Gdynia Maritime University GMU

Konstanty Matyjewicz-Maciejewicz, MM

Director of the State Maritime School in Gdynia in Gdynia, 1945 - 1947

The Captains’ Captain

The “Captains’ Captain”, the last commander of Lwów and first commander of Dar Pomorza, director of the Gdynia and Szczecin State Maritime Schools.  Born on 11 November 1890 in Niemirów, Podole.

After completing his schooling, he studied at the St Peter's Cadet Corps in Połtawa and the Marine Cadet Corps in St. Petersburg. He undertook seamanship training on the training vessel Rynda, a cruiser the "Rossija", and a frigate, the "Wiernyj". After passing the theory and practical exams, he enlisted with the crew of a cruiser, the Rurik, in April 1911, and in August of the same year, the training ship the Aurora. 

During the War

In 1912, he became the navigation office on a gunner, the Siwucz, and from 1913 he served on a cruiser, the Rurik, on which he took part in war operations.  Konstantyn Maciejewicz was also successfully admitted to the Underwater Sailing Officer Academy, graduating in 1916.  For a short time, he commanded the Musson, a sailing ship, before returning to service on the “Rurik” as an officer.

In November 1916, he took up the post of senior officer and second-in-command on the submarine AG 15, which was sunk in 1917. Several of the members of the crew were saved thanks to the heroic action of Maciejewicz.  The ship was recovered from the seabed, and following repairs, returned to service, this time under Konstantyn Maciejewicz’s command.

After the war, the Captain was demobilised and worked in the grain monopoly in Poltawa, and later for the Central Biuro for the Closure of Military Offices.

Returning to Poland in 1921, he initially worked in the village of Majątek, near Brzesć, Lithuania, before assuming the role of tutor at the Maritime School in Tczew, and soon after senior officer on Lwów. In 1926, he became the third and final shipmaster of the sailing vessel, after Tadeusz Ziółkowski and Mamert Stankiewicz.

Captain of Dar Pomorza

In December 1929,  as commander of part of the future crew of the newly purchased training ship, the Pomorze (later the Dar Pomorze), which included  Jan Kaleta, Józef Grzelak, Tadeusz Klusiewicz and Tadeusz Meissner, Konstantyn Maciejewicz arrived in port in Saint Nazaire to tow the ship to the shipyard in Nakskov. Despite taking place in dramatic conditions and a raging storm, the ship successfully docked at the port in Nakskov on 9th January 1930.

As Captain of Dar Pomorza, he commanded the ship during its voyage around the world from 16th October 1934 to 3rd September 1935, of which he was the initiator, as well as during an eight-month trip (from 3rd September 1936) on which the frigate sailed around Cape Horn.  The achievement was described by the Captain in the monthly magazine Morze (1937, no 7).

A New Role

In June 1938, Captain Maciejewicz assumed a new role as the director of professional training courses for seafarers and fishermen, and a year later he became the inspector and first deputy director of the State Maritime School. He took over as director of the school after the mobilisation of School director Stanisław Koski in August 1939.

WWII

Following the outbreak of the Second World War and the occupation of Gdynia by Germans, he was sentenced to forced labour on a German farm in Nidowo, near Gdańsk. In November 1939, he was sent to a concentration camp in Stuffhof. After being released from the camp in December of the same year, thanks to the efforts of Matylda Ledóchowska, he left with his family for Warsaw before settling in Majątek near Kluczkowic. Here he worked in a variety of jobs - a labourer in a sawmill and a storekeeper in a brewery. In 1944, he began work at the Maritime League in Lublin. He was also authorised to secure the property of the State Maritime School.

Director of the State Maritime School in Gdynia

From May 1945, under the authority of the Minister for Industry, Hilary Minc, as an employee in the Education Section of the Ministries of the Maritime Department, Konstantyn Maciejewicz oversaw the involvement and management of administration staff and later teaching staff as well. He then became the director of the State Maritime School in Gdynia, adapting the School to its educational aims and overseeing the admission of a greater number of students within the faculties of Marine Engineering and Navigation than before the war, whilst ensuring the provision of supplies for employees and students during the difficult conditions that prevailed in post-war Poland. On 1st October 1945, he chaired the School's examination committee.

Director of State Maritime School in Szczecin

After the relocation of the Faculty of Navigation to Szczecin, Konstantyn Maciejewicz took up the post of director of the State Maritime School in Szczecin. When the School closed down in 1953, he worked at the Polish Register of Shipping as an onboard inspector. From 1953 to 1955, he commanded the sailing ship, “Zew Morza”.

Although he officially retired in 1962, he continued to work, either as a juror in the Maritime Court or head of Examination Commissions for Captains. Captain Konstantyn Maciejewicz died on 25th October 1972 in Szczecin. He was buried in a section of the Szczecin Central Cemetery designated for people of national merit.

During his lifetime, he was awarded the Gold Cross of Merit, the Officer's Cross of Polonia Restituta, the Medal for the “10^th Anniversary of the Regaining of Independence”.

Named after him are streets in Gdynia and Szczecin, a primary school and a maritime secondary school in Szczecin, a primary school in Kołobrzeg, and the ship the s.s. Kapitan K. Maciejewicz. A plaque with a dedication to him can also be found in the Pomeranian Quay in Gdynia.