Abstract
The files of the Companies Register of the Municipal Court in Gdynia kept in the Gdynia Branch of the State Archives in Gdańsk constitute an extremely valuable historical source for research on the history of the maritime economy in the Second Polish Republic. In this article, information from the files was used to describe the circumstances of the establishment, the organisation, the activity, the fleet, and the operational and financial results of Przedsiębiorstwo Państwowe “Żegluga Polska” [State-owned Enterprise “Polish Shipping”] and the joint-stock company of the same name, which in the years 1927–1939 were the show- case of the Polish Merchant Navy. “Żegluga Polska” was established in 1926 under the State- owned Enterprises Act. The company’s development program, adopted by the Administrative Council of “Żegluga Polska” in 1929, provided for the establishment of liner services, without neglecting tramp services. The company’s first liner services were to Riga, Tallinn and Helsinki. A vital role in popularising the Polish Merchant Navy was played by the carrier’s inconspicuous coastal passenger ships. The advertising slogan “Work on land, rest at sea” quickly attracted crowds of enthusiasts in the country. The register files document in detail the circumstances of transforming Przedsiębiorstwo Państwowe “Żegluga Polska” in Gdynia into a joint-stock company. The transformation was initiated by the Minister of Industry and Trade, Dr. Ferdynand Zarzycki. The company was given a new organisational form because the Government believed that appropriate conditions had been created for the company to be run in cooperation with self-government or private capital. “Żegluga Polska” SA was entered into the Companies Register kept by the Municipal Court in Gdynia on 3 November 1932. At the end of 1938, ten years into its operation, the company boasted eleven transport links with constant cargo flows, connecting Gdynia and Gdańsk with Antwerp, Rotterdam, Hamburg, ports of Italy, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, and the Middle East. It had the largest fleet out of all the Polish shipping companies, with 16 ships (not counting coastal shipping vessels and tugs) with a total tonnage of 25,073 GRT and was thus a show- case of the Polish Merchant Navy.
