The province Danzig-West Prussia (Reichsgau Danzig-Westpreussen) was a German administrative sub-division unit (Reichsgau) created in 1939 by the Nazis from the territory of the Free City of Danzig (present-day Gdańsk, Poland), and Polish far-east Pomerania. The name became official on November 2, 1939, a month after invasion of Poland. The capital of the province was Danzig and its population without the city was 1,487,452 (in 1939). The area of the province was 26,057 km²
History
The major Stutthof concentration camp, where over 85,000 died, and the mass murder site of Piasnica, where some 2,000 local Polish-Kashub intelligentsia and thousands of other people were executed, were located in the area. The Polish Roman Catholic Church was severely persecuted and most Catholic priests were deported to concentration camps. Most of Danzig's Jewish minority, however, left the region in 1939, as Danzig was not then part of Germany.In March 1945 the region was captured by the Red Army, and after a few days of looting it returned to Polish administration. The Nazi governor, Albert Förster, was later sentenced to death and executed for crimes against humanity.
Administration
Danzig West Prussia was divided into three districts. The main cities of each district were Bromberg, Danzig and Marienwerder.See also
- Administration of Danzig-West Prussia 1939-1945
- World War II evacuation and expulsion
- Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany
Sources
- Shoa.de - List of Gaue and Gauleiter (in German)
- Die NS Gaue (in German) Deutsches Historisches Museum website
- Die Gaue der NSDAP (in German)
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Last updated on Friday July 18, 2008 at 12:59:53 PDT (GMT -0700)
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