Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia

Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia
Reichsgau of Nazi Germany
1939–1945
Flag of Danzig-West Prussia
Flag
Coat of arms of Danzig-West Prussia
Coat of arms

Map of Nazi Germany showing its administrative
subdivisions (Gaue and Reichsgaue)
CapitalDanzig
Government
Gauleiter 
• 1939–1945
Albert Forster
History 
8 October 1939
1 August 1945
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Pomeranian Voivodeship
Free City of Danzig
Marienwerder
Gau East Prussia
Gdańsk Voivodeship
Masurian District
Today part ofPoland

Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia (German: Reichsgau Danzig-Westpreußen) was an administrative division of Nazi Germany created on 8 October 1939 from annexed territory of the Free City of Danzig, the Greater Pomeranian Voivodship (Polish Corridor), and the Regierungsbezirk West Prussia of Gau East Prussia.

Before 2 November 1939, the Reichsgau was called Reichsgau West Prussia.[1] Though the name resembled that of the pre-1920 Prussian province of West Prussia, the territory was not identical. Unlike the former Prussian province, the Reichsgau included the Bromberg (Bydgoszcz) region in the south and lacked the Deutsch-Krone (Wałcz) region in the west.

The province's capital was Danzig (Gdańsk), and its population without the city was (in 1939) 1,487,452. The province's area was 26,056 km2, 21,237 km2 of which was annexed Danzig and Pomeranian territory.[1] During the Reichsgau's short existence, Poles and Jews in that area were subjected by Nazi Germany to extermination as "subhumans".

  1. ^ a b Piotr Eberhardt, Jan Owsinski, Ethnic Groups and Population Changes in Twentieth-century Central-Eastern Europe: History, Data, Analysis, M.E. Sharpe, 2003, p.170, ISBN 0-7656-0665-8