Free City of Danzig

DANZIG, FREE CITY OF, a state under the protection of the League of Nations, has an area of 791 sq.m.; the territory is divided into municipalities and rural districts. Population of the whole state (1924) 385,000 (96% of which were Germans), that of the Danzig municipality being 231,000. Besides the munici pality of Danzig, there are the municipality of Zoppot (27,5oo inhabitants), the two towns Tiegenhof (3,Ioo) and Neuteich (2,9oo), and some greater communities as Praust (3,400) and Ohra (12,5oo). Two-thirds of the population are Evangelical and one-third Roman Catholic, but the Mennonites are represented in districts in the delta of the Vistula. A Roman Catholic bishop ric of Danzig was created in Jan. 1926.

Danzig city stands on the left bank of the western arm of the Vistula, 4 m. S. of its entrance, at Neufahrwasser, into the Baltic, 253 m. N.E. from Berlin by rail. It is traversed by two branches of the Mottlau, a small tributary of the Vistula, dredged to a depth of 15 ft., so large vessels reach the inner wharves. The strong fortifications were removed on the north and west sides in 1895-96. One portion acquired by the municipality, has been turned into promenades and gardens, the Steffens park, outside the Olivaer Tor, 5o ac. in extent, occupying the north-western corner.

Danzig still preserves its picturesque mediaeval aspect. The patrician houses of the Hanseatic days with lofty ornamented gables and balconied windows, are the delight of the visitor, but the stone terraces close to the entrance doors and abutting on the street are disappearing. The Hohe Tor, modelled after a Roman triumphal arch, is a remarkable monumental erection of the i6th century. From it runs the Lange Gasse, the main street, to the Lange Markt. On this square stands the Artus- or Junker-hof (the merchant princes of the middle ages were in Germany styled Junker, squire), containing a hall richly decorated with wood carving and pictures, once used as a banqueting room and now serving as the exchange. St. Mary's church, begun in 1343 and completed in 1503, one of the largest Protestant churches in existence, possesses a painting of the Last Judgment, formerly attributed to Jan van Eyck, but probably by Memlinc. Other buildings of note include the beautiful Gothic town hall, with a graceful spire, the armoury (Zeughaus) and the Franciscan mon astery, restored in 1871, and now housing the picture gallery and collection of antiquities.

History.

Danzig is mentioned in 997 as an important town. At different times it was held by Pomerania, Poland, Brandenburg and Denmark, and after 1308 it prospered under the Teutonic knights. It was one of the four chief towns of the Hanseatic League. In 1455, when the Teutonic order had become thoroughly corrupt, Danzig shook off its yoke and submitted to Poland, to which it was formally ceded, along with West Prussia, at the peace of Thorn. Nominally subject to Poland and represented in the Polish diets and at the election of Polish kings, it enjoyed the rights of a free city, and governed a considerable territory with more than 3o villages. It suffered severely through various wars of the 17th and i8th centuries, and in 1734, having declared in favour of Stanislaus Leszczynski, was besieged and taken by the Russians and Saxons. At the first partition of Poland, in 1772, Danzig was separated from that kingdom ; and in 1793 it came into the possession of Prussia. In 1807, during the war between France and Prussia, it was bombarded and captured by Marshal Lefebvre, who was rewarded with the title of the duke of Danzig; and at the Peace of Tilsit Napoleon declared it a free town, under the protection of France, Prussia and Saxony, restoring its ancient territory. A French governor, however, remained in it, and by compelling it to submit to the Continental system almost ruined its trade. It was given back to Prussia in 1814.

The city of Danzig, which until the close of the World War had been the capital of West Prussia, was separated with a part of the surrounding country from the German empire by the Treaty of Versailles, and received the status of a free city. The decision registered in Articles i oo–i o8 of the treaty represented a compromise between the Polish demand for the cession to the new Polish state of the most convenient outlet and inlet for Polish commerce, and the reluctance felt by the Peace Conference to place a city, 96% of whose population was German, under an other sovereignty. The separation became effective Jan. 1o, 1920, and the administration of the city and the territory was placed temporarily under Allied administration, until Nov. 15, 1920, when the formal proclamation of the free city of Danzig, as described in the Treaty of Versailles, was made by the repre sentative of the League of Nations. The troops were withdrawn, and General Haking acted as high commissioner for the League un til Feb. 1923. Successive high commissioners have been Mr. M. S. MacDonnell; Dr. van Hamel, 1926; Count Manfredi Gravina, 1929; Mr. Helmer Rosting (acting), 1932; Mr. Sean Lester, 1933 36 ; and Dr. Karl Burckhardt, 1937. In 1936 Herr Greiser, Nazi president of the Senate, protested against League interference; and the League again referred Danzig's foreign relations to Poland.

Constitution.

The constitution, drafted by a Constituent Assembly elected in May 1920, was ratified, with some small amendments, by the League of Nations, and finally authorized by the high commissioner in May 1922. The international and public status of the free city as a state under the protection of the League of Nations, represented in Danzig by its own high commissioner, is based on Articles i oo–i o8 of the Treaty of Versailles and the subsequent treaties between Danzig and Poland as provided for in the Treaty of Versailles. Of these, the most important are the Danzig-Polish Treaty drafted by the Conference of Ambassadors with the assistance of delegations from the Polish and the Dan zig states, and signed in Paris on Nov. 9, 1920, and the Warsaw Convention of Oct. 24, 1921 (a supplement to the first-named treaty) dealing mainly with economic questions. The high commis sioner of the League of Nations decides in the first instance all differences arising between Danzig and Poland. The two parties retain the right of appeal to the Council of the League of Nations. Poland's rights in Danzig are exclusively economic and ensure her free access to the sea. The harbour and waterways are adminis tered by a commission made up of five nominees of Danzig and Poland under a president, who must be of Swiss nationality and appointed by the Council of the League of Nations if Danzig and Poland cannot agree on his appointment. The administration of the railways in the free city, with the exception of narrow gauge railways and street tramways, forms part of the Polish State railway system, Danzig's special interests being protected by a representative of the free city on the directorate of the Polish railways.

The conduct of the free city's foreign relations is committed to the Polish government, which is also entrusted with the protec tion of Danzig nationals abroad. The official language is German. The legislative body, the Volkstag, consists of 72 members. The Senate consists of a president and seven senators holding chief office (elected for a term of four years) and a vice-president and 13 senators in adjunct office (elected for an indefinite period, depending on the confidence of the Volkstag). In accordance with the provision of the Treaty of Versailles the free city is in customs union with Poland. Posts, telegraphs and telephones are under the postal and telegraphic administration of the free city, which is a member of the international postal union. Poland is entitled to have a postal service office in the harbour for the purpose of maintaining direct communication between Danzig and Poland, as well as between Poland and overseas countries. The area of the harbour has been defined to include a large part of the town of Danzig. (X.) Education.—Besides numerous elementary technical and ad vanced and secondary schools, there is a technical university with an instructional staff of 58 professors. In the summer term, 1927, there were 1,600 students.

Trade and Shipping.

The situation of Danzig on the mouth of the river Vistula is most favourable. The Vistula connects Dan zig with Poland and, by means of its tributaries and canals, with Germany, the Ukraine and Lithuania. The so-called "Dead Vistu la" is navigable from the mouth at Neufahrwasser to a distance of four miles for ships drawing 3of t., and for a further two miles up the river Mottlau for vessels of about i4ft. draught. Facilities are available for the repair and maintenance of ships. Up to 8,000 tons these can be accommodated in floating docks, of which there are several. There are four dockyards: F. Schichau, International Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. Ltd. (comprising the former Imperial dockyard and the railway workshops), Klawitter, and Wojan. The International Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. Ltd. has an original capital of f 1 o,000, English and French capital par ticipating with 3o% each, and Danzig and Polish capital with 2o% each. Schichau has built vessels of 35,000 tons. This dock yard was in 1928 especially occupied with the construction of bigger motor ships with an average tonnage of io,000 tons each, and had at one period 63,00o tons of motorships on the stocks. The free basin has a wharfage of about 3,600f t., and vessels draw ing up to 26ft. can lie alongside. Electric cranes and warehouse accommodation are provided and railway connection exists with the main system. An important adjunct to the port is the island of Holm which has a basin of great potential value as a commer cial harbour. A new basin for the transhipment of heavy goods was to be ready by 1929.

The chief imports are foodstuffs, fertilizers, chemicals, ore, scrap-iron, machines, hardware, building materials, raw cotton and textiles; the principal exports are coal, timber, sugar, grain, cement, naphtha, iron and steel. Large granaries and warehouses for sugar and grain stand near the wharves of the port, where are tanks which afford storage capacity for over 66,30o tons of naph tha. As for timber, 1,700,00o tons can be loaded during one year. Large timber ponds are on the Holm island and extend for several miles along the bank of the "Dead Vistula" between Danzig and Plehnendorf. The port is practically ice-free, and has great com mercial possibilities, the natural features of the waterways and sur rounding country rendering expansion easy. Thanks largely to the protection afforded by the peninsula of Hela, it has special advan tages of security. There is scarcely any current, the main river having received another outlet to the sea several miles further east, near to Schiewenhorst.

Danzig's mercantile fleet consists of 58 vessels with 1 2 7,000 gross registered tons. There are regular passenger-and-cargo sail ings from the port of Danzig to nearly all the ports of the Baltic and the North sea, to New York, Philadelphia and the Atlantic ports of Canada, and to London and Hull. As to the railway traffic, there are direct express passenger trains from Danzig to all the chief centres of Germany, Poland and the Baltic states. Danzig is an important junction of aeroplane communications. Aeroplanes leave Danzig regularly for Berlin, Konigsberg, Warsaw and dur ing the summer for Stettin, Elbing, Allenstein, Marienburg, Riga and Moscow. Further communications to Helsingf ors and to Libau are contemplated.

Banking and Finance.

The free city has its own currency, based on the gulden (fixed at 1/25th of the sterling and divided into too pfennigs). This new currency was introduced by the Bank of Danzig, as an emission bank, in the beginning of the year 1924. The fully paid-up capital of the bank is 7,500,00o gul den. Besides the Bank of Danzig there are five big Danzig banks, as well as branches of most of the important German and Polish banks. There is also a produce and a stock exchange.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.-S.

Askenazy, Danzig and Poland (trans. W. J. Bibliography.-S. Askenazy, Danzig and Poland (trans. W. J. Rose, 1921) ; Official Journal of the League of Nations (passim) and The Saar Basin and Free City of Danzig (League of Nations Secretariat, Geneva, 1924), where further revelant publications of the League of Nations are given ; Staatshandbuch der Freien Stadt Danzig (Verlag des Statistischen Landesamtes Danzig, 1926) .

(M. S. M.)