Monument opposite our ship in Gdansk Harbour

Solidarity Monument Square
 
An old boarded up church.
We visited the Stutthof Concentration Camp. It is 34 km from Danzig and was the first concentration camp created by the Nazis outside of the country of Germany (September 2nd. 1939). It is also the last camp liberated by the Allies (May 10th 1945). The first prisoners arrived in the camp on September 2nd. 1939: 250 Polish citizens and P.O.W. Two weeks later, on September 15th 1939, there were 6,000 prisoners in the camp: prisoners of war, scientists, etc,... Most of them were executed by the SS.
 
On the way to Stutthof (by bus) we passed a storks' nest. Apparently, storks are quite common in this area - a contrast between the new life of births to the deaths of the nearby camp.
Guard tower at the entrance to the camp.
 
The camp was composed of 8 barracks for the inmates and a huge building (the "kommandantur") for the SS. It was called "the old camp". In 1942, the SS began to build a "new" camp: 30 barracks were added.
More barracks - notice the rusted barbed wire.
 
When the camp was liberated in 1945, a huge pile of shoes was found from those who had perished. A small portion was preserved in one of the buildings.
These are the uniforms that the inmates wore. When one of them died, the uniform was passed on to a new arrival, often with blood stains intact.
 
This is where many of the inmates slept - 6 to each bed - 18 for the three levels. And they were the lucky ones.
In this room, maybe 10 feet by 12 feet, 150 inmates had to sleep with no beds. There was not enough room on the floor for everyone at the same time, so half would stand up on the sides and take their turn later.
 

This is the camp's modern surgery room.
In 1943, the Nazis added a crematory and a gas chamber. This is one of the cremation ovens.
 
The gas chamber had a maximum capacity of 150 people at one time. When the SS had too many people to execute, they also used wagons as gas chambers.
Between September 2nd 1939 and May 10th 1945, 127,000 prisoners were registered upon their arrival in the camp. The lowest estimation of the number of victims is 85,000. The real number is certainly much higher: the inmates who were selected for immediate execution at their arrival were not registered.
 

Now back to Gdansk, this St. Mary's Basilica.

And this is the Gdansk Town Hall.
 
This is a picturesque pedestrian shopping area. Most of the stores specialize in amber jewelry. Click here to see a video.
This is the Green Gate - the entrance to the shopping area. It is called that due to the green bridge located on the other side.