Polish Genius : Alfons Hoffmann

The father of Polish electrical power industry in the interwar period

One of the professors of the Gdańsk University of Technology was Alfons Hoffmann, today unjustly forgotten, a scientist who made great contributions to the development of energy in pre-war Poland. He was a graduate of the pre-war Gdańsk technical university, i.e. Technische Hochschule of Danzig. I wrote the following text based on information from the website sep.com.pl pdf/inne/Alfons_hoffmann.pdf (article by Tadeusz Domżalski), apw.ee.pw.edu.pl (article by Andrzej Marusak), Wikipedia and the "Gdańsk Encyclopedia" (the quote in the title of the article comes from there). Alfons Hoffmann was "an outstanding representative of the Polish intelligentsia of Vistula Pomerania, formed during the Prussian-German partition. He will remain a unique symbol of the fading ideal of the intelligentsia, burning himself in his professional work and selfless service to society" (prof. J. Borzyszkowski).

The future scientist was born on November 12, 1885 in Grudziądz , where he began his education. In this city, he also attended a humanistic gymnasium, where he passed his matriculation exam in 1905. His father, Jan, was a translator and secretary of the district court. Alfons Hoffmann took from his family home a love of his homeland and a passion for music. In the years 1905–1911 Hoffmann studied at the Technische Hochschule of Danzig (abbreviated THD) at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Electrical Engineering. He graduated on November 11, 1911. His thesis concerned the electrification of Sopot. During his studies, Alfons Hoffmann was active not only in the Gdańsk community, but also in the wider Pomeranian community. In 1906, he became the conductor of the "Lutnia" choir in Gdańsk (he was its honorary member from 28 October 1931). He saw a deeper meaning in the development and strengthening of Polish culture in this region. He understood that the promotion of Polishness and Polish song was a tool in the fight against Germanization. Therefore, on his initiative, Polish music societies were established in various towns in Kashubia. Hoffmann also contributed to the establishment of the Kashubian District Singing Association at a congress of singing circles in 1910 (according to Tadeusz Domżalski, 30 July 1909) in Wejherowo. He paid for this activity with the loss of the imperial scholarship that distinguished students of THD received. Alfons Hoffmann was also a member of the Polish Gymnastics Society "Sokół".

After completing his studies, he became a regular member of the Philistine Association Circle in Gdańsk (which operated within the Philistine Association of the Gdańsk Corporation ZAG "Wisła" in Warsaw, associating THD graduates, former members of the Polish academic corporation "Wisła"). As a newly-baked engineer, he took up work as a designer in the design offices of the German companies Garbe-Lahmayer and Siemens-Schukert in Aachen and Berlin. Additionally, he lectured on electrical engineering, mathematics and physics at the Polish Industrial Society in Berlin.

In 1918, the independence sentiment among Poles was revived, as were the hopes of the Gdańsk Polonia for the annexation of Gdańsk to the reborn Poland. Alfons Hoffmann decided then to join the independence activities. He came to Gdańsk, where he became a member of the Sub-Commissariat of the Supreme People's Council for West Prussia, Warmia and Mazury (the executive body of the NRL). The Sub-Commissariat was headed by Stefan Łaszewski, the future Pomeranian Voivode. According to the "Gdańsk Encyclopedia": "The Sub-Commissariat directed, among other things, the fight for the Polish language in education, the NRL's control over the Prussian administration, the protection of national property from deportation to Germany, the preparation of clerical and teaching staff, and counteracting the propaganda of the Germans, who were trying to keep West Prussia within the borders of Germany; it documented the Polishness of Eastern Pomerania to the decision-makers in Versailles (...)". In 1918, various legally operating organizations in Pomerania (e.g. the Gymnastic Society "Sokół") were involved in preparing an armed struggle in this region. At the end of that year, on their basis and under the patronage of Commissioner Łaszewski, the Military Organization of Pomerania was formed. Its task was to prepare an armed uprising in this region, which was to lead to the liberation of Pomerania from German rule, and thus to its incorporation into the reborn Poland. Alfons Hoffmann also joined the ranks of the OWP. As an activist of this organization, he prepared an index of Polish names of Pomeranian towns. After the announcement in Versailles in June 1919 of specific decisions concerning the Polish borders, Hoffmann became a member of the commission (on behalf of Poland) determining the border between Poland and the Free City of Danzig.

At the beginning of 1920, Hoffmann was employed at the Pomeranian Voivodeship Office in Toruń as a specialist for the electrification of Pomerania. At the end of February of that year, he was appointed construction manager for the first hydroelectric power plant in the reborn Poland, Gródek nad Czarną Woda (near Świecie). Thanks to his efficiency and organizational skills, the construction of the power plant proceeded smoothly. In 1923, the first Francis turbine was launched, a year later – the second hydroelectric unit, and in 1927 – the third. In recognition of his recognition, Hoffmann received the Golden Cross of Merit. T. Domżalski emphasized that "this power plant, with an installed capacity of 3,900 kW, was at that time the first post-war and at the same time the largest hydroelectric power plant in Poland, built by a Polish engineer and worker and with the help of Polish capital". Alfons Hoffmann became the general director of this power plant. He constantly took care of improving the qualifications of his employees, sending them to training, conferences, etc. He encouraged them to conduct scientific research in their own laboratories and publish their works in industry publications. He was also a good manager. Another achievement of Hoffmann was the development of the first electrification plan for the Pomeranian Voivodeship in 1922, known as the "Little Gródek Program". According to it, the sources of power in this region were to be: 18 hydroelectric power plants and 5 steam power plants with a total capacity of approx. 60 MW and a 60 kV network connecting the main power sources. In addition to the 14 active power plants, 9 additional hydroelectric power plants were to be built, including Żur, Tleń and Tczew. It is worth emphasizing that Hoffmann was a pioneer in the development of hydroelectric power, as he saw the benefits of developing this sector of the economy. In pushing his projects forward, he often had to overcome numerous obstacles. The good results of the Grodek power plant enabled the establishment of an enterprise called "Pomorska Elektrownia Krajowa Grodek SA" in Toruń in March 1924, whose first director was engineer A. Hoffmann. In 1927, on his initiative, a high-voltage transmission line (110 kV) of 60 kV and a length of 70 km was used to connect the Grodek power plant with the city of Toruń.

The second overhead transmission line built in a record time of six months (60 kV with dimensions of 110 kV, 140 km long) connected the Gródek power plant with Grabówek (today a district of Gdynia), located near the Polish port on the Baltic Sea that was being built at that time. In 1928, Alfons Hoffmann developed a project, unfortunately unrealized, for a large power plant in Silesia (with a thermal power of 300 MW) and 200 kV transmission lines to Poznań and Warsaw. The following year, he developed a plan for the electrification of the following voivodeships: Pomerania, Poznań, Łódź and Warsaw - due to lack of financial resources, limited only to the first of them. According to this plan, the Żur power plant was first built on Czarna Woda, using a joint design by Hoffmann and Karol Pomianowski (a post-war professor at the Gdańsk University of Technology). Its ceremonial opening took place in 1930 in the presence of the President of the Republic of Poland, Ignacy Mościcki. This power plant had two Kaplan turbines with a capacity of 4,400 kW each; an overhead 60 kV switchboard was also built with 60/110 kV lines: Gródek-Żur and Żur-Gdynia with a total length of 140 km. It was the most modern and largest hydroelectric power plant in interwar Poland.

Hoffmann later contributed to the electrification of the port and city of Gdynia. In 1935-36, thanks to him, a steam power plant was built there with a generator with a capacity of 7.5 MW and a voltage of 15.75 kV (for the first time in our country such a high generator voltage was used and the condensate was cooled with sea water). In addition, a 15 kV power line Gdynia-Puck-Władysławowo-Jurata was built in 1935, which for the first time in Poland was run on wooden poles with concrete stilts. Thanks to its connection with thermal power plants in Toruń, Bydgoszcz and Grudziądz and hydroelectric power plants in Gródek and Żur, the first provincial power system was created. Hoffmann understood the importance of electrification of the country for its economic development, which is why he worked constantly on the expansion of the power system. He developed and patented a special hanging insulator Hf 35, later produced by the porcelain factory in Ćmielów, the use of which contributed to significant savings in the Polish power industry. As the director of PEK Gródek and the first in the country, in 1935 he introduced a method of performing repair work on an active 60 kV transmission line under voltage, by replacing damaged cap insulators. On his initiative, the Electric Heater Factory was built in Gródek, which provided employment to 450 people. Bäcker's patent and Hoffmann's own design and technological ideas were used to produce heating elements. For example, electric cookers and ship kitchens for the Polish Navy were produced there. Another project of this engineer was the electric heating system for the Warszawa Główna railway station.

On November 30, 1938, Hoffmann was appointed general director of Śląskie Zakłady Elektryczne SA Ślązel, which included the Chorzów power plant and its power grid. Hoffmann developed a two-stage expansion plan for the plant. The first stage was completed by the Germans in 1942, and the second by the Poles after the end of the war. Despite his numerous professional duties, this scientist also managed to find time for social activities. Already in 1918 he became a member of the Association of Technicians in Poznań, and three years later he founded the Toruń Branch of the Association of Polish Electrical Engineers (SEP). He was its first president; he was active in the central authorities of this organization and was a member of its board. He organized conventions of its representatives. At the 14th General Congress of SEP Delegates, on June 1, 1961, in Szczecin, he was honored with the highest distinction of SEP for his entire enormous merits - the dignity of Honorary Member of the Association of Polish Electrical Engineers. In addition, from 1921 he participated in the work of the Association of Polish Power Plants (ZEP). In the years 1925/26 and 1927/29 he was its vice-president, and in 1929/30 its president.

Hoffmann was a valued scientist, and was also appreciated as a speaker. He was eagerly invited to various conferences, where he presented his scientific achievements, e.g. in 1936 in Stockholm he discussed the experiences of PEK Gródek in live work during the replacement of cap insulators. In 1939, Hoffmann was awarded the title of Honorary Member of the Pomeranian Singing Association in Toruń. After World War II, he was awarded the Golden Badge with Laurel Wreath of the Association of Polish Singing and Instrumental Ensembles. During World War II, Hoffman was wanted by the Gestapo, hiding under an assumed name. He spent part of the occupation in Lviv, then in Warsaw. He lost his daughter Janina in the Warsaw Uprising. After the fall of the Uprising, he was taken to forced labor near Kłodzko. At the same time, he was part of a team of specialists who worked on plans for the future electrification of our country within its borders from 1938, for the period until 1956, under the codename "Project Z and organizational matters" for the Government Delegation for Poland. In 1945 he came to Gdańsk, where he found employment in the Directorate of the Energy Union. Among other things, he was involved in the reconstruction of two power plants on the Radunia ( Bielkowo and Łapino), and in the years 1946-49 in Dychów on the Bóbr (currently in the Lubuskie Voivodeship). Additionally, he educated managers and machinists of water power plants from all over Poland at several-week courses in Żur and Straszyn. Alfons Hoffmann – a patriot, a man of honour, true to his principles, felt disappointed with the political situation in post-war Poland. He did not yield to the persuasions of the communists and did not agree to membership in the party, which is why he became inconvenient for the then government and in 1949 he was removed from work related to rebuilding the economy after the war.

He was still appreciated by the Polish energy community. In 1949, one of them, his subordinate from the Pomeranian National Power Plant "Gródek", now a professor at the Gdańsk University of Technology, Kazimierz Kopecki, offered him a job at that university.

Alfons Hoffmann accepted the offer and was employed at the Power Engineering Department. He worked there until his retirement in 1958. He was involved in teaching and research. The lectures and papers he gave concerned the topics of electric heating, designing electrical networks and hydroelectric power plants. At that time he wrote a work entitled "Reservoir and Pump Power Plants". He also developed a cadastre of water forces of 24 rivers in northern and western Poland in the form of 26 volumes for the Water Management Committee and the Ministry of Energy, as well as model studies for the dam and hydroelectric power plant in Solina on the San and cooling systems for thermal power plants, as well as a concept of storage heating for the rebuilt castle (intended for a museum) in Malbork. Additionally, he was active in various national and international scientific, economic and technical organizations. In 1953, Hoffmann also became an employee of the then established Institute of Hydro-Engineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Gdańsk. He first worked there in the Office of Water Management Studies, and then as head of the Department of Hydro-Engineering and Inland Structures. In 1955, he became a member of the Water Management Committee of the Polish Academy of Sciences. At the request of the Scientific Council of the Institute of Hydroengineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Gdańsk, he was awarded the title of associate professor in 1957. He was also awarded the Golden Badge of Honor of NOT and SEP and the Golden Badge of the City of Gdańsk.

He died on 30 December 1963. He was buried in the professors' section in the Srebrzysko district of Gdańsk. In 1985, his wife Maria was buried next to him, and in 2010, his son, Marian. A symbolic plaque commemorates the professor's daughter, Janina Hoffmann, who died on 2 September 1944 at the age of 19 as a nurse, a martyr's death in an insurgent hospital, burned down by the Germans along with the wounded. Prof. Józef Borzyszkowski expressed the following thought in connection with the death of Prof. Hoffmann: "Non omnis moriar! Not everyone died. He left behind his works, a group of outstanding students and followers of his work". In turn, Prof. Lucjan Nehrebecki remembered the scientist: "I admired the Professor's great organizational skills, his ability to select employees and, in particular, his consolidation of the profile of a Polish power engineer, adapted to the new tasks related to the industrialization of the country. The Professor managed to put a lot of heart into this field of work and convey the outstanding traits of his character, acquired in the long-term fight for the Polishness of Kashubia and Pomerania, and in the construction of the electrification of Pomerania". In 1972, Hoffmann became the patron of the pumped-storage power station in Żydowo, in the Koszalin region, the construction design of which he had once developed. At the Gródek and Bielkowo power plants, commemorative plaques to the father of Polish energy were placed. Similarly, on the façade of his family home in Grudziądz and in the Grudziądz Basilica of St. Nicholas.

Maria Sadurska