Free City of Danzig

The Free City of Danzig was a semi-autonomous city-state that existed between 1920 and 1939. Established on November 15, 1920, under the Treaty of Versailles, it was placed under the protection and oversight of the League of Nations. The entity comprised the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) and nearly 200 surrounding localities. Although predominantly German-populated, it was bound by a union with Poland, which managed its foreign policy, defense, customs, railways, and post. Poland also held specific rights concerning port facilities. By 1936, the city's Senate had a Nazi majority, and agitation to rejoin Germany intensified. The Free City was dissolved on September 1, 1939, after the German invasion of Poland, and incorporated into the Reichsgau of Danzig-West Prussia.