Was the idea of a canal between Gdynia and the Vistula ever seriously considered?

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Futurist
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Was the idea of a canal between Gdynia and the Vistula ever seriously considered?

#1

Post by Futurist » 17 Aug 2017, 04:12

Was the idea of a canal between Gdynia and the Vistula ever seriously considered?

Basically, the reason that I am asking this question is that the construction of such a canal could have perhaps alleviated Polish concerns of a German annexation of Danzig. After all, if Germany would have annexed Danzig but Poland would have still had a link between Gdynia and the Vistula, then Poland's economy wouldn't have been very dependent on German goodwill.

Anyway, did anyone in Poland ever seriously consider such an idea? Also, did Hitler ever propose anything along those lines? (Heck, one would think that such an idea would have been beneficial for Hitler since it could have allowed him to peacefully resolve Germany's dispute with Poland over Danzig.)

GregSingh
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Re: Was the idea of a canal between Gdynia and the Vistula ever seriously considered?

#2

Post by GregSingh » 17 Aug 2017, 11:14

There was already a railroad to Gdynia and local port was doing quite nicely. How would a canal helped?
Poland preferred Danzig to remain a free city not for economic reasons, but because it was decided that way in 1919.
Hitler wanted to cancel everything what was decided in 1919. Hence the conflict.
That's why Hitler demanded a permanent corridor connecting Pommern and Ostpreussen.


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wm
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Re: Was the idea of a canal between Gdynia and the Vistula ever seriously considered?

#3

Post by wm » 17 Aug 2017, 20:50

Futurist wrote:Was the idea of a canal between Gdynia and the Vistula ever seriously considered?

Basically, the reason that I am asking this question is that the construction of such a canal could have perhaps alleviated Polish concerns of a German annexation of Danzig. After all, if Germany would have annexed Danzig but Poland would have still had a link between Gdynia and the Vistula, then Poland's economy wouldn't have been very dependent on German goodwill.
The problem is it wasn't about the economy, it was about the Germans demanding something for nothing, forcing a deal unsellable to the Poles. After so many years of bondage there were no tolerance for another, hower small, partition of Polish territory - especially by a former partition power.

Futurist wrote:Anyway, did anyone in Poland ever seriously consider such an idea? Also, did Hitler ever propose anything along those lines? (Heck, one would think that such an idea would have been beneficial for Hitler since it could have allowed him to peacefully resolve Germany's dispute with Poland over Danzig.)
At that time canals were in vogue, and many such ideas were proposed, frequently by people who didn't know anything about canals. In this case the problem was the terrain itself was unsuitable for canals, as shown below, the differences in height were quite considerable:
Mapa Pomorza.jpg
source

Additionally Vistula was an unregulated river, after all it was partitioned too, there was no single owner and pre Great War nobody was interested in regulating it. So who needed canals if the river itself was unusable.

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