Poland - Gdansk - Masked shipbuilder welder.

A shipbuilder wearing a face mask, leans through the incomplete window belonging to the superstructure of a large German ferry at the Polish Gdansk shipyard - once known as the Lenin Shipyard but still the largest of its kind in modern Poland. The grimy and hazardous working conditions make for a dangerous environment in which to work. His overalls are torn from jagged steel edges and his skin is dirty. Here in 1980 the union Solidarity (Solidarnosc) was conceived and was partly responsible for a growing dissent against Communist rule, ultimately contributing towards the fall of the Berlin Wall. Lech Walesa started his political career as an electrical technician here, going on to lead Solidarity and then to become President of a democratic Poland. Today the city of Gdansk is a major industrial city and shipping port.

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Filename: gdansk_shipyard04-03-09-2007_1.jpg
Copyright: Richard Baker
Image Size: 3441x5244 / 1.5MB; workplace workers work welding vessel union transportation skill shipping shipbuilding ship scale poland largest industry industrial hull hazardous hazard gdansk environment dissent construction communist communism carrying carry building born Solidarnosc Solidarity Richard Baker Photographer Lech Walesa Poland Polished Eastern Europe EU European Europe bankruptcy uncertain future workforce jobs pay prospects skills trade manual labour labour labor historical bithplace business Gdansk shipyard Danzig seaport port seafaring tradition traditional famous renowned anti-communist strikes politics finance economy employer employees welder skilled vertical upright portrait masked worn folded arms protection engineering health and safety job grimey dirty old dated old technology bygone era heritage Pomerania employment professional profession ship-building Polish worker opportunity career
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A shipbuilder wearing a face mask, leans through the incomplete window belonging to the superstructure of a large German ferry at the Polish Gdansk shipyard - once known as the Lenin Shipyard but still the largest of its kind in modern Poland. The grimy and hazardous working conditions make for a dangerous environment in which to work. His overalls are torn from jagged steel edges and his skin is dirty. Here in 1980 the union Solidarity (Solidarnosc) was conceived and was partly responsible for a growing dissent against Communist rule, ultimately contributing towards the fall of the Berlin Wall. Lech Walesa started his political career as an electrical technician here, going on to lead Solidarity and then to become President of a democratic Poland. Today the city of Gdansk is a major industrial city and shipping port.