80th anniversary of the execution of the Defenders of the Polish Post Office in Gdańsk
October 5th of this year marks the 80th anniversary of the brutal murder of the heroic Postmen from the Free City of Gdańsk. To commemorate those dramatic events, the Polish Post, under the supervision of the Institute of National Remembrance, has created commemorative plaques to be placed on the facades of post offices.
On September 1, 1939, at 4:45 a.m., concurrently with the shelling of Westerplatte, the Germans attacked the Gdańsk 1 Post Office. At 7:00 p.m., the decision was made to surrender. During the clashes, 13 postal workers were killed and 10 seriously wounded. After the surrender of Gdańsk 1 Post Office, the Germans decided to place the surviving defenders of the Post Office in custody. A court martial, deeming 38 postal workers partisans, sentenced them to death by shooting. The sentence was carried out at dawn on October 5, 1939, in the Zaspa district of Gdańsk.
" The Gdańsk 1 Post Office is a place of immense importance to the Polish Post and the entire Polish State. On September 1, 1939, the Gdańsk Post Office's employees defended their office for 19 hours. All the defenders suffered martyrdom. Some of them died during the fighting itself, others were executed after the surrender. The Polish Post constantly cherishes the memory of the events of those days, " says Przemysław Sypniewski, President of the Management Board of the Polish Post.
Polish Post has already undertaken several initiatives this year to promote the history of the defense of the Gdańsk Post Office. In early September, a special postage stamp dedicated to the Defenders of the Polish Post was introduced. Designer Maciej Jędrysik depicted three armed Polish Post employees in uniform on the stamp. In October, under the supervision of the Institute of National Remembrance, the company created commemorative plaques that were placed on the facades of post offices. In the first phase of the project, eight offices were selected: UP Skawina, UP Rzeszów 2, UP Kraków 28, UP Wrocław 68, UP Lublin 1, UP Radom 2, UP Toruń 1, and UP Leszno 2.