| Free City Of Danzig |
Article Index for Free |
Website Links For Free |
Information AboutFree City Of Danzig |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT FREE CITY OF DANZIG | |
| league of nations | |
| danzig, free city of | |
| former city-states | |
| short-lived states | |
| danzig | |
| history of germany | |
| polish historical regions | |
| history of gdańsk | |
|
The Free City of Danzig refers to either of two short-lived city-states centered on the Baltic port of Gdańsk (known in German as Danzig). NAPOLEONIC-ERA DANZIG (1807-1815) Map showing the Duchy Of Warsaw with the Free City of Danzig to the north]] The Free City of Danzig, sometimes referred to as the '''Republic of Danzig''', was a semi-independent state established by Napoleon on September 9 , 1807 , during the time of the Napoleonic Wars . Its territory was carved out from lands annexed by the Kingdom Of Prussia only in the late 1700s , and consisted of the city of Danzig ( Gdańsk ) along with its rural possessions on the mouth of Vistula , together with the Hel Peninsula and the southern half of the Vistula Spit . The state came to an end on January 22 , 1813 . After the Congress Of Vienna of 1815 , Danzig was reincorporated into the Prussia. Although made the capital of a district and the province of West Prussia , the traditional autonomy of the city was significantly reduced. DANZIG BETWEEN THE WORLD WARS (1920-1939) ]] The Free City of Danzig (, 1920 . It was established in accordance with the terms of Section XI of the Treaty Of Versailles of 1919 , which separated it from Germany and placed it under League Of Nations protection, with special rights reserved for Poland. Territory The Free City was created from one-time Polish territory which had been confirmed to the Kingdom Of Prussia in 1815 by the Congress Of Vienna , and as part of Prussia had hence also been part of the German Empire from 1871 . In addition to Danzig ( Gdańsk ) itself, the territory included the cities of Zoppot ( Sopot ), Tiegenhof ( Nowy Dwór Gdański ), and Neuteich ( Nowy Staw ), as well as some 252 villages and 63 hamlets. Covering a total area of 1,966 km&2 (754 mi&2), it was roughly twice the size of the Napoleonic statelet. Population The Free City had a population of 357,000 The state had its own citizenship, based on residency. German inhabitants lost their German nationality with the creation of the Free City, but were given the right within the first two years of the state's existence to re-obtain it; however, if they did so they were required to make their residence in Germany. Polish rights , 1925 ]] The Free City was represented abroad by Poland , and was in a Customs Union with it. 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 municipal, the other Polish-run. Politics In May 1933 , the Nazi Party won the local election. However, they received only 57 percent of the vote, less than the two thirds required by the League Of Nations to change the Free City's constitution. The government introduced Anti-Semitic and Anti-Catholic laws. The city also served as a training point for members of the German minority in Poland that were recruited from organisations such as the ''Jungdeutsche Partei'' ("Young German Party") and the ''Deutsche Vereinigung'' ("German Union") that would form the leading cadres of '' Selbstschutz '', an organisation involved with mass murder and atrocities during German invasion of Poland in 1939. As tensions built between Poland and Germany at the beginning of 1939 , the Free City's Nazi government engaged in persecutions of Poles, including the expulsion to Poland of all Polish students from the Danzig Technical University. The government voted for re-unification with Germany on September 2 , 1939 , the day after the German invasion of Poland began. Although illegal under the terms of the city's constitution, the state was nevertheless formally incorporated by Germany into the newly-formed '' Reichsgau '' of Danzig-West Prussia . Polish forces managed to briefly resist the newly arrived Germans at the Polish Post Office , and held out until the 7th at the fortified Westerplatte . The Post Office defenders were subsequently executed. "Liberation" and the aftermath of the War The city was taken by the Red Army on March 30 , 1945 . Around ninety percent of the city was reduced to ruins in course of the Second World War , and it is estimated that more than 90% of the pre-war population were either dead or had fled by 1945. In the sinking of the German military training ship " Wilhelm Gustloff " by a Soviet submarine, which had 5,000 to 7,000 refugees and over 1,000 soldiers and sailors on board at the time, some inhabitants of the city died. The Allied Powers agreed at the Yalta and Potsdam Conference s, that the city should be returned to Polish administration, together with most of Pomerania and Silesia , and the southern half of East Prussia . By 1950, around 285,000 former inhabitants of the Free City were living in occupied Germany, with a further 100,000 being estimated to have either lost their lives in the War or been expelled. External links
SEE ALSO
|
|
|