Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers

Medal available at the souvenir shop of the BHP Hall in Gdańsk!

At Solidarity Square stands a monument commemorating the victims of December 1970, designed by Bogdan Pietruszka, Robert Pepliński, Elżbieta Szczodrowska-Peplińska, and Wiesław Szyślak.

Three 42-meter-high crosses feature bas-reliefs depicting the lives of shipyard workers in their lower sections. The crosses, built on a triangular plan, have irregular, cracked shapes.

The crosses were made in the Gdańsk Shipyard from sheet metal supplied by Huta Batory, while the bas-reliefs were crafted from stainless steel.

On the 20th anniversary of the December ’70 tragedy, the monument was restored.

The crosses, symbols of suffering, commemorate the first three shipyard workers killed by the Citizens’ Militia (MO) and the Polish People’s Army. The anchors connecting them represent hope, referencing the years 1956, 1970, and 1976.

Shipyard workers waited ten years to commemorate their fallen colleagues. Despite promises made in early 1971, the communist authorities of the Polish People’s Republic did not allow any form of commemoration.