Day 46 - Sunday, July 28, 2024 - Gdansk Poland and Stutthof Concentration Camp

 

A sobering day if ever there was one and the weather was perfectly horrible which matched the tone of the day.

We left at 8:45 am taking an hour's ride into the country.easy.of Gdansk to Stutthof Concentration Camp.  The town which is now closest to the camp, is Stenga Poland about 15 minutes away.  Stenga us located closed to the water, as is Gdansk and East to reach from the port for the transit of prisoners.  

There was a main train line from Gdansk and then approximately 18 km from the concentration camp, a narrow gauge railroad line, which had been there before 1939, transported prisoners to the camp.

The camp was the first one created, I. 1939, and the first outside of Germany.  It was also the last camp liberated in 1945, liberated by the Russians which isn't saying much either.

Mainly polish Jews ,but others as well from all over Europe were transmitted here.  This includes people from Estonia, France, and at least 20 other countries were interred here. Some were political prisoners, activist, anti- Germans.  Either our guide didn't understand my question or didn't want to answer, when I asked what religion they were.   I got a non-answer, answer.  

Our guide kept stressing that this was a labor camp.  He certainly had some empathy is his voice but was perhaps more factual than I believed he could be.  

And while I have to agree with him that it was in fact a labor camp from 1939 until 1941, Himler visited and upon completion of the crematory and gas chambers, changed this camp to an extermination camp.  110,000 prisoners came through here and more than 65,000 died here.  

Our guide seemed to want to downplay idea that his was an extermination camp and kept stressing the original concept of labor camp.

We saw an enclosed case of shoes.  Not all the shows were from the prisoners.  As a labor camp, shoes from all over occupied Europe were sent here for repair and resold to Germans in the motherland.  

Toward the end of the war, when Hitler saw the end coming,  orders were given to evacuate the camp and move the prisoners to Germany.  When the Russians arrived there were only 2,000 prisoners in the worst of conditions left at the camp.

The entire time we were at the concentration camp, we had heavy rain and gusty winds.  

It put a paul on day like it should have.

Pictures from the exhibition as we walked through the remaining barracks 

There are two remaining barracks. This is one of them.  

Various maps showing the growth of the camp between 1939 and 1941

A completed scale model of the camp

Clothing given to prisoners 

Here they didn't tattoo your arm, but rather the numbers on the uniform told the country you came from 

Original beam with carved names of some prisoners 

Hidden away, some recovered artwork of some prisoners 

At the beginning, before the barracks were completed being built by the prisoners, they slept in the floor. 50+ in this area.

No one was cured or helped here. Only injections to kill them happened in the infirmary 

The first creamatorium, too close to the barracks so it spread panic 

The train cars that brought the prisoners 

Additional creamatoriums, further away, built to keep up with the slaughter 

One of the original gas cylinders used in the gas chamber 

Leaving the camp, feeling free from the outside, that no one felt then.

A memorial carved and created by a former prisoner of a concentration camp. He traveled to most camps and built these wherever he went.

Tuesday is a sea day and my French Cooking class with the Viking Chef.  Brighter days are ahead.

Wednesday we port at the Mariehamm Islands.

Thursday we reach  Stockholm for our last full day before packing to go home.