Westerplatte

Westerplatte, Gdansk - darkometer rating : 5 - The place where the first shots of World War II were fired on the first of September 1939, namely at a Polish military depot in the port of Gdańsk . Despite being totally outnumbered and outgunned the Poles held off the German assault for seven days – while elsewhere Poland was rapidly being overrun. > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: The city of Gdańsk , then known by its German name Danzig, had been given a special status of 'Free City' after World War One by the League of Nations, and this status allowed Poland a few privileges in the city too (incl. the Polish Post Office ), hence the presence of a Polish military transit depot within the harbour of Danzig, namely at its outermost promontory known as Westerplatte. On the morning of 1 September 1939 the German battleship "Schleswig-Holstein" began shelling the Polish garrison – the war that would develop into the colossal tragedy that was World War II had begun. The Poles at Westerplatte fought back heroically for longer than had been expected, though. Despite the Nazis ' use of heavy artillery and aerial bombing, it took seven days before the Polish commander surrendered, after it had become clear that no support from the Polish Army would be forthcoming. It was losing the war in mainland Poland in a military storm that became known as 'Blitzkrieg'. (This German propaganda term means something like 'war as quick as lightning', and it is not to be confused with 'the Blitz', Britons' pseudo-Germanism used to refer to the German air raids on British cities, especially London ).