Unfortunately, on 1 September 1939, the day of the attack of the German army on Poland, the fortifications were not ready to perform defence functions. The deficiencies included the copula with armour-piercing cannons and light battle shelters. The four heavy shelters composing the Resistance Centre were supposed to be equipped with the newest stationary armour-piercing cannons in the copulas and endure multiple attacks. Each structure had and armoured lamp, while the equipment of the bunkers guaranteed the survival of over a dozen days of siege.
The technical parameters of the shelters Sokół (falcon), Sęp (vulture), Saragossa and Sabała were similar and despite the fact that the walls (125 – 330 mm) and ceiling (160 cm) of Sęp were the thickest, it was placed in the same resistance category as the others. Due to its location on the beach from the direction of the open sea, Sęp is the nearest shelter to the sea and acted as the observation point. Saragossa, which was located on the dunes, had shooting positions located in a way allowing support of the nearby “Sabała” and “Sęp” during shootings. Sabała was built to protect the road and the railway track; it was the location of the Jastarnia Resistance Centre command headquarters. As the only one located from the direction of the Puck Bay, Sokół provided protection from attacks from the bay.
On 2 October the Hel Fortified Region capitulated. During the years 1940 – 44, the German army preserved the proficiencies of the Jastarnia shelters as anti-aircraft structures, while “Sęp” acted as an observation point. In May 1945, the Germans effectively occupied all shelters to defend themselves from the attacking Russian army, but the Hel garrison surrendered on 10 May.
Near the end of the nineteen seventies, the War Navy abandoned their use of the structures for national defence purposes. On 15 June 1999, the Voivodeship Monument Conservator recognised the Jastarnia Resistance Centre shelters as historical monuments, which are currently open to visitors.
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