Cafe Clio — Miniature Submarines

The Archaeological and Historical Museum in Elbląg and the Polish Historical Society Branch in Elblag cordially invite you to the Clio Historical Cafe, whose guest will be Dr. Marcin Westphal from the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk.

F. Schichau's Elbląg shipyard was already included in the German Kriegsmarine expansion program in 1936. During the Second World War, the hulls of torpedo ships and minesweepers flowed from its slipway, and from July 1944 the miniature submarines of type XXVII B5 “Seehund” were built there. Although these Lilliputian units did not play a major role in the activities of the German U-Bootwaffe, they nevertheless possessed a combat potential that aroused interest even after the end of the war. In February 1945, F. Schichau's shipyard in Elblag, with its almost intact production infrastructure, fell into Soviet hands. Then a period of looting and devastation began. After the plant was taken over by the Poles, it had a chance to become the only shipyard in our country producing submarines. Why didn't this happen? Could miniature U-boats serving in the Polish Navy pose a threat to the Soviet Union? What else in this matter is left to be discovered? You will hear the answers to these questions during the lecture.

Dr. Marcin Westphal — historian, archivist and museologist, deputy director of substantive affairs at the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk. He is the author of the book “The Struggle for Domination in the Deep. The history of the creation of U-Boat type XXI” and co-author of the book “In the footsteps of the people of the sea. Jan Stankiewicz — Captain of Great Shipping”. His research interests include warfare in the seas and oceans during the Second World War, with particular emphasis on the role of German submarine weapons; German shipbuilding and shipbuilding, as well as Polish and German military strategic and operational planning.

The meeting will take place on Tuesday, October 13 at 5:30pm in the Education Room of the Gymnasium Building. Free admission.