Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej a obywatele Wolnego Miasta Gdańska w Zjednoczonym Królestwie

Abstract

The article presents the Polish Government’s attitude towards the citizens of the Free City of Danzig residing in the United Kingdom. According to the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles (art. 104, para. 6) and the Treaty between Poland and the Free City of Danzig of November 9, 1920 (art. 2–5), Polish authorities were charged with the conduct of the foreign relations of the Free City of Danzig as well as with the protection of its citizens abroad. The problem of consular assistance became particularly important when in 1940 the Danzigers in the United Kingdom were interned as the enemy aliens. They sought Polish protection, and the Polish authorities for their part hoped to strengthen their own position vis-`a-vis the Danzig problem. There were three organized groups of Danzig citizens in the UK. The first one, “Danzig Committee in the United Kingdom”, was constituted in July 1940 by Julius Jewelowski and was, at least initially, ready to accept the incorporation of Danzig to Poland after the war. In 1943 the initiative passed to „The Danzig Movement” under the chairmanship of Carl Lietz and “The Danzig Association” under the chairmanship of Erich Brost. Both of them promoted the idea of independent Danzig. All three of them attempted to establish direct contact with the British authorities and to gain their recognition as the representatives of the citizens of the Free City of Danzig in the United Kingdom. Neither the Polish nor the British Government agreed to such a solution. The Poles continued to protect interests of the Danzigers until July 1945 when the Polish Government itself was derecognised by the Allies. The problem of the international status of Danzig was still officially unresolved at the time.