Gdansk – Post Office
At 04:45 on September 1, 1939, the Germans attacked Poland by attacking the Polish garrison on Westerplatte outside Gdansk (then Danzig). But around the same time another attack was launched by German Police and SS troops at the post office in Gdansk. What was supposed to be a simple German victory proved to be difficult. About 50 postal workers had armed themselves and offered strong resistance. But the germans had more guns, more men and time was in their favor. Parts of the building had already began to collapse under the constant onslaught of the Germans. The use of flamethrowers and firebombs made it even more difficult for the polish to defend the building. The defenders therefore decided to surrender after 17 hours of fighting. The defenders considered by the Germans to be terrorists were put on trial in September. All were sentenced to death and executed in early October 1939.
Current status: Preserved with museum (2023).
Address: Plac Obroncow Poczty Polskiej 1/2, 80-800 Gdansk.
Get there: Bus or walk from central Gdansk.
Follow up in books: Moorhouse, Roger: Poland 1939: The Outbreak of World War II (2020).
The post office is still there and there is a museum that among other things takes up the attack and defense of the office on September 1. In front of the post office there is a large memorial dedicated to the fighting and in the courtyard behind the post office where the defenders gathered after they surrendered there is also a memorial monument.