World War II Database

Contributor: Al Griffis

ww2dbaseIn the winter of 1920, the newly found Republic of Poland made the decision to develop the village at Gdynia into a major military and civilian dual-use seaport fully under Polish control (as opposed to the port at Danzig, which was a semi-autonomous city-state). By 1923 a 550-meter (1804-foot) pier, 175 meters (574 feet) of a wooden tide breaker, and a small harbor had been constructed. By the end of 1925, a 7-meter-deep harbor, the south pier, part of the north pier, and a railway were completed. The city itself began to build up in 1927. By the end of 1930, docks, piers, breakwaters, and many auxiliary and industrial installations were constructed or started. At the eve of the European War, Gdynia, with a population of over 120,000, was the largest seaport of the Baltic Sea, with 8,700,000 tons of goods passing through it, representing 46% of total Polish foreign trade. In the opening days of the European War, Gdynia was taken by German forces. In early 1940, the German military approached the shipbuilding firm Deutsche Werke based in Kiel, Germany to see if it would like to establish a ship repair facility in the port, now given the German name of Gotenhafen. Accepting the request, Deutschen Werke transformed the existing facilities into a major warship repair center. Gotenhafen also became a safe anchorage for large warships. Starting in 1943, the shipyard facilities were targeted by Allied bombings, but suffered relatively little damage. In 1944, Deutschen Werke began construction various submarine sections for XXI boats at Gotenhafen. In the final chapters of the war, as German troops fled westward, the seaport area was largely destroyed by the combination of German sabotage and Soviet bombardment. The German also sunk the damaged battlecruiser Gneisenau at the harbor entrance to deny Soviet use of the port. After the war, Gdynia returned to Polish rule, and the shipyard facilities continued to serve in their intended purpose.

Deutsche Werke Gotenhafen Interactive Map

Photographs

Maps

Deutsche Werke Gotenhafen Timeline