Danzig (1920 - 1939, Republic)

Danzig (Polish: Gdañsk) was a part of Prussia from the moment of the deviding of Poland in 1793. Between 1807 and 1814 it was a free town with an own government but that was formally under influence of Napoleon. After the Vienna Congress in 1814, Danzig once again became a part of Prussia and the province of Western Prussia. Because of this it became part of the German Empire from 1871. After Germany lost the First World War, with the Versailles Treaty, Wester Prussia was given to Poland, but Danzig became a free city under supervision of the International Community. From that moment on the city was a dispute. Poland wanted it to be a part of Poland and the German majority wanted it to be a part of Germany.
The government was formed by the Senate, consisting of a President, vice President and 20 Senators. These were controlled by the Volkstag. From 1922 the Constitution was almost the same as that form the Weimar Republic. Internationally the city was however controlled by Poland. In 1930 the NSDAP became the lagest political party in the Volkstag and in 1933 they became the absolute majority with 57%. After the German invasion of Poland in 1939, Danzig was annexed by the Germans, but stayed as the ehemalige Freie Stadt Danzig under the command of Gauleiter Albert Forster. On October 26th 1939 the Reichsgau Danzig was formed that was to become the Reichsgau Danzig-West-Pruisen later.