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UNUSUAL TOWER One of the most characteristic structures
in the Upper Silesia is an aerial tower, located at the Tarnogórska Street in
Gliwice. The building complex of the radio station was built in 1935 by a
German company Lorenz (co-operation: Siemens, Telefunken, and others). In the
main building there are many pieces of original equipment preserved, reaching
back to the pre-war period. The most precious object of the whole complex is,
obviously, the broadcasting tower, allegedly the tallest wooden structure in
the world (111 m). Carefully
conserved, protected and repaired every year, it still has – according to the
scientists from the Silesian University of Technology – many years of safe
functioning ahead. The tower is built of larch wood, particularly resistant
to pest and atmospheric factors. The beams are combined with brass screws.
There is not a single iron nail there. Upon the tower about 50 aerials of
various types have been installed, operating for mobile telephones
networks, radio-taxi, the CCM radio station, etc. Thanks to rents paid by the
users, the tower “makes its own living”. Our tower looks specially attractive
in the dark. Illuminated with massive spotlights, it is well visible from a
distance of many kilometers, and it makes everlasting impression upon its
visitors. WHAT HAPPENED HERE? 31st of August, 1939 at 8.00
p.m., the German radio station in Gliwice was broken into by a few SS
troops members in civilian clothes,
claiming to be Silesian rebels. Their leader was SS-Strurmbannführer Alfred
Naujocks, appointed by SS-Gruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, the chief of the
General Reich Security Office, acting on the direct order of Hitler. The operation was top secret. Only the text
of the password which Heydrich was to pass to Naujocks on the phone was
determined: ”Grossmutter gestorben”. The password constituted an order to
commence the operation. The aggressors terrorised the German crew and
broadcast a Polish announcement: “Attention! This is Gliwice. The broadcasting
station is in the Polish hands...”. The remaining part of the
proclamation read out loud in that moment was not emitted due to technical errors. In the radio station Franciszek Honiok, a
Polish Silesian, was murdered – at present he is believed to be the first
victim of the World War II. On the previous day he was arrested by Gestapo in
his home village £ubie near Pyskowice. Honiok, intoxicated with drugs,
was brought to the radio station as “a tin” at 8.05 p.m. He was supposed to
be the proof of “the Polish guilt”. On the next day Hitler gave a speech
where he justified the outbreak of war with border provocations performed
allegedly by Poles. Hitler did not
mention Gliwice, but all newspapers, radios and telegraphic agencies all over
the world did. The truth about the Gliwice provocation was discovered as late
as during the Nuremberg case. Some details were given by Naujocks
himself http://www.footnote.com/image/232386004/1945%7CNaujocks/#232386812 OVERCOMING STEREOTYPES In 2002 the local government of Gliwice
purchased the premises from TPSA (Polish Telecommunications), which had
been the owner of the radio station since 1945. At first it was used to
broadcast the programme of the Katowice Radio and to jam Free Europe
(up to 1956). Later it was a place where radio transmitters and telecommunication
equipment were produced. The structure stayed in professional and responsible
hands, therefore it is preserved in such a good condition. The goal of taking the radio station over
was not only rendering this attractive historic monument accessible to
visitors. In the neighbourhood a European Cooperation Centre will be
constructed. The main concept of the Centre is briefly inscribed upon the
commemorating plate, unveiled under the radio station tower: Remembering
the past, thinking of the future. However, the intention to overcome mutual
prejudices between Germans and Poles does not entail historic forgetfulness
in the country so greatly influenced with war. Nevertheless, it is towards
the future that the main efforts of our generation are directed; the
generation which decided to give new chances for development and co-operation
for Poles and Germans alike, in the united Europe. HOW
TO COME HERE Everybody travelling through Bytom along
the old route from Berlin to Cracow can notice the tall silhouette of the
Gliwice aerial tower from a long distance. Thanks to the illumination the
tower is well visible also at night. The radio station is located directly at
a two-level crossing of a National Road No. 88 with the Tarnogórska
Street. You cannot miss it. Cars and coaches can drive onto the plot at 129
Tarnogórska Street, bigger buses can park at the Lubliniecka Street
(directly at the tower). The visit takes about 1 hour and it costs 50 PLN
(100 PLN at 15.00 and later). The time of arrival with no time limitations
should be set calling at the number +48
693-131-292. Steward to the Gliwice Radio Station Andrzej
Jarczewski |