Maritime Station at 1 Polska Street in Gdynia was a port building commissioned in 1933. It served passenger traffic, including thousands of emigres who left Poland to resettle in distant lands. Because of the building’s strong relationship to the history of emigration, and its location at the hub of emigration routes, the building has been revitalized and now houses the Emigration Museum.
The Museum is seeking input for its Portrait Of An Emigrant Collection. This Collection of emigration stories will assist in recreating the history of Polish emigration through family albums, memoirs, and diaries. The collection seeks: Stories of emigrants; Recollections of departures, homesickness, home, family, and work; News of the new world, new people, new habits, and new motherlands; Reports of family life, children, education, learning a foreign language, us and them; Photos of farewells in the old country; Family stories about those who left and those who stayed; and The tales of relatives, acquaintances, and old friends.
Each of these is a start of a new history; the stories and illustrations that make up the collective portrait of the emigration epic. This history composed of individual fate –- ordinary, stormy, and sometimes dramatic is compelling. The Museum is compiling the collection of emigration from the stories of individuals and their archival photos.
Contact the Museum or Mr. Aleksander Gosk by E-mail for more information.