The Free City of Danzig (German: Freie Stadt Danzig; Polish: Wolne Miasto Gdańsk) was a self-governing port on the Baltic Sea port and a city-state. It was set up on January 10, 1920, by Part III Section XI of the Treaty of Versailles of 1919, and put under League of Nations protection, with special rights reserved to Poland,[1] because it was the only port in the Polish Corridor.
The Free City ceased to exist after 1939 when it was occupied and annexed by Nazi Germany. After Germany's defeat in 1945 Danzig was occupied and annexed by Poland under the Polish name Gdańsk.
The Free City was represented abroad by Poland's ambassadors. The railway line that connected the Free City with Poland was administered by Poland. Similarly, the separated military post within the city's harbour, the Westerplatte (formerly a city beach), was also given to Poland. There were also two post-offices, one for the Danzig Postal Service, the other was Polish-run.
League of Nations High Commissioners
League of Nations mandated territories, were run by member countries on behalf of the League. But Danzig and the Saargebiet were run by the League of Nations itself, with representatives of various countries taking on the role of High Commissioner:[2]
The Free City's population was 357,000 in (1919). 98% were German-speakers,[3] with the rest mainly speaking either Kashubian or Polish.
The Treaty of Versailles, split Danzig from Germany. The treaty made the people living in the city citizens of the Free City. German inhabitants lost their German nationality, if they wanted to stay German they had to go and live outside the Free City's territory.[1]
Poland always refused to allow the status of Danzig to change. In April 1939 the Polish Commissioner-General said that Poland was willing to fight if there was a change..[4]
Second World War and aftermath
The Nazi government voted for re-unification with Germany on September 2, 1939, the day after the German invasion of Poland began.
Around 90% of the city was reduced to ruins towards the end of the Second World War. On March 30, 1945 the city was taken by the USSR. It is thought that more than 90% of the pre-war population were either dead or had fled by 1945.
The Allied Powers were told at the Potsdam conference that the former Free State was now part of Poland. (The Yalta conference was unclear whether the Free City would be recreated or not).
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