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Gdańsk: Poland’s Rebel City
The City…
The port city of Gdańsk can be found on the coast of Northern Poland, located at the mouth of the Motława River, flowing into the Baltic Sea. The city has a vastly complex history featuring periods of German rule, Polish rule and self-determination. It has functioned as a major seaport since the Middle Ages. In 1361, it was incorporated into the Hanseatic League (a network of well-connected and wealthy towns and cities from the Netherlands, Poland, Germany, and Russia), handling trade throughout the continent.
Gdańsk (formerly Danzig) served as a key city in the build-up to and during the Second World War. The city was given ‘Free City’ status from the Treaty of Versailles meaning that instead of being given to the newly created country of Poland, Danzig was turned over to the League of Nations for administration.
France and the United States supported the idea that Danzig should be assigned fully to Poland but this was vehemently opposed by Britain and Germany. In the end, the compromise of stripping the city from Germany, and having it simply be a free city was…
