Gallery

 

> The Polish Post office at the Railway Station in Danzig
Continued from page ONE

The Beginning of the Polish Post 1920-1922

The Free City of Danzig owed its existence to the fact that President Woodrow Wilson promised Poland access to the sea, but Lloyd George didn’t want to make Danzig and its vicinity part of the new Polish Republic. The city was made a Free City, under the superv ision of the League of Nations. The so-called High Commissioner resided in the Free City as the representative of the League of Nations. He could decide in matters of dispute between Poland and the Free City in regard to agreements that had been made in the past. 1

Poland, Indeed, received access to the sea through the so-called Corridor, but she didn’t have an appropriate harbor there. As a result, Poland received several special rights in the Free City. Agreements were made between Poland and the Free City to lay down the exact extent of these rights. Part of these agreements was the right to establish a Polish postal service in the Free City.2

On 9 November 1920, the Convention of Paris was signed by the representatives of the Republic of Poland and the Free City.

Article 29: Poland shall have the right to establish in the port of Danzig a post, telegraph and telephone service communicating directly with Poland. Postal and telegraphic communications via the port of Danzig between Poland and foreign countries, as also communica tons between Poland and the port of Danzig, shall be dealt with by this service.

Article 30: The Free City of Danzig undertakes to lease or to sell to Poland on equitable terms the necessary land or buildings provided forTh Article 29, as well as in Article 21. The Free City undertakes to accord to Poland all the facilities necessary for the installation of the telegraph and telephone lines required for the application of the said article.

On 24 October 1921, the Free City and Poland signed the Treaty of Warsaw, which was also called the Wirtschaftsabkommen. This treaty was an extension of the Polish- Danzig Treaty of 9 November 1920.

Article 149: The postal, telegraphic and telephonic service to be established by the Polish Republic, in accordance with Article 29 of the Convention of November 9th, 1920, shall be independent of the postal administration of the Free City of Danzig.

Article 150: It extends:
a) in the port of Danzig, to all classes and branches of the traffic services and of the technical and administrative services and the installations necessary for such services.
b) Between the Port of Danzig and Poland and between Poland and other countries via the port, to all postal, telegraphic and telephone communications, without any restriction to certain traffic routes and with the use of all the usual means of communication.

Article 156:
1) The Free City of Danzig must sell or lease to Poland all buildings or land which Poland claims to need for the establishment and operation of its Post, Telegraph and Telephone Service, after neutral judgement and consideration of fairness to both sides.
2) The Republic of Poland shall decide whether there is a need for the purchase or lease of the ground or buildings.
3) During such transfer of a specific building or parcel of ground, an agreement must be made between Poland and the Free City of Danzig. 3


Based on these rights, a Polish postal administration was established, alongside the postal administration of the Free City. The first Polish post office, Urzad Ekspedycji PocztoweJ Gdansk - Nowy Port (later renamed Polski Urzad Pocztowy Nr. 1 w Gdansku),

 

Danzig Report  Nr. 92 - July - August - September - 1996,  Page 3.