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 centre 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 2010, 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 October 2017, von Prince was convicted in Switzerland for forging a passport and a number plate ("FDA-01 DA") that he claimed were validly issued by the Administrative Association of the Free City of Danzig (German: Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Freie Stadt Danzig). [10]
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, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdańsk lies at the mouth of the Motława River and is situated at the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay, close to the city of Gdynia and the resort town of Sopot; these form a metropolitan area called the Tricity (Trójmiasto), with a population of approximately 1.5 million.
Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia was an administrative division of Nazi Germany created on 8 October 1939 from annexed territory of the Free City of Danzig, the Greater Pomeranian Voivodship, and the Regierungsbezirk West Prussia of Gau East Prussia.
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.
Orunia-Św. Wojciech-Lipce is one of the quarters of the city of Gdańsk, Poland.
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.
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 Free City of Danzig, sometimes referred to as the Republic of Danzig, was a semi-independent city-state established by Napoleon on 21 July 1807, during the time of the Napoleonic Wars following the capture of the city in the siege of Danzig in May. After the Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815, Danzig was re-incorporated into the Kingdom of Prussia.
This is the 1308 Polish-Teutonic War. For a list of all Polish-German Wars, see Polish-German Wars.
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 Communist Party in Danzig was initially founded as a subdivision of the East Prussian section (bezirk) of the KPD. In 1921 a separate party branch of the KPD in the Free City of Danzig was set up. While the Party did not run in the first elections of 1920, twelve members of the USPD in the Volkstag joined the Communist Party on 28 January 1921. In the following elections the Party ran with varying success. In early 1930s, the Communist Party had around 800 members.
The Volkstag was the parliament of the Free City of Danzig between 1919 and 1939.
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.
Volkswacht was a social democratic newspaper published in Danzig, Germany from 1910 to 1919. Initially, Volkswacht was published weekly. As of 1913, it was published twice weekly. In 1914 it was converted into a daily newspaper. The newspaper masthead carried the slogan Organ für die werktätige Bevölkerung in Westpreußen. It was issued as a publication of the Free Trade Unions.
Parliamentary elections were held in the Free City of Danzig on 7 April 1935. The Nazi Party emerged as the largest party, receiving 59% of the vote and winning 43 of the 72 seats in the Volkstag. Voter turnout was reportedly over 99%.
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.
The Senate of the Free City of Danzig was the government of the Free City of Danzig from 1920 to 1939, after the Allied administration of Reginald Tower and the Danzig Staatsrat.
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.
