Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia
Encyclopedia
The Reichsgau
Danzig-West Prussia was a Nazi German
province created on 8 October 1939 from the territory of the annexed Free City of Danzig
, the annexed Polish province
Greater Pomeranian Voivodship (Polish Corridor
), and the Nazi German Regierungsbezirk West Prussia of Gau East Prussia
. Before 2 November 1939, the Reichsgau was called Reichsgau West Prussia. Though the name resembled the pre-1920 Prussian province
West Prussia
, the territory was not identical. In contrast to the former Prussian province, the Reichsgau comprised the Bromberg (Bydgoszcz) region in the South and lacked the Deutsch-Krone (Walcz) region in the West.
The capital of the province was Danzig (Gdańsk
) and its population without the city was 1,487,452 (in 1939). The area of the province was 26,056 km², 21,237 km² of which was annexed Danzig
and Pomerelia
n territory.
West Prussia
was dissolved in 1920, following the Treaty of Versailles
. The bulk of it became part of the newly established Second Republic of Poland and was administered as Pomeranian Voivodship (Polish Corridor
). The eastern remains of German West Prussia were attached to the Province of East Prussia
as Regierungsbezirk West Prussia - a Regierungsbezirk ("government region") being a German administrative subunit of a province (Provinz) comprising several counties (Kreise). The western remains of German West Prussia were merged to the German remains of the former Province of Posen
and made a new province, Posen-West Prussia
.
After the Nazis came to power in Germany
, they reformed the administrative system by transforming the former German provinces and states into their Gau system in 1935 as a part of their Gleichschaltung
policy.
In 1938, German Posen-West Prussia
was dissolved and its former West Prussia
n territory was attached to the German Pomeranian Gau. Also in 1938, the Polish Pomeranian Voivodship was expanded southward to comprise the Bydgoszcz (Bromberg) region. This region (former Netze District
) had during Prussia
n times been administered as Regierungsbezirk Bromberg of the Province of Posen
. The resulting enlarged Pomeranian voivodship was called Greater Pomeranian Voivodship (Wielkopomorskie).
When Nazi Germany
invaded Poland in September 1939
, this Greater Pomeranian voivodship was first made the German military district "West Prussia", and by a decree of Adolf Hitler
on October 8 merged with the Free City of Danzig
and the East Prussia
n Regierungsbezirk West Prussia, to form the Reichsgau
West Prussia. The western remains remained outside and continued to be administered by the German Pomeranian Gau as Regierungsbezirk Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia according to the 1938 reform, while the Bromberg (Bydogoszcz) region stayed with Reichsgau West Prussia and was not attached to Reichsgau Posen, the later "Warthegau"
.
The designation Reichsgau
instead of just Gau indicates that the province primarily consisted of annexed territory. A Gauleiter
of a Reichsgau
was also titled Reichsstatthalter
. Other Reichsgaue were e.g. Reichsgau Wartheland
and Reichsgau Sudetenland.
In March 1945 the region was captured by the Red Army
, and The Nazi governor, Albert Forster
, was later sentenced to death and executed for crimes against humanity.
The German population either fled or was expelled
.
Danzig-West Prussia was divided into three government regions (Regierungsbezirk
), with the name-giving capitol cities of Bromberg, Danzig and Marienwerder.
policy aimed at extermination of Jewish and Polish population. Mass murder sites in the region include:
The Polish Roman Catholic Church
was severely persecuted and most Catholic priests were deported to concentration camps.
An organisation called Selbstschutz was formed out of local Germans who hunted down prominent members of Polish and Jewish community and mass murdered them. In West Prussia , Selbstschutz under the command of Ludolf von Alvensleben
were 17,667 men strong, and had already executed 4,247 Poles by October.
Soon a series of Selbstschutz camps were established in the region
The total number of victims of Selbstschutz mass murder campaign is difficult to determine in precise way. In autumn 1939 Oebsger-Roder lamented that that despite all the measures only a fraction of Poles were destroyed and gave the number of 20,000.
Jews did not figure prominently among the victims in West Prussia, as the area was not densely populated by them and most had fled before Germans arrived. However in places where they stayed they were removed by expulsion and what was classified as “other measures”-in effect meaning murder. In areas where Jewish families or individuals remained a “shameful situation” was proclaimed, and authorities expected the Selbstschutz to remedy it through direct action.
One Selbstschutz commander, Wilhelm Richardt, said in Karolewo
(Karlhof) camp that he did not want to build big camps for Poles and feed them, and that it was an honour for Poles to fertilize the German soil with their corpses. There was little opposition or lack of enthusiasm for activities of Selbstschutz among those involved in the action. There was even a case where a Selbstschutz commander was relieved after he failed to account for all the Poles that were required, and it was found that he executed "only" 300 Poles
Additionally Germans expelled a number of Poles and Jews-the overall number of the German ethnic cleansing is estimated by the Stutthof Museum at 120-170.000 and located German colonists in their place.
Reichsgau
A Reichsgau was an administrative subdivision created in a number of the areas annexed to Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1945...
Danzig-West Prussia was a Nazi German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
province created on 8 October 1939 from the territory of the annexed Free City of Danzig
Free City of Danzig
The Free City of Danzig was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig and surrounding areas....
, the annexed Polish province
Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany
At the beginning of World War II, nearly a quarter of the pre-war Polish areas were annexed by Nazi Germany and placed directly under German civil administration, while the rest of Nazi occupied Poland was named as General Government...
Greater Pomeranian Voivodship (Polish Corridor
Polish Corridor
The Polish Corridor , also known as Danzig Corridor, Corridor to the Sea or Gdańsk Corridor, was a territory located in the region of Pomerelia , which provided the Second Republic of Poland with access to the Baltic Sea, thus dividing the bulk of Germany from the province of East...
), and the Nazi German Regierungsbezirk West Prussia of Gau East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
. Before 2 November 1939, the Reichsgau was called Reichsgau West Prussia. Though the name resembled the pre-1920 Prussian province
Provinces of Prussia
The Provinces of Prussia constituted the main administrative divisions of Prussia. Following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and the Congress of Vienna in 1815 the various princely states in Germany gained their nominal sovereignty, but the reunification process that culminated in...
West Prussia
West Prussia
West Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773–1824 and 1878–1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish province of Royal Prussia...
, the territory was not identical. In contrast to the former Prussian province, the Reichsgau comprised the Bromberg (Bydgoszcz) region in the South and lacked the Deutsch-Krone (Walcz) region in the West.
The capital of the province was Danzig (Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
) and its population without the city was 1,487,452 (in 1939). The area of the province was 26,056 km², 21,237 km² of which was annexed Danzig
Free City of Danzig
The Free City of Danzig was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig and surrounding areas....
and Pomerelia
Pomerelia
Pomerelia is a historical region in northern Poland. Pomerelia lay in eastern Pomerania: on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea and west of the Vistula and its delta. The area centered on the city of Gdańsk at the mouth of the Vistula...
n territory.
History
The Prussian provinceProvinces of Prussia
The Provinces of Prussia constituted the main administrative divisions of Prussia. Following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and the Congress of Vienna in 1815 the various princely states in Germany gained their nominal sovereignty, but the reunification process that culminated in...
West Prussia
West Prussia
West Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773–1824 and 1878–1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish province of Royal Prussia...
was dissolved in 1920, following the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
. The bulk of it became part of the newly established Second Republic of Poland and was administered as Pomeranian Voivodship (Polish Corridor
Polish Corridor
The Polish Corridor , also known as Danzig Corridor, Corridor to the Sea or Gdańsk Corridor, was a territory located in the region of Pomerelia , which provided the Second Republic of Poland with access to the Baltic Sea, thus dividing the bulk of Germany from the province of East...
). The eastern remains of German West Prussia were attached to the Province of East Prussia
Province of East Prussia
The Province of East Prussia was a province of Prussia from 1773–1829 and 1878-1945. Composed of the historical region East Prussia, the province's capital was Königsberg ....
as Regierungsbezirk West Prussia - a Regierungsbezirk ("government region") being a German administrative subunit of a province (Provinz) comprising several counties (Kreise). The western remains of German West Prussia were merged to the German remains of the former Province of Posen
Province of Posen
The Province of Posen was a province of Prussia from 1848–1918 and as such part of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The area was about 29,000 km2....
and made a new province, Posen-West Prussia
Posen-West Prussia
The border province of historical period Posen-West Prussia was a province of the Free State of Prussia. The capital was Schneidemühl . The province had an area of 7,695 km², and was located within present-day Poland....
.
After the Nazis came to power in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, they reformed the administrative system by transforming the former German provinces and states into their Gau system in 1935 as a part of their Gleichschaltung
Gleichschaltung
Gleichschaltung , meaning "coordination", "making the same", "bringing into line", is a Nazi term for the process by which the Nazi regime successively established a system of totalitarian control and tight coordination over all aspects of society. The historian Richard J...
policy.
In 1938, German Posen-West Prussia
Posen-West Prussia
The border province of historical period Posen-West Prussia was a province of the Free State of Prussia. The capital was Schneidemühl . The province had an area of 7,695 km², and was located within present-day Poland....
was dissolved and its former West Prussia
West Prussia
West Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773–1824 and 1878–1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish province of Royal Prussia...
n territory was attached to the German Pomeranian Gau. Also in 1938, the Polish Pomeranian Voivodship was expanded southward to comprise the Bydgoszcz (Bromberg) region. This region (former Netze District
Netze District
The Netze District or District of the Netze was a territory in the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 until 1807. It included the urban centers of Bydgoszcz , Inowrocław , Piła and Wałcz and was given its name for the Noteć River that traversed it.Beside Royal Prussia, a land of the Polish Crown...
) had during Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n times been administered as Regierungsbezirk Bromberg of the Province of Posen
Province of Posen
The Province of Posen was a province of Prussia from 1848–1918 and as such part of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The area was about 29,000 km2....
. The resulting enlarged Pomeranian voivodship was called Greater Pomeranian Voivodship (Wielkopomorskie).
When Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
invaded Poland in September 1939
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
, this Greater Pomeranian voivodship was first made the German military district "West Prussia", and by a decree of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
on October 8 merged with the Free City of Danzig
Free City of Danzig
The Free City of Danzig was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig and surrounding areas....
and the East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
n Regierungsbezirk West Prussia, to form the Reichsgau
Reichsgau
A Reichsgau was an administrative subdivision created in a number of the areas annexed to Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1945...
West Prussia. The western remains remained outside and continued to be administered by the German Pomeranian Gau as Regierungsbezirk Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia according to the 1938 reform, while the Bromberg (Bydogoszcz) region stayed with Reichsgau West Prussia and was not attached to Reichsgau Posen, the later "Warthegau"
Reichsgau Wartheland
Reichsgau Wartheland was a Nazi German Reichsgau formed from Polish territory annexed in 1939. It comprised the Greater Poland and adjacent areas, and only in part matched the area of the similarly named pre-Versailles Prussian province of Posen...
.
The designation Reichsgau
Reichsgau
A Reichsgau was an administrative subdivision created in a number of the areas annexed to Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1945...
instead of just Gau indicates that the province primarily consisted of annexed territory. A Gauleiter
Gauleiter
A Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Creation and Early Usage:...
of a Reichsgau
Reichsgau
A Reichsgau was an administrative subdivision created in a number of the areas annexed to Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1945...
was also titled Reichsstatthalter
Reichsstatthalter
The term Reichsstatthalter was used twice for different offices, in the imperial Hohenzollern dynasty's German Empire and the single-party Nazi Third Reich.- "Statthalter des Reiches" 1879-1918 in Alsace-Lorraine :...
. Other Reichsgaue were e.g. Reichsgau Wartheland
Reichsgau Wartheland
Reichsgau Wartheland was a Nazi German Reichsgau formed from Polish territory annexed in 1939. It comprised the Greater Poland and adjacent areas, and only in part matched the area of the similarly named pre-Versailles Prussian province of Posen...
and Reichsgau Sudetenland.
In March 1945 the region was captured by the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
, and The Nazi governor, Albert Forster
Albert Forster
Albert Maria Forster was a Nazi German politician. Under his administration as the Gauleiter of Danzig-West Prussia during the Second World War, the local non-German population suffered ethnic cleansing, mass murder, and forceful Germanisation...
, was later sentenced to death and executed for crimes against humanity.
The German population either fled or was expelled
Flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland during and after World War II
The flight and expulsion of Germans from Poland was the largest of a series of flights and expulsions of Germans in Europe during and after World War II...
.
Administration
Regierungsbezirk
In Germany, a Government District, in German: Regierungsbezirk – is a subdivision of certain federal states .They are above the Kreise, Landkreise, and kreisfreie Städte...
), with the name-giving capitol cities of Bromberg, Danzig and Marienwerder.
Extermination and expulsion of Poles and Jews by Nazi Germany
Nazi GermanNazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
policy aimed at extermination of Jewish and Polish population. Mass murder sites in the region include:
- Stutthof concentration campStutthof concentration campStutthof was the first Nazi concentration camp built outside of 1937 German borders.Completed on September 2, 1939, it was located in a secluded, wet, and wooded area west of the small town of Sztutowo . The town is located in the former territory of the Free City of Danzig, 34 km east of...
, where over 85,000 died(mostly Poles). - PiaśnicaMass murders in PiaśnicaThe mass murders in Piaśnica were a set of mass executions carried out by Germans, during World War II, between the fall of 1939 and spring of 1940 in Piasnica Wielka in the Darzlubska Wilderness near Wejherowo. Standard estimates put the number of victims at between twelve thousand and fourteen...
, site of mass murder of around 12,000 local PolishPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
-Kashub intelligentsia and other people.
The Polish Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
was severely persecuted and most Catholic priests were deported to concentration camps.
An organisation called Selbstschutz was formed out of local Germans who hunted down prominent members of Polish and Jewish community and mass murdered them. In West Prussia , Selbstschutz under the command of Ludolf von Alvensleben
Ludolf von Alvensleben
Ludolf-Hermann Emmanuel Georg Kurt Werner von Alvensleben was a Nazi official in the rank of SS-Gruppenführer and Major General of the Police. His familiar name was "Bubi" .- Background :...
were 17,667 men strong, and had already executed 4,247 Poles by October.
Soon a series of Selbstschutz camps were established in the region
The total number of victims of Selbstschutz mass murder campaign is difficult to determine in precise way. In autumn 1939 Oebsger-Roder lamented that that despite all the measures only a fraction of Poles were destroyed and gave the number of 20,000.
Jews did not figure prominently among the victims in West Prussia, as the area was not densely populated by them and most had fled before Germans arrived. However in places where they stayed they were removed by expulsion and what was classified as “other measures”-in effect meaning murder. In areas where Jewish families or individuals remained a “shameful situation” was proclaimed, and authorities expected the Selbstschutz to remedy it through direct action.
One Selbstschutz commander, Wilhelm Richardt, said in Karolewo
Karolewo
Karolewo may refer to the following places:*Karolewo, Bydgoszcz County in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship *Karolewo, Grudziądz County in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship...
(Karlhof) camp that he did not want to build big camps for Poles and feed them, and that it was an honour for Poles to fertilize the German soil with their corpses. There was little opposition or lack of enthusiasm for activities of Selbstschutz among those involved in the action. There was even a case where a Selbstschutz commander was relieved after he failed to account for all the Poles that were required, and it was found that he executed "only" 300 Poles
Additionally Germans expelled a number of Poles and Jews-the overall number of the German ethnic cleansing is estimated by the Stutthof Museum at 120-170.000 and located German colonists in their place.
See also
- Administration of Danzig-West Prussia 1939-1945Administration of Danzig-West Prussia 1939-1945-Danzig district / Regierungsbezirk Danzig:In 1939 the Free City of Danzig was annexed to Germany.After a brief transitional period, its territory became part of the restoredRegierungsbezirk Danzig in the Reichsgau Danzig-Westpreussen -Danzig district / Regierungsbezirk Danzig:In 1939 the Free City...
- World War II evacuation and expulsionWorld War II evacuation and expulsionForced deportation, mass evacuation and displacement of peoples took place in many of the countries involved in World War II. These were caused both by the direct hostilities between Axis and Allied powers, and the border changes enacted in the pre-war settlement...
- Polish areas annexed by Nazi GermanyPolish areas annexed by Nazi GermanyAt the beginning of World War II, nearly a quarter of the pre-war Polish areas were annexed by Nazi Germany and placed directly under German civil administration, while the rest of Nazi occupied Poland was named as General Government...
Sources
- Shoa.de - List of Gaue and Gauleiter (in German)
- Die NS Gaue (in German) Deutsches Historisches MuseumDeutsches Historisches MuseumThe German Historical Museum , DHM for short, is a museum in Berlin devoted to German history and defines itself as a place of enlightenment and understanding of the shared history of Germans and Europeans....
website - Die Gaue der NSDAP (in German)