Province of Upper Silesia
The Gliwice Canal was originally built in the Province of Upper Silesia within Germany. Because the Klodnitz (Kłodnicki) Canal had become obsolete, it was decided in 1934 that construction of a new canal was more feasible than modernization of the older Klodnitz Canal, which closed in 1937. The new canal, known as the Gleiwitz Canal (), was built from 1935-1939 and opened for service in 1941. On 8 December 1939, it was renamed the Adolf Hitler Canal ("Adolf-Hitler-Kanal"), in honor of Adolf Hitler, during the inauguration ceremony by Rudolf Hess. There were also plans to make it a part of the Danube-Oder-Canal project. After World War II, the canal and the surrounding territories (see Regained Territories) were placed under Polish administration according to the 1945 Potsdam Conference.