In recent years Polish collective memory has become too focused on the military traditions of freedom and independence fighters. This approach overlooks the thinking and achievements of the 1970s and 1980s, which were the result of peaceful social movements. By opting for non-violence, the ten-million-strong Solidarity movement, Solidarność, chose a difficult, but in the end effective, path.

The historic Gdańsk Shipyard is one of the most important memory sites in Europe today. It is a complex that includes Solidarity Square, alongside the Monument of the Fallen Shipyard Workers of 1970, the historic Gate Number 2, the former BHP Hall (a place where in 1980 the famous August Accords between the communist authorities and the democratic opposition were negotiated) and the European Solidarity Centre (ECS). Upon the ECS’s initiative the shipyard was placed on the European Heritage Label list.

A conversation with Grzegorz Kwiatkowski, a Polish poet, and Trupa Trupa, songwriter, vocalist and guitarist. Interviewer: Jacek Hajduk

JACEK HAJDUK: During the 2019 SXSW Music Festival you dedicated the performance of your group, Trupa Trupa, to the memory of the late Gdańsk mayor, Paweł Adamowicz. Let us then start with Gdańsk. How much of this city is with you today? And how was it before? Which faces of this multi-layered urban centre are close to your heart?

GRZEGORZ KWIATKOWSKI: Today, Gdańsk is a big part of me, unlike in the past. Back then I was more interested in self-isolating myself and creating a kind of enclave in one of its districts – Gdańsk Wrzeszcz. This actually is still my ideal, but now I also understand the impact that this city has on me and my poetry. This is mainly because of my family stories.

An interview with Cezary Obracht-Prądzyński, sociologist and professor at Gdańsk University. Interviewer: Piotr Leszczyński

PIOTR LESZCZYŃSKI: What was the phenomenon of August 1989 in Poland? What took place at that time in the Gdańsk Shipyard, and what can this experience tell us now about Polish society of that time?

CEZARY OBRACHT-PRĄDZYŃSKI: It is not easy to talk about Solidarity. We do not have one position that would allow us to interpret the events, the causes and effects of the strike – both the experience and the memory of Solidarity have been very diverse. Solidarity was a very heterogenous movement from the beginning. It is remembered differently by people who worked and lived in Gdańsk and witnessed these events, who got to see what was taking place in the shipyard. Their perspective was unlike those who lived in other parts of the country and were forced to rely on information broadcasted by state media.

Interview with the mayor of Gdańsk, Aleksandra Dulkiewicz. Interviewer: Paulina Siegień.

Interview with Yuliya Shavlovskaya from the Gdańsk Support Center for Immigrants. Interviewer: Paulina Siegień

Since July 1st 2019, it has been possible to to enter Russia's Kaliningrad Oblast with a free electronic visa. This could be a new chapter in the relationship between Gdańsk and its Russian partner.

Centuries ago, thousands of Dutch and German Mennonites fled religious persecution and settled in the Żuławy region of Poland, introducing their arcaded houses, windmills and dykes to the area. Though this rich cultural history has deteriorated since the Second World War, some inhabitants are determined to revive it.

The funeral will be organised by the City of Gdańsk together with the family of the late Mayor. Thursday, January 17th 3 pm –a City Council session will be held for the commemoration of Mayor Adamowicz in the Artus Court. At 5 pm the Mayor’s coffin will be carried to the European Solidarity Center and […]

A conversation from 2016 with Paweł Adamowicz, Mayor of the city of Gdańsk. Interviewer: Iwona Reichardt

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS 17th – 25th of November 2018 at the European Solidarity Center in Gdańsk

“We, the female and male inhabitants of Gdańsk, call with an urgent request ...” begins an appeal to the City Council of Gdańsk to resettle families and orphaned children from the city of Aleppo in Syria. “Idly watching the fate of these people is unbearable and inhumane. Fortunately, we have an independent, local government of the free and proud city of Gdańsk. We are counting on you.”

During the 2016 edition of the European reflection forum “Europe with a View to the Future”, Serhii Plokhy, a Harvard professor of Ukrainian history and the director of the university’s Ukrainian Research Institute, was awarded with the prestigious “Ambassador of the New Europe” award, for his book titled The Last Empire: The Final Days of […]