Free City of Danzig

• 1. The League's Compromise

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  On the 15th of November 1920, the Free City of Danzig officially came into existence under the protection of the League of Nations. This new state emerged from Article 100 of the Treaty of Versailles, which followed World War I. The territory included the Baltic Sea port of Danzig and nearly 200 other small localities in the surrounding areas. British diplomacy played a crucial role in its creation. French Premier Georges Clemenceau and U.S. President Woodrow Wilson had supported the Polish claim to the city. However, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George prevented Danzig from being awarded directly to Poland. He questioned whether Britain would fight for Danzig as France fought for Alsace. The compromise created a unique entity that belonged to neither Germany nor Poland. It remained distinct from both the post-war Weimar Republic and the newly independent Polish Republic. The League refused to allow the city-state to use Hanseatic City as part of its official name. This decision ignored Danzig's long-standing membership in the Hanseatic League.

• 2. A Divided Population

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  In 1910, the entire territory of the future Free City held 329,781 inhabitants. Official census data showed 312,358 people were German-speakers. Only 14,106 spoke Polish or Kashubian. Just 2,716 were Jews. A significant minority were Kashubs, another West Slavic group with their own identity. By 1929, the population rose to 408,000. Estimates suggest the proportion of Poles reached around 20% shortly before World War II began in 1939. Catholic priest Franciszek Rogaczewski estimated Poles made up about 20% of the population in 1936. Many Germans supported the Polish national movement due to Kulturkampf laws. They stood up for Polish interests despite being German Catholics. These Catholics made up about 40% of the city's population. The Bishop of Danzig, Edward O'Rourke, actively fought for the interests of Danzig Poles. He was naturalized as a Danziger on the same occasion he became Bishop of Danzig in 1925.

• 3. The Nazi Senate

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  In May 1933, the Nazis won 50 percent of votes in the Volkstag elections. Hermann Rauschning became President of the Senate of Danzig in June 1933. Albert Forster had become Gauleiter in October 1930. The party membership increased from 21,861 in June 1934 to 48,345 in September 1938. By 1936, the city's Senate held a majority of local Nazis. Agitation to rejoin Germany stepped up significantly. Helmut Froböss served as President of the Police until the German annexation of the city. In 1933, Froböss ordered left-wing newspapers to suspend publications for two months and eight days respectively. The economic policy of the Nazi-led government led to a devaluation of more than 40% of the Danziger Gulden in 1935. Gold reserves declined from 30 million Gulden in 1933 to 13 million in 1935. Foreign asset reserves dropped from 10 million to just 250,000 Gulden. Political opposition was repressed with several politicians being imprisoned and murdered.

• 4. The Crisis Of 1939

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  On the 15th of August 1939, the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein arrived in Danzig harbor. It ominously aimed its guns at the Polish Military Depot on the Westerplatte peninsula. At about 4:48am on the 1st of September 1939, the Schleswig-Holstein opened fire on Westerplatte. This action fired the first shots of World War II. On the 29th of March 1939, Ernst von Weizsäcker told Hans-Adolf von Moltke that no compromise solution was wanted. He stated the Reich would carry out a policy of destruction towards Poland. In late August 1939, the Senate confiscated stocks of wheat, salt, and petrol belonging to Polish businesses. The same day, 200 Polish workers were fired without severance pay. Their identification papers were revoked so they could not legally live in Danzig anymore. Ordinary people in Danzig were described as highly worried in the last days of August 1939. They knew war was imminent. A massive media campaign demanded the immediate return of the Free City under the slogan Home to the Reich.

• 5. Exile And Expulsion

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  By the end of the Second World War, nearly all of the city had been reduced to ruins. On the 30th of March 1945, the Red Army took the city. Up to 4,500 members of the Polish minority were arrested with many executed. Hundreds of Polish prisoners faced cruel executions including castration of men and sterilization of women considered dangerous to the purity of Nordic race. Verdicts used terms offensive to Poles such as Polish subhumans. From June to October 1945, an estimated number of 60,000 residents were expelled by Polish authorities. About 20,000 Germans left on their own. By late 1945, between 10,000 and 15,000 pre-war inhabitants remained. In December 1950, at least 85% of the population were post-war newcomers. Over 10% of inhabitants were still pre-war Danzigers. The city suffered severe underpopulation due to these events. It did not recover until the late 1950s. Members of the pre-war Polish ethnic minority began returning while new Polish settlers started arriving.