Yesterday marked the 80th anniversary of the first transfer of prisoners to the infamous Nazi German death camp of Auschwitz. On June 14, 1940, Nazi soldiers brought 728 Poles to the Auschwitz camp, which was still under construction at the time, marking the beginning of one of the darkest chapters in modern history. More than a million people–mostly European Jews, as well as Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war, and “undesirable elements” such as homosexuals and the disabled–were systematically murdered in the Nazi death camp before it was finally liberated by soldiers from the Soviet Red Army on January 27, 1945.

The anniversary is particularly resonant this year as the Auschwitz Birkenau Memorial and Museum, established on the site of the camp in 1947, is struggling to reopen after being closed to visitors for over three months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The museum plans to reopen next month, and has issued a fundraising appeal to help continue its statutory operations, including education, research, publishing, and exhibition projects. Donors from Poland and around the world have already stepped forward to contribute and donations can be made at https://donate.auschwitz.org.

Source: Radio Poland

Polish universities ranked among world’s best

Fifteen institutions of higher education in Poland, including the University of Gdańsk, have made it into a prestigious ranking of the world’s best universities for 2020.

According to the latest QS World University Rankings, the top-ranked institution in Poland is the University of Warsaw, in 321st place, followed closely by the Jagiellonian University in Kraków in 326th. Both universities have improved their rankings since the last year, with the University of Gdańsk making the list for the second consecutive year.

The QS World University Ranking includes around 1,000 universities from around the world, with US and UK institutions, such as Harvard and Oxford, dominating the top ten.

Source: Radio Poland

No hot water for some Gdynia residents

Just as the weather begins to heat up, tens of thousands of Gdynia residents will be forced to cool down as hot water has been shut off for a week as of 7:00 this morning.

The shutoff will affect water heating in the districts of Dąbrowa, Witomin, Karviná and in Wielki and Mały Kack. According to Gdynia OPEC (Okręgowe Przedsiębiorstwo Energetyki Cieplnej) or the Gdynia District Heating Company, the shutoff is necessary due to the ongoing of construction of the S6 expressway.

Residents are reminded to leave their hot water taps off to prevent running up additional bills; the hot water is scheduled to be turned back on Sunday, June 21.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Areas of Gdynia closed tomorrow due to mine detonation

Areas of Gdynia, including the beaches, will be closed tomorrow in connection with an operation to detonate an active WWII-era sea mine.

The Polish Navy, together with the Maritime Office in Gdynia, will be relocating the mine deep into Gdańsk Bay, where it will be detonated. The operation is scheduled to run from 8:00 until 15:00. During this time, residents are banned from entering the sea along the entire length of the shoreline in Gdynia, staying in the open area in the mine fragmentation hazard zone, leaving buildings located in the blasting zone, or sailing yachts in the bay.

For more information and a map of the affected areas, visit https://bit.ly/gdynia-sea-mine.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

Biedronka issues recall on smoked cheese

Biedronka has announced a recall of its popular mountain-style smoked cheese, “Serek zakopiański,” by company Światowid after a dangerous bacterium was detected in some test samples.

Ingestion of the contaminated cheese can lead to a disease called listeriosis and a range of systems, including joint pain, headache, fever, and assorted gastrointestinal symptoms. The store has already withdrawn the product from its shelves and is asking anyone who purchased the potentially contaminated cheese to dispose of it immediately.

For specific information on the recall, visit https://bit.ly/sernik-recall.

Source: Radio Gdańsk

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Weather

Today will be mostly cloudy and cool with little chance of rain and a gentle breeze coming in from the north. Temperatures will peak around a high of 17°C, or 63°F, dropping to a low of 12°C or 53°F overnight. Warmer weather is expected for tomorrow with rain forecast towards the end of the week.

RGEN