Tel Aviv - Gdynia: The White Cities between 1909 and 1939

Both cities, Tel-Aviv and Gdynia, were dominated by modernist architecture, a symbol of modern aspirations of both countries. Both, the Jewish State – back then still under the British Mandate – and Poland chose modernity as the way to invest in the future and to promote building their new societies. I am going to define the phenomenon of two cities by topics crucial for their identities, associated with their distinctness and similarities. Each of them was called with the place-name “White City”. Both were almost raw root based. Both, although in a different stage of its development, and for various reasons, gained the rank of major seaports. The two have become holiday resorts. The construction of each city carried a clear message of propaganda for the state`s reborn (Poland) and forming the country to a large extent during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine (Israel). Before being invaded by Germans in 1939, Gdynia was supposed to be in the first place "Polish window on the world" – a modern port, a gateway exit for goods and people (including the Exile Camp for Jewish immigrants in Grabówek). But Tel Aviv established in 1909 as the “First Hebrew City”, was supposed to be rather the gateway, destination and a place to settle immigrants. I will elucidate the context against which the two cities were built while drawing attention to the impact of various factors on their establishment. My speech will focus on urban planning and the most striking architectural gems.