south. For a nascent state still rooted in agriculture and economic hardship, mining represented a crucial pillar of industry, instrumental in driving Poland’s path toward modernization. Owing to the resistance of reluctant neighbors, the country’s key economic driver depended almost entirely on sea trade to reach its potential. In 1925, plans were unveiled to build a modern railway—the “coal road”—linking the rich mining basin directly to the brand-new port, a vital step in Poland’s industrial journey. Though initially limited in scope, the “temporary military port and fishers’ shelter” came to play a pivotal role in the economic transformation of Poland’s coast.

Preliminary Expansion Plan, design by A. Kuncewicz under the supervision of R. Feliński, 1925–1926. Source: “Architektura i Budownictwo,” vol. I, no. 2 (September 1925), p. 13.

From a Fishing Village into the World’s Most Modern Port in Record Time

Between 1921 and 1926, Gdynia’s population expanded dramatically—from a modest 1,000 to 12,000 by the time it gained official city status [5]. At the dawn of World War II in 1939, Gdynia’s population stood at 127,000. The port expanded at a remarkable pace. The port’s cargo throughput expanded dramatically, rising from 412,950 tons in 1926 to 2,923,000 tons by 1929, eclipsing the pre-war figures for Gdańsk [6]. By 1934, Gdynia had established itself as the largest port on the Baltic Sea. In the 1920s and 1930s, Gdynia earned the nickname “Polish America” for its modern, pioneering spirit. The rapidly growing port city drew migrants from all over Poland, forging a vibrant new local identity. The transatlantic liners of the Polish Gdynia America Line set sail from the Gdynia harbor station, charting courses to New York, South America, and the Middle East. It offered an important alternative for emigrant traffic from Central and Eastern Europe that had long depended on German ports like Bremerhaven or Hamburg. As tensions in Europe escalated, many prominent artists and intellectuals left Poland through the port of Gdynia, including the eminent writer Witold Gombrowicz.

Palestine Line poster, Tadeusz Trepkowski

Yet, the creation of a bustling urban center in such a short span inevitably came with a host of difficulties. In the summer, it was common for many newcomers to sleep outdoors on the beach. The rapid growth brought challenges—makeshift districts appeared in the valleys near the port, with limited access to education and healthcare. The decision to build the port proved sound, with coal exports quickly generating profit, and Orłowo, situated just beyond the city, flourished as a sought-after seaside resort. City planners envisioned Gdynia’s growth through the lens of modernism, the defining style of the interwar period. To this day, the modernist architecture of Gdynia’s city center serves as a striking emblem of its identity—clearly distinguishing it from the historic fabric of neighboring Gdańsk. From the railway station, wide, orderly avenues unfold toward the sea. With their bright façades, fluid corners, and streamlined geometry, many of Gdynia’s modernist buildings bear the unmistakable influence of maritime aesthetics. As of 2025, Gdynia is seeking UNESCO World Heritage status for its early modernist city center.

Wartime Gdynia: A City of Resistance and National Pride

The interwar years witnessed the rise of a modern Polish Navy, bolstered by the commissioning of contemporary destroyers and sleek, advanced submarines. However, with no realistic prospect of holding its ground against the German Kriegsmarine, the Polish Navy arranged for the evacuation of much of its fleet to British waters. Throughout the Second World War, Polish naval ships from Gdynia joined the Allied fleet—rescuing soldiers at Dunkirk, engaging in the chase for the Bismarck, and securing the beaches of Normandy. Gdańsk Pomerania was ultimately occupied and incorporated into the Third Reich following intense military engagements, with Polish forces on the Hel Peninsula among the last to capitulate—long after the fall of the rest of the country.

In the interwar years, Gdynia’s rise cast a long shadow over Gdańsk, which gradually lost its former prominence. Among the residents of the Free City of Danzig, the German community became particularly zealous in its embrace of Nazi ideology. Furthermore, Gdynia became a symbol that German propaganda could neither ignore nor easily discredit. The successful creation of a modern port and city stood in stark contrast to entrenched stereotypes portraying Poles as civilizationally inferior to their German neighbors. A deliberate decision was made to erase and reconstruct the city’s history from the ground up. In a symbolic act of historical appropriation, the city was renamed Gotenhafen—a reference fabricated to legitimize German claims by invoking the Gothic tribes. The city’s entire population was gradually displaced, as settlers from the heart of Germany were brought in to take their place. The city was effectively militarized, converted into a massive naval stronghold. While Gdynia was spared extensive wartime destruction, the same cannot be said of Gdańsk, whose fierce resistance led to widespread devastation at the hands of the advancing Red Army.

Gdynia Today: A Part of the Gdańsk–Gdynia Metropolis

Now an integral part of Poland’s maritime infrastructure, Gdynia retains its strategic importance as both a major Baltic port and the seat of the Polish Navy’s command. As a result of the region’s continued development, Gdynia now forms part of a broader metropolitan area—sharing space and legacy with its once-rival, Gdańsk. Thus, Gdynia’s privileged position as Poland’s sole gateway to the sea and the wider world became somewhat diminished. Yet Gdynia continues to play a key role in maritime transport. Recent investments have included the expansion of the war shipyard, now engaged—together with a British partner—in the construction of advanced frigates for the Polish fleet. Now, just as it once led Poland’s charge to the sea, Gdynia seeks to harness Baltic winds, joining in the construction of offshore wind farms and sustainable energy infrastructure. With its thoughtfully designed streets and striking modernist buildings, Gdynia stands out as a singular gem—not just next to historic Gdańsk, but within all of Poland.

References:

[1] President Wilson’s Message to Congress, January 8, 1918. Records of the United States Senate, Record Group 46. National Archives.

[2] Andrzej Drzycimski, Polacy w wolnym mieście Gdańsku w latach 1920–1933 (1978).

[3] Jarosław Szarek, 1920. Prawdziwy Cud nad Wisłą. Przebudzenie Polaków (2015).

[4] Mariusz Borowiak, Admirał Unrug 1884–1973 (2019).

[5] Tadeusz Bolduan, Nowy bedeker kaszubski (1997).

[6] Zygmunt Jan Tyszel, Pod ojczystą banderą (Katowice: Nakładem Ligi Morskiej i Rzecznej Okręgu Zagłębia Węglowego, 1930).

[7] Jakub Milszewski, “Port Gdynia. Obecność Svanena podkreśla zaangażowanie w offshore wind,” gospodarkamorska.pl, November 23, 2024, accessed June 6, 2025. https://www.gospodarkamorska.pl/port-gdynia-obecnosc-svanena-podkresla-zaangazowanie-w-offshore-wind-81805

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The „Dumni z Polski/Proud of Poland/Stolz auf Polen” project was funded by the National Institute of Freedom – Centre for Civil Society Development as part of the Government’s Youth Fund Programme 2022-2033.

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