The Free City of Danzig Government in Exile (German : Regierung der Freien Stadt Danzig im Exil) or the Free State of Danzig, is a title claimed by various groups claiming to be the government in exile of the defunct Free City of Danzig, whose former territory now lies in Poland, around the area of the city of Gdańsk.
The Free City of Danzig (German : Freie Stadt Danzig; Polish : Wolne Miasto Gdańsk) was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) and nearly 200 towns in the surrounding areas. It was created on 15 November 1920 [1] [2] in accordance with the 1919 Treaty of Versailles after the end of World War I and was under League of Nations protection. The Free City was primarily inhabited by ethnic Germans but the majority fled or were expelled when the territory was incorporated into Poland at the conclusion of World War II.
On 13 November 1947, W. Richter, the chairman of the Association of Nationals of Danzig Free State was one of the first groups that announced a formation of a government in exile for the Free City of Danzig. [3] Richter also announced that the association would accept a settlement from the international community that would grant them an alternative territory in a center of commerce. [3] One of these groups made pleas to the United Nations, calling for official recognition, the deportation of Poles from its claimed territory, and assistance in re-establishing the Free City. [4]
By 1967 at least two other groups had emerged claiming to be the government in exile. Herbet Adler, a tram conductor from Essen, claimed to be the 'President of the Exile Government of the Republic of the Free City of Danzig' (German: Präsident der Exil-Regierung der Republik Freie Stadt Danzig) and sent diplomatic letters to various countries and politicians and received replies from the government of Ghana and West Germany's Minister of the Interior, Paul Lücke. [5] He claimed the support of around 12 000 'compatriots' and stated he was a member of the government in exile, which consisted of 25 citizens located all over the world. [5]
Willi Homeier however was part of a rival group and claimed to be president of the 'Representation of the Free City of Danzig' (German: Vertretung der Freien Stadt Danzig) an off-shoot of the 'Council of Danzig' (German: Rat der Danziger) founded in 1947. [5] This council considered itself the legislature of the Free City and had 36 members in its first term of office. [6] She also claimed that the body she led was the legal successor of the Senate of the Free City of Danzig and this had been recognised in secret ballots in 1951 and 1961. [5]
With the advent of the Internet many more groups and individuals emerged claiming to be or represent the true government in exile. This includes Ernst F. Kriesner who at least by the late 1990s while living in Australia claimed to be a Senator and the Foreign Affairs minister of the Free State. [7] He also wrote to the United Nations seeking recognition in 1998. [8] By at least 2017, Beowulf von Prince claimed to be president of the Senate of the Free State of Danzig, under the constitution of the original Free City of Danzig. [9] [10]
In addition to arguments from the realm of imperial ideologists, von Prince's theses probably have their origins in the Council of Danzig (RdDA) , which has propagated the formal continued existence of the Free City of Danzig as a subject of international law since 1947, but from 1999 no longer calls for its restoration and, in contrast to the "Free State Free City of Danzig" recognizes the sovereignty of the Federal Republic of Germany. The RdDA, citing the Potsdam Agreement and Danzig's accession to the Reich in violation of international law, assumes that Danzig, like the eastern areas of the Reich, was only placed under Polish administration. However, while the eastern areas officially became Polish territory in the 2+4 Treaty or the German-Polish Border Treaty, Danzig was still formally only under administration. These theses about the continued existence of Danzig are also shared by Prince, who, however, expands them considerably. A central thesis is that "German law" is not defined according to the Basic Law, but rather according to Article 116 of the Danzig Constitution. Von Prince claims that the article mentioned reads:
" German law as of January 10, 1920 is guaranteed. "
He connects this with Article 49 of the Constitution, according to which it can only be changed with the consent of the League of Nations.
Article 116 only deals with the continued validity of laws and regulations in the territory of the Free City of Danzig:
" All laws and regulations in force in the area of the Free City of Danzig when this Constitution comes into force remain in force unless they are repealed by this Constitution or by law.[...] "
A guarantee of the “continuance of German law,” as Prince claims, obviously does not exist here. The reference to Article 49 also seems somewhat questionable, since Article 116 states that the laws and regulations mentioned could obviously also be repealed by simple laws of the Free City, for which no consent from the League of Nations was required.
" The purpose of the founding of the Free State of Danzig was the right of the individual over the masses. That is why the constitution of the Free State of Danzig is not a national act, but an international treaty. "
In 2009, Beowulf von Prince wrote a letter to the "International Criminal Court" in The Hague, in which he raised the "suspicion of crimes under Article 8 war crimes (2) a vi) also vii (see declaration) of the Rome Statutes of the International Criminal Court and § 9 VStGB of the Federal Republic of Germany" complained.
On the same occasion, Prince sent a letter to the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe, with notes for forwarding to the then President of the USA George W. Bush and the Secretary General of the UN Ban Ki-Moon.
The information available about prosecutions against Prince is somewhat confused and opaque. The following information comes from letters from Prince, as well as a “petition for the release of Mr. Beowulf from Prince”: A letter from Prince dated August 3, 2011 to the then Federal President Wulff shows that Prince was accused of fraud and apparently convicted in an unspecified period of time has been. Quote Prince: The damage to the person who was allegedly sentenced to 10 months in prison in proceedings 3 Ds 106 Js 7394/04 for the transfer of the fully developed building plot 1890/3 Gem. Grub am Forst for € 16,500 and was therefore seized far below the social welfare level Mr. Beowulf von Prince suffers a net loss of €150,000. Evidence: Sale of building plots of the FlNr. 156/T Gem. Zeickhorn.
In July 2011, an arrest warrant (AZ: 123 Js 3979/11) was issued in Germany against Prince, who was currently in Switzerland, for forging documents and inciting false certification. Extradition was initially rejected by the Swiss authorities. In January 2013, Prince was extradited to Germany on the basis of an international arrest warrant on suspicion of illegal possession of weapons (ref: B 224'163/TMA). Further allegations such as fraud, trespassing and misuse of title were rejected in the decision. Prince's ten-month imprisonment in this context was therefore illegal. Prince therefore tried to obtain compensation for the period of imprisonment amounting to € 403,200,000 . “In order to remedy the violations of the requirements and conditions [of extradition],” the Bavarian Ministry of Justice requested an extended extradition from the Swiss authorities in December 2013, which was rejected by a Bern court in March 2014. From April 15th 2016 – January 13th In 2017, Prince was imprisoned “innocently for alleged fraud” and was imprisoned again in January 2017 (AZ: 1 KLs 123 Js 4652/14). The petition comes from a website operated by the “Free State of Danzig”.
Prince had to answer for forgery of documents before the Coburg regional court in April 2017. According to the indictment, he and another defendant issued passports, driving licenses and identity cards. Since the “Free State of Danzig” group had published a “call for trial observation,” the trial took place under special security precautions. The process was initially suspended again. A data forensics expert was unable to view and evaluate the graphic files secured as evidence due to a lack of software. On the other hand, the co-defendant had avoided the trial by fleeing to Switzerland. There are no press releases regarding the continuation or end of the negotiation.
Most recently, Prince was charged in Switzerland with illegal residence and forging IDs and license plates. In October 2017 he stood trial in Rheinfelden and was sentenced to a fine of 120 daily rates of 40 Swiss francs, suspended for two year
Many of the groups claim the entirety of the territory once possessed by the Free City of Danzig. [4] Most base this claim upon the notion that the Free City of Danzig was a neutral state and that its annexation by Germany in 1939 was illegal; as such, the Allies had no authority in incorporating the city into Poland after World War II. [11] In addition to this, no formal treaty has ever altered the status of the Free City of Danzig, and they argue its incorporation into Poland has rested upon the general acquiescence of the international community. [12]
Writing on the lack of official German recognition of the Free City of Danzig, Polish Foreign Minister Władysław Bartoszewski stated that the organization and like-minded Danzig cultural associations were seen in the eyes of the German public as revanchist and politically aligned with the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany. [13]
Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic coast of northern Poland. With a population of 486,492, Gdańsk is the capital and largest city of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. It is Poland's principal seaport and the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area. The city lies at the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay, close to the city of Gdynia and resort town of Sopot; these form a metropolitan area called the Tricity (Trójmiasto), with a metropolitan population of approximately 1.5 million. Gdańsk lies at the mouth of the Motława River, connected to the Leniwka, a branch in the delta of the Vistula River, which connects Gdańsk with Warsaw.
Royal Prussia or Polish Prussia was a province of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, which was established after the Second Peace of Toruń (Thorn) (1466) from territory in Pomerelia and western Prussia which had previously been part of the State of the Teutonic Order. Royal Prussia retained its autonomy, governing itself and maintaining its own laws, customs, rights and German language for German minority.
Pomerelia, also known as Eastern Pomerania, Vistula Pomerania, and also before World War II as Polish Pomerania, is a historical sub-region of Pomerania on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland.
Danzig law was the official set of records of the laws of city of Danzig (Gdańsk).
Gdańsk is one of the oldest cities in Poland. Founded by the Polish ruler Mieszko I in the 10th century, the city was for a long time part of Piast state either directly or as a fief. In 1308 the city became part of the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights until 1454. Thereafter it became part of Poland again, although with increasing autonomy. A vital naval city for Polish grain trade, it attracted people from all over the European continent. The city was taken over by Prussia during the Second Partition of Poland in 1793 and subsequently lost its importance as a trading port. Briefly becoming a free city during Napoleonic Wars, it was again Prussian after Napoleon's defeat, and later became part of the newly created German Empire.
The Free City of Danzig was a city-state under the protection and oversight of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig and nearly 200 other small localities in the surrounding areas. The polity was created on 15 November 1920 in accordance with the terms of Article 100 of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles after the end of World War I.
St. Mary's Church, or formally the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Brick Gothic Catholic church located in central Gdańsk, Poland. With its volume between 185,000 m3 and 190,000 m3 it is currently one of the two or three largest brick churches in the world. Only San Petronio Basilica in Bologna, comprising 258,000 m3 is larger, Munich Frauenkirche and Ulm Minster also comprise 185,000 to 190,000 m3.
The history of Pomerania starts shortly before 1000 AD, with ongoing conquests by newly arrived Polan rulers. Before that, the area was recorded nearly 2000 years ago as Germania, and in modern times Pomerania has been split between Germany and Poland. Its name comes from the Slavic po more, which means "land at the sea".
Edward O'Rourke, full name Eduard Alexander Ladislaus Graf O'Rourke was a Russian-born Roman Catholic priest, bishop of Riga and the first head of the bishopric of the Free City of Danzig (Gdańsk).
The territorial evolution of Germany in this article include all changes in the modern territory of Germany from its unification making it a country on 1 January 1871 to the present although the history of "Germany" as a territorial polity concept and the history of the ethnic Germans are much longer and much more complex. Modern Germany was formed when the Kingdom of Prussia unified most of the German states, with the exception of multi-ethnic Austria, into the German Empire. After the First World War, on 10 January 1920, Germany lost about 13% of its territory to its neighbours, and the Weimar Republic was formed two days before this war was over. This republic included territories to the east of today's German borders.
Polish–Teutonic Wars refer to a series of conflicts that took place between the Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Order, a medieval German military order with roots in the Baltic region. These wars occurred primarily during the 14th and 15th centuries and were characterized by territorial disputes, political maneuvering, and religious differences.
The city of Danzig (Gdańsk) was captured by the State of the Teutonic Order on 13 November 1308, resulting in a massacre of its inhabitants and marking the beginning of tensions between Poland and the Teutonic Order. Originally the knights moved into the fortress as an ally of Poland against the Margraviate of Brandenburg. However, after disputes over the control of the city between the Order and the King of Poland arose, the knights murdered a number of citizens within the city and took it as their own. Thus the event is also known as Gdańsk massacre or Gdańsk slaughter. Though in the past a matter of debate among historians, a consensus has been established that many people were murdered and a considerable part of the town was destroyed in the context of the takeover.
History of Pomerania (1806–1933) covers the history of Pomerania from the early 19th century until the rise of Nazi Germany.
Żelichowo is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Nowy Dwór Gdański, within Nowy Dwór Gdański County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately 4 kilometres (2 mi) north-east of Nowy Dwór Gdański and 36 km (22 mi) south-east of the regional capital Gdańsk.
The Oder–Neisse line is an unofficial term for the modern border between Germany and Poland. The line generally follows the Oder and Lusatian Neisse rivers, meeting the Baltic Sea in the north. A small portion of Polish territory does fall west of the line, including the cities of Szczecin and Świnoujście.
The Social Democratic Party of the Free City of Danzig was a political party in the Free City of Danzig. After the creation of the Free City of Danzig in 1919, the Danzig branch of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) separated itself from the party, and created the Social Democratic Party of the Free City of Danzig. The new party did however maintain close links with the SPD, and its political orientation was largely the same as that of the SPD.
The Jewish Community of Gdańsk dates back to at least the 15th century though for many centuries it was separated from the rest of the city. Under Polish rule, Jews acquired limited rights in the city in the 16th and 17th centuries and after the city's 1793 incorporation into Prussia the community largely assimilated to German culture. In the 1920s, during the period of the Free City of Danzig, the number of Jews increased significantly and the city acted as a transit point for Jews leaving Eastern Europe for the United States and Canada. Antisemitism existed among German nationalists and the persecution of Jews in the Free City intensified after the Nazis came to power in 1933. During World War II and the Holocaust the majority of the community either emigrated or were murdered. Since the fall of communism Jewish property has been returned to the community, and an annual festival, the Baltic Days of Jewish Culture, has taken place since 1999.
The Free City of Danzig Police or Schutzpolizei, as it was known locally, was a state constabulary and the official law enforcement agency within the Free City of Danzig, primarily from 1921 to 1939.
The coat of arms of the city of Gdańsk, in its current form, dates back to 1410 and Banderia Prutenorum. The coat of arms is very similar to the flag of Gdańsk. It depicts two silver crosses on a red shield above each other, above which hovers a golden crown. The greater arms also has two lions as supporters and Gdańsk motto.
State Archives in Gdańsk is one of Poland's regional state archives. The archive in the city of Gdańsk was founded under Prussian jurisdiction in 1901. The headquarters is located at Wałowa 5 Street in Gdańsk. The office in Gdynia is located at Handlowa 11 street.
[Germans from Free City of Danzig insist] upon their right to possess the entire area of the city of Danzig now known as Gdansk, as well as adjacent land formerly part of the Free State.
Kurt Walter … belonged to the first "Rat der Danziger," the freely elected council of thirty-six delegates that regarded itself as the parliament of the Free City of Danzig in exile.
