| Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reichsgau of Nazi Germany | |||||||||||||||||
| 1939–1945 | |||||||||||||||||
.svg) Flag .svg) Coat of arms | |||||||||||||||||
 Map ofNazi Germany showing its administrative subdivisions (Gaue andReichsgaue) | |||||||||||||||||
| Capital | Danzig | ||||||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||||||
| Gauleiter | |||||||||||||||||
• 1939–1945 | Albert Forster | ||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 October 1939 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 August 1945 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Today part of | Poland | ||||||||||||||||
Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia (German:Reichsgau Danzig-Westpreußen) was anadministrative division of Nazi Germany created on 8 October 1939 from annexed territory of theFree City of Danzig, theGreater Pomeranian Voivodship (Polish Corridor), and theRegierungsbezirk West Prussia ofGauEast Prussia.
Before 2 November 1939, the Reichsgau was calledReichsgau West Prussia.[1] Though the name resembled that of the pre-1920Prussian province ofWest Prussia, the territory was not identical. Unlike the former Prussian province, theReichsgau included the Bromberg (Bydgoszcz) region in the south and lacked theDeutsch-Krone (Wałcz) region in the west.
The province's capital was Danzig (Gdańsk), and its population without the city was (in 1939) 1,487,452. The province's area was 26,056 km2, 21,237 km2 of which was annexedDanzig andPomeranian territory.[1] During theReichsgau's short existence, Poles and Jews in that area were subjected by Nazi Germany to extermination as "subhumans".
ThePrussian provinceWest Prussia created from Polish territory annexed by Prussia inPartitions of Poland was dissolved in 1920, following theTreaty of Versailles. The bulk of it inhabited by Polish majority became part of the newly establishedSecond Republic of Poland and was administered asPomeranian Voivodship (Polish Corridor). The eastern remains of German West Prussia were attached to theProvince of East Prussia asRegierungsbezirk West Prussia - aRegierungsbezirk ("government region") being a German administrative subunit of a province (Provinz) comprising severalcounties (Kreise). The western remains of German West Prussia were merged to the German remains of the formerProvince of Posen and made a new province,Posen-West Prussia.
After theNazis came to power inGermany, they reformed the administrative system by transforming the former German provinces and states into theirGau system in 1935 as a part of theirGleichschaltung policy.
In 1938, GermanPosen-West Prussia was dissolved and its formerWest Prussian territory was attached to the GermanPomeranian Gau. Also in 1938, the PolishPomeranian Voivodship was expanded southward to comprise theBydgoszcz region. The resulting enlarged Pomeranian voivodeship was calledGreater Pomeranian Voivodship (Wielkopomorskie).
WhenNazi Germanyinvaded Poland in September 1939, thisGreater Pomeranian voivodship was first made the German military district "West Prussia",[2] and by a decree[3] ofAdolf Hitler on 8 October merged with theFree City of Danzig and theEast PrussianRegierungsbezirk West Prussia, to form theReichsgau West Prussia.[4] The western remains remained outside and continued to be administered by the GermanPomeranian Gau asRegierungsbezirk Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia according to the 1938 reform, while theBromberg (Bydogoszcz) region stayed withReichsgau West Prussia and was not attached toReichsgau Posen, the later "Warthegau". The designationReichsgau instead of justGau indicates that the province primarily consisted of annexed territory. AGauleiter of aReichsgau was also titledReichsstatthalter. OtherReichsgaue were e.g.Reichsgau Wartheland andReichsgau Sudetenland.
The Free City of Danzig comprised the Nazi Party's Gau Danzig which had been established in March 1926. TheGauleiters of Gau Danzig were:[5]
On 1 September 1939 at the start of the war, Germany immediately annexed the Free City of Danzig. Following the establishment of the new Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia on 8 October, Forster was namedGauleiter andReichsstatthalter of the expanded territory on 26 October.[6]
The Reichsgau was very heterogenous, like the territory, which comprised territory of the pre-war Danzig (completely), of Germany (West Prussia Government Region) and of Poland (roughly the Pomeranian Voivodeship), the population amounted to 2,179,000 altogether, with 1,494,000 Polish citizens of mostly Polish ethnicity, 408,000 Danzig citizens of mostly German ethnicity and 277,000 German citizens of mostly German ethnicity.[7] The German occupiers considered the Danzig and Polish citizenships as naught, due to the de facto abolition of these two states. Christian Danzigers and Christian Poles of German ethnicity were granted German citizenship, Jewish Danzigers, and Jewish Poles of which ethnicity so ever were denied the German citizenship. As to Christian Danzigers and Christian Poles of Polish ethnicity the acceptance as citizens was mostly denied, but under certain circumstances granted.
Nazi German policy aimed at extermination of Jewish and Polish population. Mass-murder sites in the region include:
Nazi policy to exterminate the Polish and Jewish populations was conducted in several phases; the first stage occurred in September 1939.[9] The main Nazi responsible for genocide conducted in the Pomeranian Voivodeship wasGauleiterAlbert Forster, who was involved in themass murder andethnic cleansing of Jews and ethnic Poles and enlisted to his program, often under threat of violence, Polish citizens—descendants of Germanic settlers—whom the Nazis saw as Germans. Forster declared that Poles must be eradicated: "We must exterminate this nation, starting from the cradle."[10][11][12]
The Reichsgau was the site of theStutthof concentration camp and its sub camps where over 85,000 people were executed or died of illness, starvation or mistreatment. Of the 52,000 Jews who were sent to the camp only around 3,000 would survive.[13]
During the Winter of 1939/40 between 12,000 and 16,000 people weremurdered at Piaśnica byEinsatzkommando 16, units of the 36th Regiment of SS, and members of theSelbstschutz, a militia force made up of Poles of German ethnicity. The local Selbstschutz, under the command ofLudolf von Alvensleben, numbered 17,667 and before their disbandment in October 1939 had killed 4,247 people.
Commander of theSelbstschutzLudolf von Alvensleben told his men on 16 October 1939:
You are now the master race here. Nothing was yet built up through softness and weakness... That’s why I expect, just as our Führer Adolf Hitler expects from you, that you are disciplined, but stand together hard as Krupp steel. Don’t be soft, be merciless, and clear out everything that is not German and could hinder us in the work of construction.[14]
Jews did not figure prominently among the victims in West Prussia, as the area's Jewish population was small and most had fled before the Germans arrived. However, in places where they were present, they were expelled and murdered in what was classified as "other measures" which simply meant murder.[15] In areas where Jewish families or individuals remained, a "shameful situation" was proclaimed, and Nazi authorities expected the Selbstschutz to remedy it through "direct action".[16] In August 1943 around 500 Jews from a camp in the Pomeranian Voivodeship were sent to Auschwitz, out of which 434 were immediately killed upon arrival.[17]
It is estimated that, by war's end, up to 60,000 people had been murdered in the region,[18] and up to 170,000 expelled.[19] though other estimates place the figure at around 35,000.[20] Forster himself reported that, by February 1940, 87,000 people had been "evacuated" from the region.[21]
Danzig-West Prussia was divided into three government regions (Regierungsbezirk), with the name-giving capital cities ofBromberg,Danzig andMarienwerder.[4]
In 1939 theFree City of Danzig was annexed to Germany. After a brief transitional period, its territory became part of the restored Regierungsbezirk Danzig in theReichsgau Danzig-Westpreussen (the restored Prussian Province ofWest Prussia) and was divided into nine districts (Kreise):
Regierungsbezirk DanzigGoverning Presidents/Regierungspräsidenten:
TheNSDAP gauleiter of Danzig, Albert Forster, became leader of Civil Administration in Danzig in 1939, as well as Gauleiter andReichsstatthalter of the Reichsgau. He remained the most powerful politician throughout the war, until the area was overrun by the Soviet forces in March 1945.
The Wehrmacht established there the Wehrkreis XX, based at Danzig, under the command of
.jpg)
.jpg)
| German name | Polish name | Pre-war population (1939)[23] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Danzig | Gdańsk | 250,000 |
| 2. | Bromberg | Bydgoszcz | 141,000 |
| 3. | Gotenhafen | Gdynia | 120,000 |
| 4. | Elbing | Elbląg | 85,925 |
| 5. | Thorn | Toruń | 81,215 |
| 6. | Graudenz | Grudziądz | 59,200 |
| 7. | Zoppot | Sopot | 31,000 |
| 8. | Marienburg | Malbork | 27,318 |
| 9. | Dirschau | Tczew | 25,398 |
| 10. | Marienwerder | Kwidzyn | 20,484 |
| 11. | Konitz | Chojnice | 16,975 |
| 12. | Preußisch Stargard | Starogard Gdański | 15,356 |
| 13. | Neustadt in Westpreußen | Wejherowo | 14,566 |
| 14. | Deutsch Eylau | Iława | 13,922 |
| 15. | Kulm | Chełmno | 13,452 |
| 16. | Kulmsee | Chełmża | 12,983 |
| 17. | Leipe | Lipno | 12,018 |
| 18. | Strasburg | Brodnica | 11,220 |
| 19. | Briesen | Wąbrzeźno | 9,551 |
| 20. | Berent | Kościerzyna | 9,499 |
| 21. | Rippin | Rypin | 9,100 |
| 22. | Schwetz | Świecie | 8,964 |
| 23. | Czersk/Heiderode | Czersk | 8,500 |
| 24. | Riesenburg | Prabuty | 8,051 |
| 25. | Lautenburg | Lidzbark | 7,783 |
| 26. | Stuhm | Sztum | 7,372 |
| 27. | Tuchel | Tuchola | 6,000 |
| 28. | Löbau in Westpreußen | Lubawa | 5,791 |
| 29. | Dobrin an der Drewenz | Dobrzyń nad Drwęcą | 5,694 |
| 30. | Karthaus | Kartuzy | 5,600 |
| 31. | Krone an der Brahe | Koronowo | 5,560 |
| 32. | Putzig | Puck | 5,203 |
| 33. | Neuenburg (Weichsel) | Nowe | 5,131 |
| 34. | Neumark in Westpreußen | Nowe Miasto Lubawskie | 4,958 |
| 35. | Fordon | Fordon | 4,921 |
| 36. | Zempelburg | Sępólno Krajeńskie | 4,481 |
| 37. | Rosenberg in Westpreußen | Susz | 4,480 |
| 38. | Vandsburg | Więcbork | 4,350 |
| 39. | Pelplin | Pelplin | 4,218 |
| 40. | Tolkemit | Tolkmicko | 3,875 |
| 41. | Tiegenhof | Nowy Dwór Gdański | 3,851 |
| 42. | Schöneck | Skarszewy | 3,700 |
| 43. | Schönsee | Kowalewo Pomorskie | 3,692 |
| 44. | Neuteich | Nowy Staw | 3,652 |
| 45. | Christburg | Dzierzgoń | 3,604 |
| 46. | Freystadt in Westpreußen | Kisielice | 3,351 |
| 47. | Mewe | Gniew | 3,500 |
| 48. | Gollub | Golub | 3,297 |
| 49. | Dobrin an der Weichsel | Dobrzyń nad Wisłą | 3,207 |
| 50. | Schönhausen/Immenheim | Mrocza | 2,670 |
| 51. | Lessen | Łasin | 2,541 |
| 52. | Lobsens | Łobżenica | 2,506 |
| 53. | Rehden | Radzyń Chełmiński | 2,251 |
| 54. | Garnsee | Gardeja | 2,003 |
| 55. | Görzberg | Górzno | 1,947 |
| 56. | Wirsitz | Wyrzysk | 1,898 |
| 57. | Bischofswerder | Biskupiec | 1,828 |
| 58. | Kamin in Westpreußen | Kamień Krajeński | 1,523 |
| 59. | Wissek/Weißeck | Wysoka | 1,509 |
| 60. | Friedheim | Miasteczko Krajeńskie | 1,218 |
ThePolish resistance movement was active in the region, both in the pre-war Polish and German-controlled parts of the region, with activities includingsecret Polish schooling, printing and distribution ofPolish underground press, sabotage actions, espionage of German activity, smuggling data on German persecution of Poles and Jews and on GermanV-weapons to Western Europe and facilitating escapes of endangered Polish resistance members and Polish, British, French and Russian prisoners of war who fled fromGerman POW camps via the port cities to neutralSweden.[24] In 1943, local Poles managed to save somekidnapped Polish children from theZamość region, by buying them from the Germans during transport through the region.[25] TheGestapo cracked down on the Polish resistance several times, with the Poles either killed or sent to prisons of concentration camps.
In March 1945, the region was reclaimed byPoland, and the Nazi governor,Albert Forster, was later sentenced to death and executed forcrimes against humanity. The German population (including wartime settlers, Nazis, and military officials) eitherfled or was expelled in accordance with thePotsdam Agreement.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
