Gallery

 

administrations urged the public to use their particular postal service by giving them incentives; for example, special postal rates.

Many writers, especially from Poland, state that a real battle against the Polish mail boxes was fought by the inhabitants of Danzig. In practice, this “battle” was fought on a very limited scale. it is even more accurate to speak of some incidents instead of actual battles.


Through the years, the sites of the Polish mailboxes in Danzig changed a few times. This article attempts to provide more information on the exact sites of the mail boxes in the city. It also tries to prove that a real “battle” against the mail boxes was non-existent. The information on the sites of the mail boxes and the incidents against the Polish mail boxes originate from records in the Polish and German archives.

January 1925: The First Polish Mail Boxes in Danzig
On the first day of December, 1924, the senate of the Freie Stadt Danzig wrote to Henryk Strasburger, the Polish Komisari Generalny (diplomatic representative of the Republic of Poland in Danzig), that there were rumors that the Polish post in Danzig was planning to extend its postal service in the city. According to these rumors, the Polish post wanted to install Polish mail boxes in the city to collect mail for Poland and start mail deliveries in Danzig by Polish postmen. The senate wanted to know if these rumors were true. They pointed out that this extension of the Polish post was a violation of the agreements concerning the Polish post in Danzig, made in the past.

On 3 January, 1925, Strasburger wrote to the senate that the rumors were true; the Polish post in Danzig wanted to (1) open the postoffice at the Heveliusplatz for the public, (2) start delivery of mail in the Danzig harbor area, and (3) hang up mail boxes in the city to collect mail destined for Poland. Strasburger also pointed out that this was not against the agreements that had been made in the past.

Two days later, in the morning of 5 January, 1925, the postoffice at the Heveliusplatz was offic ially opened for the public and special stamps were issued. (Illustration 1,below).

 

In the night of the 4th and 5th of January, 1925, a total of ten mail boxes had been hung up
throughout the city. (Some articles even say that there were twenty boxes installed, but this is not correct information.) Locations are as follows:
1 Neugarten 27: At the entrance to the building of the Polish Komisarz Generalny.
2 Langgasse 57/58: Building of the Bank Przem yslowcow (next to Walter & Fleck).
3 Langenmarkt 35: Building of the Bank Handlowy w Warszawie. (IllustratIon 2)
4 An der Reitbihn 4: Building of the Polish State Treasury.
5 Walgasse 16: Polish National Home.
6 Olivaer Tor 2-4: Building of the Polish Railway Administration in Danzig. (Illustration 3)
7 Stadtgraben: On the outside of the Hauptb ahnhol on the left side of the main entrance.
8 Stadtgraben: On the Hauptbahnhofat Platform 2 between the Vorort platform and the Fernbahn platform.
9 Heveliusplatz 1-2: Polish post office, on the left side of the entrance. (Illustration on Pg. 4)
10 Heveliusplatz 1-2: Polish post office, on the right side of the entrance (Illustration 4).

 

Danzig Report Vol. 1 - Nr. 83 - April - May - June - 1994, Page 3.