From independence to modernity
curator: Marek Wiatrowicz
outdoor exhibition, place:14 Staszica St., Square next to Ballada Cinema
The exhibition was prepared on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Central Industrial District, the most magnificent, next to the construction of the port in Gdynia, investment project of the Second Republic of Poland, which was based primarily on the aspirations of military factors to raise the defensive potential of Poland in the face of the growing threat of war, but also the concern of state authorities for the economic development of the country.
The presented photographs from the interwar period show the localities included in the CID plan and the factories operating in them – those already existing, modernized and incorporated into the framework of the national enterprise, and those built from scratch. They show the history of the formation of large industrial investments and the transformations made in the infrastructure necessary for their operation. For in 1937-39 not only factories were built, but also roads, railroads, transmission lines (power or gas), as well as housing estates and even entire cities. The best example of the craftsmanship of the CID builders is Stalowa Wola, where in just two years after the first pine tree was cut down, there already existed a manufacturing Southern Plant, a modern power plant and a housing development, forming the basis of the future city.
The photographs presented here allow one to trace the various phases of the formation of the CID – from construction work to full production readiness, as well as to get to know the people to whom the investments owe their uniqueness, both those in decision-making circles and ordinary workers.
Places, figures, celebrations and events frozen in the frame introduce the viewer to the pre-war world of times, styles and customs.
The exhibition is accompanied by the album From Independence to Modernity. Central Industrial District 1937-1939.
