To suggest that there was one particular incident that brought about the deadliest conflict in human history is perhaps a bit too simplistic, but even so, Germany’s attack on Poland on 1^st September 1939 is generally accepted as the beginning of WWII.

As is so often the case in any serious confrontation, there are usually a series of incidents that lead up to it, and WWII was no exception. It would be impossible to go into any great detail here about what led to the deaths of an estimated 70-85 million people, but with another anniversary approaching, I think it’s worth reminding ourselves about the events that took place at Gdansk 83 years ago.

Gdansk (see featured pic above) has a long and complex history thanks to its strategic location at a point where Poland’s longest river, the Vistula, enters the Baltic Sea. The medieval significance of this location is not immediately apparent on modern maps because the mouth of the river has changed since then. Originally a delta, one of the main access channels to the sea was through one of its western branches, now called the Martwa Wisla (Dead Vistula). The flood plain has now been tamed to make the land more productive, but Gdansk (with its sister port of Gdynia) is still by far the largest and most important port in Poland.

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Originally posted 2022-08-28 15:32:32.