Permanent exhibition at the Westerplatte Guardhouse 1

The permanent exhibition in the Westerplatte Watchtower No. 1, created in 2013, presents the history of the defence of Westerplatte, the armament available to Polish and German soldiers in September 1939, as well as objects of everyday use from that time.

In front of the entrance to the museum are shells from Schleswig-Holstein weighing 330 kg. As you ascend the steps to the entrance, after passing the armoured door, you can see the first exhibits. To the right is tableware from the non-commissioned officer's casino at Westerplatte. Opposite the entrance, there is a photograph of the battleship Schleswig-Holstein entering the harbour in Gdańsk, as well as a model of the battleship in a display case in a scale of 1:100. By the display case, there is a shell from a 280 mm calibre cartridge from the battleship's main artillery gun. On the boards, one can read information about the construction of the Military Transit Depot at Westerplatte and the selection of soldiers and guard service.

The main exhibition hall, the Battle Chamber, is devoted to the seven-day defence and surrender of the Depot. The armaments available to Polish and German soldiers in September 1939 are presented here. In the showcases you can see Ensign Edward Szewczuk's suitcase, with which he went to a prisoner of war camp after the surrender of Westerplatte, and a model of a PZL P.11 aircraft. From the combat chamber you can move on to two smaller rooms: The Commander's Chamber, where the equipment includes a desk with a chair, a telephone link, a helmet, and the Soldier's Chamber, where you can read information about the commander of the depot and the seven-day defence - Major Henryk Sucharski - and about the post-war fate of the Westerplatians. The display case, meanwhile, features Major Sucharski's uniform jacket from 1936–1939.