Editing Gdynia (section)

== History ==
===Early history===
[[File:Saint Michael Archangel church in Gdynia (7).jpg|left|thumb|Medieval St. Michael Archangel Church is the oldest building in Gdynia]]
The area of the later city of Gdynia shared its history with [[Pomerelia]] (Eastern Pomerania). In prehistoric times, it was the center of [[Oksywie culture]]; it was later populated by [[Lechites]] with minor [[Baltic Prussian]] influences. In the late 10th century, the region was united with the emerging state of Poland<ref>André Vauchez, Richard Barrie Dobson, Adrian Walford, Michael Lapidge, ''Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages'', Routledge, 2000, p.: 1163, {{ISBN|978-1-57958-282-1}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=om4olQhrE84C&dq=Gdansk+medieval+Pomerania&pg=PA1164 link]</ref> by its first historic ruler [[Mieszko I]]. During the reign of [[Bolesław II the Bold|Bolesław II]], the region seceded from Poland and became independent, to be reunited with Poland in 1116/1121 by [[Bolesław III Wrymouth|Bolesław III]].<ref>James Minahan, One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000, p.375, {{ISBN|978-0-313-30984-7}}</ref> In 1209, the present-day district of [[Oksywie]] was first mentioned (''Oxhöft''). Following the fragmentation of Poland, the region became part of the Duchy of Pomerania (Eastern), which became separate from Poland in 1227, to be reunited in 1282. The first known mention of the name "Gdynia", as a [[Pomeranians (Slavic tribe)|Pomeranian]] ([[Kashubians|Kashubian]]) fishing village dates back to 1253. The first church on this part of the Baltic Sea coast was built there. In 1309–1310, the [[Teutonic Order]] invaded and annexed the region from Poland. In 1380, the owner of the village which became Gdynia, Peter from [[Rusocin, Pomeranian Voivodeship|Rusocin]], gave the village to the [[Cistercian]] Order. In 1382, Gdynia became property of the Cistercian [[Oliwa Abbey|abbey]] in [[Oliwa]]. In 1454, King [[Casimir IV Jagiellon]] signed the act of reincorporation of the region to the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Kingdom of Poland]], and the [[Thirteen Years' War (1454–66)|Thirteen Years' War]], the longest of all Polish-Teutonic wars, started. It ended in 1466, when the Teutonic Knights recognized the region as part of Poland. Administratively, Gdynia was located in the [[Pomeranian Voivodeship (1466–1772)|Pomeranian Voivodeship]] in the province of [[Royal Prussia]]<ref>Daniel Stone,''A History of East Central Europe'', University of Washington Press, 2001, p. 30, {{ISBN|978-0-295-98093-5}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=LFgB_l4SdHAC&dq=%22Royal+prussia%22+Poland+1466+Elbl%C4%85g&pg=PA30 Google Books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414150351/https://books.google.com/books?id=LFgB_l4SdHAC&dq=%22Royal+prussia%22+Poland+1466+Elbl%C4%85g&pg=PA30 |date=14 April 2023 }}</ref> in the [[Greater Poland Province, Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Greater Poland Province]] of the Kingdom of Poland and later of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]. The present-day neighbourhood of Kolibki was the location of the Kolibki estate, purchased by King [[John III Sobieski]] in 1685.

In 1772, Gdynia was annexed by the [[Kingdom of Prussia]] in the [[First Partition of Poland]]. Gdynia, under the Germanized name ''Gdingen'', was included within the newly formed province of [[West Prussia]] and was expropriated from the Cistercian Order. In 1789, there were only 21 houses in Gdynia. Around that time Gdynia was so small that it was not marked on many maps of the period: it was about halfway from Oksywie and Mały Kack, now districts of Gdynia. In 1871, the village became part of the [[German Empire]]. In the early 20th century Gdynia was not a poor fishing village as it is sometimes described; it had become a popular tourist spot with several guest houses, restaurants, cafés, several brick houses and a small harbour with a pier for small trading ships. The first [[Kashubians|Kashubian]] mayor was Jan Radtke.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Map of Danzig and around in 1899, showing Gdingen |url=http://schwertfamily.net/maps/map_west_und_ostpreussen_1899.jpg |access-date=15 July 2018 |archive-date=26 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126122724/https://schwertfamily.net/maps/map_west_und_ostpreussen_1899.jpg |url-status=live }}</ref> It is estimated that around 1910 the population of Gdynia was 895 people.<ref>[https://rcin.org.pl/Content/47399/PDF/WA51_50580_r1956-z5_Dokumentacja-Geogr.pdf A. Jelonek (red.), ''Dokumentacja geograficzna. Liczba ludności miast i osiedli w Polsce 1810-1955'', Warsaw 1956] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211226084625/https://rcin.org.pl/Content/47399/PDF/WA51_50580_r1956-z5_Dokumentacja-Geogr.pdf |date=26 December 2021 }}, p. 28</ref>

Following [[World War I]], in 1918, Poland regained independence, and following the [[Treaty of Versailles]], in 1920, Gdynia was re-integrated with the reborn Polish state. Simultaneously, the nearby city of Gdańsk (''Danzig'') and surrounding area was declared a [[Free City of Danzig|free city]] and put under the [[League of Nations]], though Poland was given economic liberties and requisitioned for matters of foreign representation.

=== Construction of the seaport ===
[[File:Gdynia, Dworzec Morski 1935 (67264189).jpg |left|thumb|Gdynia Seaport in 1935]]
The decision to build a major seaport at Gdynia village was made by the Polish government in winter 1920,<ref name="World Port Source - Gdynia">{{cite web |url=http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/POL_Port_of_Gdynia_1177.php |title=Port of Gdynia |work=worldportsource.com |access-date=29 May 2010 |archive-date=29 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091129053809/http://www.worldportsource.com/ports/POL_Port_of_Gdynia_1177.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> in the midst of the [[Polish–Soviet War]] (1919–1921).<ref name="Citino">[[Robert M. Citino|Robert Michael Citino]]. ''The path to blitzkrieg: doctrine and training in the German Army, 1920–1939''. Lynne Rienner Publishers. 1999. p. 173.</ref> The authorities and seaport workers of the [[Free City of Danzig]] felt Poland's economic rights in the city were being misappropriated to help fight the war. German dockworkers went on strike, refusing to unload shipments of military supplies sent from the West to aid the Polish army,<ref name="Citino" /> and Poland realized the need for a port city it was in complete control of, economically and politically.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

[[File:140429-POL-Gdynia-Muzeum MW.jpg|thumb|Museum of the Navy in Gdynia|left]]

Construction of Gdynia seaport started in 1921<ref name="Citino"/> but, because of financial difficulties, it was conducted slowly and with interruptions. It was accelerated after the [[Sejm]] (Polish parliament) passed the ''Gdynia Seaport Construction Act'' on 23 September 1922. By 1923 a 550-metre pier, {{convert|175|m|abbr=off}} of a wooden tide breaker, and a small harbour had been constructed. Ceremonial inauguration of Gdynia as a temporary military port and fishers' shelter took place on 23 April 1923. The first major seagoing ship, the French Line steamer ''Kentucky'', arrived on 13 August 1923 after being diverted because of a strike at Gdansk.<ref>"Emigration Shipping Lines of Gdynia, 1924-1939", by Oskar Myszor, in ''East Central Europe in Exile: Transatlantic Migrations'', ed. by Anna Mazurkiewicz (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014) p. 165</ref> 
{{Historical populations|1950|103458|1960|147625|1970|191500|1978|227140|1988|249805|2002|253458|2011|249139|2021|245222|footnote=Source:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.polskawliczbach.pl/Gdynia |title=Gdynia (Pomorskie) » mapy, nieruchomości, GUS, noclegi, szkoły, regon, atrakcje, kody pocztowe, wypadki drogowe, bezrobocie, wynagrodzenie, zarobki, tabele, edukacja, demografia |access-date=9 June 2022 |archive-date=9 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220609174532/https://www.polskawliczbach.pl/Gdynia |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Demographic and occupational structure and housing conditions of the urban population in 1978-1988|url=https://statlibr.stat.gov.pl/exlibris/aleph/a22_1/apache_media/RQ1U9XAX48KJJDQ54QSAFQKQ6AK6GS.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Statistics Poland - National Censuses|url=https://bdl.stat.gov.pl/bdl/dane/podgrup/temat/}}</ref>}}[[File:Gdynia, transatlantyk MS Pilsudski 1935 (67264474).jpg|thumb|[[MS Piłsudski|MS Pilsudski]] in Gdynia, 1935]]
To speed up the construction works, the Polish government in November 1924 signed a contract with the French-Polish Consortium for Gdynia Seaport Construction. By the end of 1925, they had built a small seven-metre-deep harbour, the south pier, part of the north pier, a railway, and had ordered the trans-shipment equipment. The works were going more slowly than expected, however. They accelerated only after May 1926, because of an increase in Polish exports by sea, economic prosperity, the outbreak of the German–Polish trade war which reverted most Polish international trade to sea routes, and thanks to the personal engagement of [[Eugeniusz Kwiatkowski]], Polish Minister of Industry and Trade (also responsible for the construction of [[Centralny Okręg Przemysłowy]]). By the end of 1930 docks, piers, breakwaters, and many auxiliary and industrial installations were constructed (such as depots, trans-shipment equipment, and a rice processing factory) or started (such as a large cold store).{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

Trans-shipments rose from 10,000 tons (1924) to 2,923,000 tons (1929). At this time Gdynia was the only transit and special seaport designed for coal exports.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

In the years 1931–1939 Gdynia harbour was further extended to become a universal seaport. In 1938 Gdynia was the largest and most modern seaport on the Baltic Sea, as well as the tenth biggest in Europe. The trans-shipments rose to 8.7&nbsp;million tons, which was 46% of Polish foreign trade. In 1938 the [[Stocznia Gdynia|Gdynia shipyard]] started to build its first full-sea ship, the ''[[SS Olza|Olza]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Szabados |first=Stephen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T_zvDwAAQBAJ&dq=1938+Gdynia+shipyard+Olza&pg=PT51 |title=Polish Immigration to America: When, Where, Why and How |date=27 August 2016 |publisher=Stephen Szabados |language=en |access-date=18 May 2022 |archive-date=25 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425160608/https://books.google.com/books?id=T_zvDwAAQBAJ&dq=1938+Gdynia+shipyard+Olza&pg=PT51 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Construction of the city ===
The city was constructed later than the seaport. In 1925 a special committee was inaugurated to build the city; city expansion plans were designed and [[city rights]] were granted in 1926, and tax privileges were granted for investors in 1927. The city started to grow significantly after 1928.

A [[Gdynia Główna railway station|new railway station]] and the Post Office were completed. The [[Polish State Railways|State railways]] extended their lines, built bridges and also constructed a group of houses for their employees. Within a few years houses were built along some {{convert|10|mi|0|abbr=out}} of road leading northward from the [[Free City of Danzig]] to Gdynia and beyond. Public institutions and private employers helped their staff to build houses.<br/>
In 1933 a plan of development providing for a population of 250,000 was worked out by a special commission appointed by a government committee, in collaboration with the municipal authorities. By 1939 the population had grown to over 120,000.<ref>(ed) Michael Murray, ''Poland's Progress 1919–1939'', John Murray, 1944, London pp 64–6</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Sąd rejonowy betonowe 06.jpg|Gdynia Courthouse by Zbigniew Karpiński, 1936
File:Gdynia Dowodztwo MW 2.jpg|Headquarters of the [[Polish Navy]]
File:Gdynia urząd miasta UM.jpg|Piłsudski Avenue with modernist buildings
File:PlacKaszubski.PomnikAntoniAbrahamk.jpg|''Plac Kaszubski'', one of the main squares in the city
File:Siedziba_Zakładu_Ubezpieczeń_i_PLO.jpg|''PLO Building'' designed by [[Roman Piotrowski]] 
File:Gdynia, Świętojańska 55 (1) - czupirek 2013.jpg|''Krenski House'', detail, by Zbigniew Kupiec
</gallery>

=== Gdynia during World War II (1939–1945) ===
[[File:Niemcy w Gdyni.jpg|thumb|German occupying forces in Gdynia in 1939]]
During the German [[invasion of Poland]], which started [[World War II]] in September 1939, Gdynia was the site of [[Battle of Gdynia|fierce Polish defense]]. On 13 September 1939, the Germans carried out first arrests of local Poles in the southern part of the city, while the Polish defense was still ongoing in the northern part.<ref name=mw105>{{cite book |last=Wardzyńska |first=Maria |year=2009 |title=Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion |language=pl |location=Warsaw|publisher=[[Institute of National Remembrance|IPN]] |page=105}}</ref> On 14 September 1939, the Germans captured the entire city, and then [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|occupied]] it until 1945. On 15–16 September, the Germans carried out further mass arrests of 7,000 Poles, while Polish soldiers still fought in nearby [[Battle of Kępa Oksywska|Kępa Oksywska]].<ref name=mw105/> The German police surrounded the city and carried out mass searches of weapons.<ref name=mw105/> Arrested Poles were held and interrogated in churches, cinemas and halls, and then around 3,000 people were released until 18 September.<ref name=mw105/> The occupiers established several prisons and camps for Polish people, who were afterwards either deported to [[Nazi concentration camps|concentration camps]] or executed.<ref name=mw106>Wardzyńska, p. 106</ref> Some Poles from Gdynia were executed by the Germans near [[Starogard Gdański]] in September 1939.<ref>Wardzyńska, p. 108</ref> In October and November 1939, the Germans carried out public executions of 52 Poles, including activists, bank directors and priests, in various parts of the city.<ref>Wardzyńska, p. 156</ref> In November 1939, the occupiers also murdered hundreds of Poles from Gdynia during the [[massacres in Piaśnica]] committed nearby as part of the ''[[Intelligenzaktion]]''. Among the victims were policemen, officials, civil defenders of Gdynia, judges, court employees, the director and employees of the [[National Bank of Poland]], merchants, priests, school principals, teachers,<ref>Wardzyńska, p. 106, 146–148</ref> and students of local high schools.<ref>{{cite book |last=Drywa |first=Danuta |editor-last=Kostkiewicz |editor-first=Janina |year=2020 |title=Zbrodnia bez kary... Eksterminacja i cierpienie polskich dzieci pod okupacją niemiecką (1939–1945) |language=pl |location=[[Kraków]] |publisher=[[Jagiellonian University|Uniwersytet Jagielloński]], [[Biblioteka Jagiellońska]] |page=181 |chapter=Germanizacja dzieci i młodzieży polskiej na Pomorzu Gdańskim z uwzględnieniem roli obozu koncentracyjnego Stutthof}}</ref> On the night of 10–11 November, the German security police carried out mass arrests of over 1,500 Poles in the [[Obłuże]] district, and then murdered 23 young men aged 16–20, in retaliation for breaking windows at the headquarters of the German security police.<ref>Wardzyńska, p. 156–157</ref>[[File:Poles arrested in Gdynia September 1939.jpg|thumb|left|Poles arrested by the Germans in Gdynia in September 1939]] On 11 November, a German gendarme shot and killed two Polish boys who were collecting Polish books from the street, which were thrown out of the windows by new German settlers in the Oksywie district.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kołakowski |first=Andrzej |editor-last=Kostkiewicz |editor-first=Janina |year=2020 |title=Zbrodnia bez kary... Eksterminacja i cierpienie polskich dzieci pod okupacją niemiecką (1939–1945) |language=pl |location=Kraków |publisher=Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Biblioteka Jagiellońska |page=75 |chapter=Zbrodnia bez kary: eksterminacja dzieci polskich w okresie okupacji niemieckiej w latach 1939-1945}}</ref> The Germans renamed the city to ''Gotenhafen'' after the [[Goths]], an ancient Germanic tribe, who had lived in the area. 10 Poles from Gdynia were also murdered by the Russians in the large [[Katyn massacre]] in April–May 1940.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gdynia.pl/spoleczenstwo,7580/dzien-pamieci-ofiar-zbrodni-katynskiej,548870 |title=Pamiętamy o ofiarach zbrodni katyńskiej |website=Gdynia.pl |access-date=10 September 2021 |language=pl |archive-date=10 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910092026/https://www.gdynia.pl/spoleczenstwo,7580/dzien-pamieci-ofiar-zbrodni-katynskiej,548870 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Some 50,000 Polish citizens were [[Expulsion of Poles by Nazi Germany|expelled]] to the [[General Government]] (German-occupied central Poland) to make space for new German settlers in accordance with the ''[[Lebensraum]]'' policy. Local [[Kashubians]] who were suspected to support the Polish cause, particularly those with higher education, were also arrested and executed. The German [[gauleiter]] [[Albert Forster]] considered Kashubians of "low value" and did not support any attempts to create a Kashubian nationality. Despite such circumstances, local Poles, including Kashubians, organized [[Polish resistance movement in World War II|Polish resistance]] groups, [[Kashubian Griffin]] (later [[Pomeranian Griffin]]), the exiled "Związek Pomorski" in the [[United Kingdom]], and local units of the [[Home Army]], [[Service for Poland's Victory]] and [[Gray Ranks]]. Activities included distribution of underground Polish press, smuggling data on German persecution of Poles and Jews to Western Europe, sabotage actions, espionage of the local German industry,<ref>{{cite book |last=Chrzanowski |first=Bogdan |year=2022 |title=Polskie Państwo Podziemne na Pomorzu w latach 1939–1945 |language=pl |location=Gdańsk |publisher=IPN |pages=30, 40, 48, 52, 57 |isbn=978-83-8229-411-8}}</ref> and facilitating escapes of endangered Polish resistance members and British and French prisoners of war who fled from [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II|German POW camps]] via the city's port to [[Neutral powers during World War II|neutral]] [[Sweden]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Chrzanowski |first=Bogdan |title=Organizacja sieci przerzutów drogą morską z Polski do Szwecji w latach okupacji hitlerowskiej (1939–1945) |journal=Stutthof. Zeszyty Muzeum |language=pl |volume=5 |pages=16, 25, 30–34 |issn=0137-5377}}</ref> The [[Gestapo]] cracked down on the Polish resistance several times, with the Poles either killed or deported to the [[Stutthof concentration camp|Stutthof]] and [[Ravensbrück concentration camp|Ravensbrück]] concentration camps.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chrzanowski |first=Bogdan |title=Polskie Państwo Podziemne na Pomorzu w latach 1939–1945 |pages=47, 50–51}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Chrzanowski |first=Bogdan |title=Organizacja sieci przerzutów drogą morską z Polski do Szwecji w latach okupacji hitlerowskiej (1939–1945) |pages=16, 27–28, 37}}</ref> In 1943, local Poles managed to save some [[Kidnapping of children by Nazi Germany|kidnapped Polish children]] from the [[Zamość]] region, by buying them from the Germans at the local train station.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kozaczyńska |first=Beata |editor-last=Kostkiewicz |editor-first=Janina |year=2020 |title=Zbrodnia bez kary... Eksterminacja i cierpienie polskich dzieci pod okupacją niemiecką (1939–1945) |language=pl |location=Kraków |publisher=Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Biblioteka Jagiellońska |page=123 |chapter=Gdy zabrakło łez... Tragizm losu polskich dzieci wysiedlonych z Zamojszczyzny (1942-1943)}}</ref>
[[File:ORP Błyskawica w nowym kamuflażu - 02-01-2012.jpg|thumb|[[ORP Błyskawica|ORP ''Błyskawica'']], Polish destroyer which served in World War II, now a [[museum ship]]]]
The harbour was transformed into a German naval base. The [[shipyard]] was expanded in 1940 and became a branch of the [[Kiel]] shipyard (''Deutsche Werke Kiel A.G.''). The city became an important base, due to its being relatively distant from the [[war theater]], and many German large ships—[[battleship]]s and [[heavy cruiser]]s—were anchored there. During 1942, Dr Joseph Goebbels authorized relocation of {{SS|Cap Arcona|1927|2}} to Gotenhafen Harbour as a stand-in for {{RMS|Titanic}} during filming of the German-produced movie ''[[Titanic (1943 film)|Titanic]]'', directed by [[Herbert Selpin]].

The Germans set up an ''[[Einsatzgruppen]]''-operated penal camp in the [[Grabówek, Gdynia|Grabówek]] district,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=1517 |title=Einsatzgruppen-Straflager Gdynia-Grabówek |website=Bundesarchiv.de |access-date=25 February 2023 |language=de |archive-date=25 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230225165157/https://www.bundesarchiv.de/zwangsarbeit/haftstaetten/index.php?action=2.2&tab=7&id=1517 |url-status=live }}</ref> a transit camp for [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] marine POWs,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Megargee |first1=Geoffrey P. |last2=Overmans |first2=Rüdiger |last3=Vogt |first3=Wolfgang |year=2022 |title=The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]], [[United States Holocaust Memorial Museum]] |page=208 |isbn=978-0-253-06089-1}}</ref> a [[Forced labour under German rule during World War II|forced labour]] subcamp of the [[Stalag XX-B]] POW camp for several hundred Allied POWs at the shipyard,<ref>{{cite book |last=Daniluk |first=Jan |editor-last=Grudziecka |editor-first=Beata |title=Stalag XX B: historia nieopowiedziana |language=pl |location=Malbork |publisher=Muzeum Miasta Malborka |page=12 |chapter=Stalag XX B Marienburg: geneza i znaczenie obozu jenieckiego w Malborku-Wielbarku w latach II wojny światowej |date=21 February 2024 |isbn=978-83-950992-2-9}}</ref> and two [[Subcamp (SS)|subcamps]] of the [[Stutthof concentration camp]], the first located in the [[Orłowo, Gdynia|Orłowo]] district in 1941–1942, the second, named ''Gotenhafen'', located at the shipyard in 1944–1945.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Gliński |first=Mirosław |title=Podobozy i większe komanda zewnętrzne obozu Stutthof (1939–1945) |journal=Stutthof. Zeszyty Muzeum |language=pl |volume=3 |pages=168, 180 |issn=0137-5377}}</ref>

The seaport and the shipyard both witnessed several air raids by the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] from 1943 onwards, but suffered little damage. Gdynia was used during winter 1944–45 to evacuate German [[troop]]s and refugees trapped by the [[Red Army]]. Some of the ships were hit by [[torpedo]]es from Soviet [[submarine]]s in the [[Baltic Sea]] on the route west. The ship {{MV|Wilhelm Gustloff||2}} sank, taking about 9,400 people with her – the worst loss of life in a single sinking in maritime history. The seaport area was largely destroyed by withdrawing German troops and millions of encircled [[refugee]]s in 1945 being bombarded by the Soviet military (90% of the buildings and equipment were destroyed) and the harbour entrance was blocked by the German battleship {{ship|German battleship|Gneisenau||2}} that had been brought to Gotenhafen for major repairs.

=== After World War II ===
[[File:Wybory 1989 2.jpg|thumb|[[Solidarity (Polish trade union)|Solidarity]] election rally in Gdynia, 1989]]
On 28 March 1945, the city was captured by the Soviets and restored to Poland. The Soviets installed a communist regime, which stayed in power until the [[Fall of Communism]] in 1989. The post-war period saw an influx of settlers from [[Warsaw]] which was [[Destruction of Warsaw|destroyed by Germany]], and other parts of the country as well as [[Polish people|Poles]] from the cities of Wilno (now [[Vilnius]]) and Lwów (now [[Lviv]]) from the [[Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union|Soviet-annexed former eastern Poland]]. Also [[Greeks]], [[refugees of the Greek Civil War]], settled in the city.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kubasiewicz |first=Izabela |editor-last1=Dworaczek |editor-first1=Kamil |editor-last2=Kamiński |editor-first2=Łukasz |year=2013 |title=Letnia Szkoła Historii Najnowszej 2012. Referaty |language=pl |location=Warsaw|publisher=IPN |page=117 |chapter=Emigranci z Grecji w Polsce Ludowej. Wybrane aspekty z życia mniejszości}}</ref> The port of Gdynia was one of the three Polish ports through which refugees of the Greek Civil War reached Poland.<ref>Kubasiewicz, p. 114</ref>

On 17 December 1970, worker demonstrations took place at Gdynia Shipyard. Workers were fired upon by the police. [[Janek Wiśniewski]] was one of 40 killed, and was commemorated in a song by [[Mieczysław Cholewa]], ''Pieśń o Janku z Gdyni''. One of Gdynia's important streets is named after Janek Wiśniewski. The event was also portrayed in [[Andrzej Wajda]]'s movie ''[[Man of Iron]]''.

On 4 December 1999, [[Cyclone Anatol|a storm]] destroyed a huge crane in a shipyard.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} In 2002, the city was awarded the [[Europe Prize]] by the [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe|Parliamentary Assembly]] of the [[Council of Europe]] for having made exceptional efforts to spread the ideal of European unity.<ref>[http://website-pace.net/web/apce/the-europe-prize The Europe Prize]</ref>