Studia Maritima (Jan 2022)

Szczecin as the Home Port for inland Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovak Presence in Szczecin from 1945–1989

  • Anna Szczepanska-Dudziak

DOI
https://doi.org/10.18276/sm.2022.35-08
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 35

Abstract

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The article presents Polish-Czechoslovak cooperation on the political, economic, and cultural levels which took place in Szczecin over several decades – from the city’s takeover by the Polish authorities in 1945 until 1989. Its aim is to answer the questions: what place Szczecin took in the Polish-Czechoslovak cooperation after World War Two and on what issues was the focus of interest placed in this city. In addition to the literature on the subject, the article uses archival materials collected in Polish and Czech archives – in Archiv Ministerstva zahraničnich vĕci in Prague, Národní archiv České republiky and Archiv bez- pečnostních složek. Among the Polish archives, the documents collected in the Archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Warsaw, the Archives of Modern Records and the State Archives in Szczecin turned out to be invaluable. During the work on the article, the method of examining documents and elements of the statistical method and the press analysis were used. They proved to be helpful in analysing the archival materials of communist parties and the security apparatus which, as sources with superstructure, require specific criticism and special caution in assessing their credibility. The interest in Szczecin on the part of the Czechoslovak authorities was high due to the economic and shipping interests in the port and it was this platform of cooperation that determined the place of Szczecin in Polish-Czechoslovak relations throughout the entire period in question. The article presents a few selected aspects of the Czechoslovak presence in Szczecin starting with the creation of a special duty-free zone which allowed Czechoslovakia to use the port as a shipping and transit base for commercial seagoing vessels of that country. A less known thread of the post-war reports, discussed in the article, is the fate of Czechoslovak sailors, graduates of Szczecin’s maritime schools, emotionally connected with this home port and the place where as many as 11 ships were built at the request of the Czechoslovak shipowner. The contribution of Szczecin’s shipbuilding industry to the expansion of the southern neighbour’s sea fleet was analysed by researchers and was mentioned in this article, just like political, social, and cultural contacts, developed through the Consulate General and the Warsaw branch of the Culture and Information Centre. The Czechoslovak presence in Szczecin was best expressed through the wide range of activities carried out by the consular post which operated continuously until the end of 1992 and performed not only economic but also information, cultural and protective functions in relation to Czechoslovak sailors and employees of Czechoslovak enterprises whose branches operated in the consular district.

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