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TheFree City of Danzig Government in Exile (German:Regierung der Freien Stadt Danzig im Exil) or theFree State of Danzig, is a title claimed by various groups claiming to be thegovernment in exile of the defunctFree City of Danzig, whose former territory now lies inPoland, around the area of the city ofGdańsk.
The Free City of Danzig (German:Freie Stadt Danzig;Polish:Wolne Miasto Gdańsk) was a semi-autonomouscity-state that existed between 1920 and 1939, consisting of theBaltic Sea port of Danzig (nowGdańsk,Poland) and nearly 200 towns in the surrounding areas. It was created on 15 November 1920[1][2] in accordance with the 1919Treaty of Versailles after the end ofWorld War I and was underLeague of Nations protection. The Free City was primarily inhabited by ethnic Germans but the majorityfled or were expelled when the territory was incorporated into Poland at the conclusion ofWorld 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 theUnited 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 ofGhana andWest Germany'sMinister 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 theSenate of the Free City of Danzig and this had been recognised in secret ballots in 1951 and 1961.[5]
With the advent of theInternet 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 inAustralia 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 apassport and anumber 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 itsannexation by Germany in 1939 was illegal; as such, theAllies 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 ministerWładysław Bartoszewski stated that the organization and like-minded Danzig cultural associations were seen in the eyes of the German public asrevanchist and politically aligned with the far-rightNational Democratic Party of Germany.[13]
[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.
