Bismarck, the famous German chancellor of the 19th century, once said that Gdansk was the key to Europe. The 20th century saw Gdansk as a place with a great impact on history. This elucidating tour – one of the most popular of StayPoland’s tours – will give you a very interesting overview of both Nazism and Communism.

The first highlight of the tour is a visit to the newly opened “Roads to Freedom” museum, which recreates daily life during Socialist times. You will see a reconstruction of an empty-shelved grocery shop, a permanently broken phone booth, food coupons, and other objects commemorating the good and the bad of living conditions under a centrally planned economy. You will have a chance to watch short movies: a documentary of police brutality against Solidarity protesters.

The next stop is Westerplatte – the peninsula on the northern edge of Gdansk where World War II started on 1st September 1939 when the German ship Schleswig-Holstein opened fire on the Polish naval base. There is a monument to the Defenders of Westerplatte, erected in 1966, to the people who heroically defended it.

The final sights include the museum of the former Nazi concentration camp at Stutthof – the museum was established as a result of an initiative of the Council of Commemoration and Martyrdom. It collects and describes documentation concerning the former death camp, including records, objects, photographs, reports of ex-prisoners and various publications.