Nawiązania do tradycji budownictwa wiejskiego w architekturze Wolnego Miasta Gdańska w dobie narodowego socjalizmu

After the establishment of the Free City of Danzig, the process of the renovation and inventory of arcaded houses (Vorlaubenhäuser) and timber -framed churches in the vicinity of Gdańsk began, along with the increasing scientific interest in them. At the same time, in numerous projects from the 1930s, the interest of architects in traditional rural construction, related to the orders of the Nationalist Socialist Party for certain types of structures, can be observed. In the suburbs of Gdańsk and Sopot, standard, posed as idyllic workers’ housing estates were founded, which were to combine the advantages of living in the countryside and in the city. The network of kindergartens of the National Socialist People’s Welfare (Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt) as well as youth hostels used by the Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend) and the League of German Girls (Bund Deutscher Mädel) was expanded. According to the Blut -und -Boden ideology, a network of camps for the Land Service (Landdienst) for the Hitlerjugend, community houses for members of the NSDAP Party, and exemplary farms were also founded. The repertoire of local materials, traditional architectural details, as well as references in interior design were intended as manifestations of the regional identity, used by the National Socialist authorities to serve the purposes of the Party propaganda, which was creating the myth of an idyllic, strong, homogeneous national community and proving the uninterrupted continuity of German culture in the Free City of Danzig, despite its separation from the German Reich.

Polsko-niemiecki pakt o nieagresji z 1934 r. – geneza i przegląd postanowień

One of the effects of the end of the First World War (then known as the Great War), was a significant geopolitical transformation on the map of Europe. Many new states were established at that time. One of them was Poland (the Second Polish Republic). The territory of the newly created state included part of the lands previously belonging to Germany, Russia and Austria-Hungary. The conceding of Greater Poland and parts of Pomerania and Upper Silesia to the reborn Republic of Poland caused a deep conflict between Poland and Germany. One of the main goals of the Weimar Republic’s foreign policy was to regain the disputed territories. The interests of both countries were therefore at odds, and one of the manifestations of the poor relations was the Customs War. Following Adolf Hitler’s seizure of power, Marshal Józef Piłsudski proposed France a preventive war, in order to remove the dictator from power. This was a turning point that led to an improvement in mutual relations, resulting in the conclusion of a non-aggression pact. Contacts between the two countries revived, and Nazi propaganda ceased its attacks on Poland. The period of warming ended with the first territorial claims against the Republic of Poland, including the incorporation of the Free City of Danzig into the Third Reich. Deterioration of diplomatic relations, combined with British-French military guarantees for Poland, led to the declaration of the Pact by Germany in April 1939. The aim of this article is to present the genesis and content of the Polish-German non-aggression pact and to analyze it from the legal point of view, as well as from the point of view of the intentions of the parties which accompanied its conclusion.

„Kolebka Polskiej Marynarki”: Z dziejów Portu Wojennego Modlin w latach 1918-1921

„THE CRADLE OF POLISH NAVAL FORCES” MODLIN MILITARY PORT IN THE YEARS 1918-1921 From December 1918 to April 1920, the headquarters of the Vistula Flotilla and more generally the Naval Forces were based at the Modlin Military Port. The Flotilla was established as a result of efforts to regain Poland’s access to the sea. The location was chosen due to, for example, a real threat to the existence of the state coming from the north-west, a small distance from the capital, and earlier Russian and German investments. Decisions of empires to create the Free City of Danzig had a serious influence on the history of the Modlin Military Port. The area covered by the Modlin Military Port during the period 1918-1921 was subject to changes. The territory managed by the Port Commander was diversified in terms of buildings, topography or even the ethnic groups of civilians living nearby. In 1919 the Commander supervised, among other things, the School for Naval Specialists in Kazuń (on the opposite bank of the Vistula River), the Modlin railway station and a huge granary. At the same time, a harbour “for loading coal in the Narew River” functioned within the Military Port (or in a small distance therefrom). After April 1920, the area of the port was reduced. According to the data for 1921 and 1922, the Port covered the following areas: shipyard, winter port, motorboat harbour, adjacent capes, harbour next to barracks, area of the following streets: Portowa, Jana z Kolna, Admirała Sierpnika and Kapitana F. Dunin-Wąsowicza (up to the corner of aleja Marynarzy and Kaszubska Street), aleja Marynarzy; area of the Armoury; area around the Central Technical Depots; area between the Kazuń road, Kaszubska Street and aleja Marynarzy; area between the Kazuń road, the railway track and aleja Marynarzy; the areas in the triangle between the navy garrison – Kaszubska Street and the Vistula River, and the Vistula River harbour with neighbouring areas. The Port had difficult beginnings. Depots and barracks were in a very bad condition. There were poor supplies and poor sanitary conditions, difficulties in relations between Port managers and the commanders of the Modlin Fortress, and problems paying soldier’s pay. The definite majority of Polish marines soon left the Naval Forces. This was the reason why the Modlin Military Port played an important role in training the coming marine volunteers for service in sea and river vessels.

Analiza wydawnictw efemerycznych – ujęcie lingwistyczne

The aim of the paper is to present ephemeral printed texts as an object of a linguistic description as well as to submit the model of analysis in practice. Texts called as ephemera are usually an object of a non-linguistically targeted interdisciplinary approach, although ephemera, regardless of type and style, can be subject to the scheme of a linguistic analysis. The submitted Linguera model (lingua et ephemera) enables meticulous analysis of an ephemeral text followed by its detailed and accurate analysis. The model focuses on such aspects as the role of context, evaluative language, contents and form of ephemera, as well as analytical map designing. The proposal of analysis is presented on the material of the ephemera collection from the Free City of Danzig (1920 – 1939).

Polish Consular Law and Practice after Regaining Independence in 1918 – the Selected Key Issues of the Interwar Period

The article discusses the selected issues of Polish consular law and practice in the period 1918-1939. The complicated interwar political situation had a direct impact on the practice of Polish consular offices. The consular relations with the Germans were particularly difficult. The enormous scale of the political problems in the Polish-German relations increased particularly during the years 1933-1939. The efficiency of consular intervention in favour of Polish citizens was insignificant. The relations with Soviet Russia were even more difficult. In the interwar period, Poland was the only country to have a consular convention signed with the Soviet state. The convention was considered to be very innovative with regard to immunities and privileges. However, the Soviets did not feel obligated by the treaties signed. As a result, Polish consuls and diplomats had no knowledge of the scale of the tragedy of the Polish population in the Soviet Union i.e. mass genocide committed by the NKVD in 1938. The exercise of consular functions, in this case, was practically impossible. The paper demonstrates that regardless of the difficult experiences with the neighbours, Poland after the rebirth of the statehood constructed a professional consular service, which performed its legal and supportive tasks. Consular functions were also successfully pursued by numerous Polish honorary consuls. International consular law explicitly provides the activity of honorary consuls. However, the performance of these activities depends on the consent of both interested parties – sending and receiving State. In the interwar period, this institution was very popular in international practice. It was practised simultaneously with the so-called ‘etatisation’ of honorary consulates. In Polish honorary consular offices, such a solution was very common. The article indicates that Polish law and consular practice in the interwar period was characterised by a modern approach to supportive and protective activities regarding the citizens. To a limited degree, Poland also provided consular activities for the citizens of the Free City of Danzig, which usually caused practical difficulties. Only exceptionally, the consuls would act for the citizens of other countries (in favorem tertii).

The impact of World War II on the population of Gdańsk

The article discusses the impact of World War II on the fortunes of the population of Gdańsk, which was incorporated into Poland together with eastern parts of Germany. The development of ethnic relationships in the areas described in post-war Poland as the "regained territories" was determined by the national idea. The German population was resettled, whilst the people of the Polish-German borderlands had to prove their ethnic usefulness by means of ethnic vetting. In Gdańsk, this applied mainly to the inhabitants of the pre-war Free City of Danzig.

WILLI DROST: THE LAST DIRECTOR OF THE STADTMUSEUM (CITY MUSEUM) IN GDAŃSK

As much as the history of the Free City of Danzig (1920–1939) has been dedicated numerous academic studies, the activity of its institutions and people, particularly Gdańsk residents of German nationality who played a significant role in the city’s political, cultural, scientific, educational, and spiritual life until 1945 has been hardly investigated. One of such individuals is Willi Drost born in Gdańsk in 1892. Following his studies and academic work in Leipzig, Marburg, Cologne, and Konigsberg, in 1930 he returned to Gdańsk, where he was offered the position of a custodian and later conservator of monuments of the Free City of Gdańsk; furthermore, as of 1938 he was appointed Director of the City Museum, which he remained uninterruptedly until 1945. Beginning from 1930, he was also professor of art history at the Technischer Hochschule, engineering university, as well as curator of Museum Collections for the whole region of Gdańsk – Western Prussia. His scholarly activity yielded numerous publications in art theory, North European modern painting, and Gdańsk art. Furthermore, Drost takes credit for the inventory of Gdańsk historic churches conducted from 1934 onwards. Resorting to the preserved materials, in 1957–1964, Drost published a 5-volume series titled Art Monuments of the City of Gdańsk (Kunstdenkmäler der Stadt Danzig). During WW II, together with Prof. Erich Volmar, he supervised the action of protecting and evacuating art works from the City Museum, Town Hall’s Red Room, Artus Manor, Uphagen’s House, as well as from churches and other historic facilities. Directly following the end of WW II, Drost stayed on in Gdańsk, helping Polish art historians to recover art works hidden in the city and its vicinity. Having left for Germany in the spring of 1946, he was professor at Hamburg and Tubingen universities. Until his last days he continued to promote the cultural heritage of Gdańsk. In recognition of his merits, Drost was honoured with numerous awards in Germany, while in 1992, on the 100th anniversary of his Birthday, a plaque commemorating him was unveiled in front of the building of the former City Museum (Stadtmuseum), today housing the National Museum in Gdańsk. The paper’s goal is to popularize Drost’s endeavours as a museologist, and to recall all he did for Gdańsk.

Kolegium Rewizyjne (Revision-Collegium) w Napoleońskim Wolnym Mieście Gdańsku (1807–1814). Geneza, struktura i przebieg postępowania odwoławczego w rozwoju historyczno-prawnym

The article presents the rules of appeal proceedings in civil and criminal cases in the Napoleonic Free City of Danzig. The appeals took place before the Revision Commissions which were appointed for civil cases in October 1809 a nd for criminal cases in February 1810. Furthermore, the paper delineates their organizational structure as well as the method of making the final decision (rejecting or accepting the Commission’s decision). The contents of this article were based on the rules and regulations which governed the Commissions which hitherto were not used in research. Moreover, the judiciary and the appeals systems were described in the projects of the constitution of the Free City of Danzig (Danzig Senate from 1807, a project by the mayor of Danzig – Gottlieb Hufeland, as well as a project by the French resident Nicolas Massias). However, these plans were not introduced but they were substituted by the rules and regulations of the Revision Commissions. This serves as an illustration of the French influence on the law in Danzig in the Napoleonic era of the Free City. Also the appeal process in the Napoleonic Free City of Danzig was presented against the backdrop of the general history of appeals in the course of legal cases before the judiciary in Danzig. This facilitates the observation of the changes which took place in the course of legal cases throughout history. In particular, it helps in the observations made at the turn of the 18th century as it was the period when the law transformed from Feudalism to Bourgeoisie.

Borderland of the Mind: The Free City of Danzig and the Sovereignty Question

The transformation of the Free City of Danzig after World War I both exemplified and contradicted the interwar borderland experience in Central Europe. Although Danzig was linked closely to the Second Polish Republic, cultural and diplomatic challenges to the city’s status played out in Berlin and Geneva. The vocabulary of sovereignty and reconciliation became a battleground between German nationalists and center-left politicians. This article analyzes diplomatic correspondence and propaganda pamphlets to argue that regions and cities become a metaphor for broader questions and concludes that borderlands, however permanent on the maps of treaty negotiators, are largely in the mind.