Polish Corridor - Revision history

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	~~[[de:Polnischer Korridor]]~~
	[[es:Corredor polaco]]		[[es:Corredor polaco]]

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	==Versailles==		==Versailles==
	[[United States]]' President [[Woodrow Wilson]]'s infamous Fourteen Points, including self-determination, based upon governments' deriving their powers from the consent of the governed, was his ideal. However, in eastern Europe this was to end in tears. Pomerelia was never ethnically Polish or part of ethnic Poland. The Polish delegation at Versailles, led by Roman Dmowski, a fanatical ~~nationalist~~, opposed self-determination; there should be no "plebiscite comedies" he said.<ref>Donald, 1929, p.6.</ref> (Danzig, for instance, which the Poles asked for, was 98% German, and it was obvious which way a vote would have gone there.) Both President Wilson and [[Britain]]'s Mr Lloyd George stated that territories inhabited by "essentially Polish elements" and "indisputably Polish populations" should go to Poland.<ref>Donald, 1929, p.20.</ref> Polish delegates at Versailles also demanded the counties of Marienwerder ([[West Prussia]]) and Allenstein ([[East Prussia]]). However the conference decided upon plebiscites in those two counties, held on 11 July 1920, supervised by the Italians and the British. In Marienwerder 92.8 per cent voted to remain in [[Weimar Germany\|Germany]] and in Allenstein 97.5 per cent.<ref>''The Eastern Frontiers of Germany'' by René Martel, London, 1930, p.67-9.</ref> These figures included a very large proportion of ethnic Poles living there. (It seems likely by all considerations available that something similar would have occurred across 'the Corridor' had a plebiscite been held there.)<ref>Newman, 1938, p.106-7.</ref>		[[United States]]' President [[Woodrow Wilson]]'s infamous Fourteen Points, including self-determination, based upon governments' deriving their powers from the consent of the governed, was his ideal. However, in eastern Europe this was to end in tears. Pomerelia was never ethnically Polish or part of ethnic Poland. The Polish delegation at Versailles, led by Roman Dmowski, a fanatical fascist, opposed self-determination; there should be no "plebiscite comedies" he said.<ref>Donald, 1929, p.6.</ref> (Danzig, for instance, which the Poles asked for, was 98% German, and it was obvious which way a vote would have gone there.) Both President Wilson and [[Britain]]'s Mr Lloyd George stated that territories inhabited by "essentially Polish elements" and "indisputably Polish populations" should go to Poland.<ref>Donald, 1929, p.20.</ref> Polish delegates at Versailles also demanded the counties of Marienwerder ([[West Prussia]]) and Allenstein ([[East Prussia]]). However the conference decided upon plebiscites in those two counties, held on 11 July 1920, supervised by the Italians and the British. In Marienwerder 92.8 per cent voted to remain in [[Weimar Germany\|Germany]] and in Allenstein 97.5 per cent.<ref>''The Eastern Frontiers of Germany'' by René Martel, London, 1930, p.67-9.</ref> These figures included a very large proportion of ethnic Poles living there. (It seems likely by all considerations available that something similar would have occurred across 'the Corridor' had a plebiscite been held there.)<ref>Newman, 1938, p.106-7.</ref>

	==After Versailles - What they said==		==After Versailles - What they said==

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	==Sources==		==Sources==
	~~<references/>~~		{{Reflist\|2}}
	* Schmitz, Hans Jacob, ''The Colonization of the Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia'' translated into English by Ernst Horstmann, Heimatblatter-Verlag, n/d (l930s).		* Schmitz, Hans Jacob, ''The Colonization of the Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia'' translated into English by Ernst Horstmann, Heimatblatter-Verlag, n/d (l930s).
	* Blanke, Professor Richard, ''Orphans of Versailles'' - The Germans in Western Poland 1918-1939, University Press of Kentucky, 1993, ISBN: 0-8131-1803-4		* Blanke, Professor Richard, ''Orphans of Versailles'' - The Germans in Western Poland 1918-1939, University Press of Kentucky, 1993, ISBN: 0-8131-1803-4

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	[[de:Polnischer Korridor]]		[[de:Polnischer Korridor]]
	[[es:Corredor polaco]]		[[es:Corredor polaco]]

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	: See also [[West Prussia]]		: See also [[West Prussia]]
	[[File:Germany_1919_Lost_territory.~~jpg~~\|300px\|thumb\|right\|The Polish Corridor & associated territories]]		[[File:Germany_1919_Lost_territory.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|The Polish Corridor & associated territories]]
	[[File:Prussia dismemberment in 1919.~~jpg~~\|300px\|thumb\|right\|The dismemberment of Prussia by the Western Allies in 1919. The lands above the Vistula river were taken from her. The Corridor is shown.]]		[[File:Prussia dismemberment in 1919.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|The dismemberment of Prussia by the Western Allies in 1919. The lands above the Vistula river were taken from her. The Corridor is shown.]]
	[[File:Germany Polish Corridor lost railway network.~~jpg~~\|300px\|thumb\|right\|Map showing the German railway network in the Corridor, [[Posen]] - and even into Congress Poland which had few railways. The loss of this infrastructure and capital investment without any compensation caused chaos and anger.]]		[[File:Germany Polish Corridor lost railway network.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|Map showing the German railway network in the Corridor, [[Posen]] - and even into Congress Poland which had few railways. The loss of this infrastructure and capital investment without any compensation caused chaos and anger.]]
	[[File:Germany West Prussia Communications 1920.~~jpg~~\|300px\|thumb\|right\|Disrupted communications]]		[[File:Germany West Prussia Communications 1920.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|Disrupted communications]]
	[[File:German proposal to Poland by Hitler.~~jpg~~\|300px\|thumb\|right\|German proposals for extra-territorial access. The black and dotted territories were all part of Germany before 1919.]]		[[File:German proposal to Poland by Hitler.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|German proposals for extra-territorial access. The black and dotted territories were all part of Germany before 1919.]]
	The '''Polish Corridor''' (which Poland named ''Pomorze''), was a creation of the [[Treaty of Versailles]] and consisted of the former province of [[West Prussia]] or old Pomerelia (minus its former capital of [[Danzig]]), the latter's hinterland and the county of [[Posen]], all of which were taken off Prussia ([[Weimar Germany\|Germany]]) and given to the newly resurrected state of [[Poland]], without a plebiscite, the latter action greatly angering the Germans.<ref>''Danger Spots of Europe'' by Bernard Newman, London, 1938, p.106-7.</ref> The Corridor now separated Germany proper from its province of [[East Prussia]], and [[Danzig]].		The '''Polish Corridor''' (which Poland named ''Pomorze''), was a creation of the [[Treaty of Versailles]] and consisted of the former province of [[West Prussia]] or old Pomerelia (minus its former capital of [[Danzig]]), the latter's hinterland and the county of [[Posen]], all of which were taken off Prussia ([[Weimar Germany\|Germany]]) and given to the newly resurrected state of [[Poland]], without a plebiscite, the latter action greatly angering the Germans.<ref>''Danger Spots of Europe'' by Bernard Newman, London, 1938, p.106-7.</ref> The Corridor now separated Germany proper from its province of [[East Prussia]], and [[Danzig]].

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en>Matt58: /* After Versailles - What they said */

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After Versailles - What they said

New page

: See also [[West Prussia]]
[[File:Germany_1919_Lost_territory.jpg|300px|thumb|right|The Polish Corridor & associated territories]]
[[File:Prussia dismemberment in 1919.jpg|300px|thumb|right|The dismemberment of Prussia by the Western Allies in 1919. The lands above the Vistula river were taken from her. The Corridor is shown.]]
[[File:Germany Polish Corridor lost railway network.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Map showing the German railway network in the Corridor, [[Posen]] - and even into Congress Poland which had few railways. The loss of this infrastructure and capital investment without any compensation caused chaos and anger.]]
[[File:Germany West Prussia Communications 1920.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Disrupted communications]]
[[File:German proposal to Poland by Hitler.jpg|300px|thumb|right|German proposals for extra-territorial access. The black and dotted territories were all part of Germany before 1919.]]
The '''Polish Corridor''' (which Poland named ''Pomorze''), was a creation of the [[Treaty of Versailles]] and consisted of the former province of [[West Prussia]] or old Pomerelia (minus its former capital of [[Danzig]]), the latter's hinterland and the county of [[Posen]], all of which were taken off Prussia ([[Weimar Germany|Germany]]) and given to the newly resurrected state of [[Poland]], without a plebiscite, the latter action greatly angering the Germans.<ref>''Danger Spots of Europe'' by Bernard Newman, London, 1938, p.106-7.</ref> The Corridor now separated Germany proper from its province of [[East Prussia]], and [[Danzig]].

: ''It has come to be felt that there is a moral taint about treaties signed under duress...[making them] morally discredited.'' ~ Professor of History, Edward Hallett Carr on the Versailles Treaty.<ref>Carr, Professor Edward Hallett, ''The Twenty Years' Crisis 1919 - 1939'' Macmillan, London, 1939, "The Sanctity of Treaties", p.241-1.</ref>

The Corridor was the most momentous and contentious of the eastern frontier problems and, as predicted by so many, ultimately led to [[World War II]].

==Area==
The Corridor extended to 16,295 square kilometres. It was 230 kilometres in length and varied in width from between 80 to over 200 kilometres at its southern end to 30 kilometres at its narrowest point towards the north. It had a sea frontage of 76 kilometres, and with the narrow Hela Peninsula, which curves round towards [[Danzig]] Bay, of 146 kilometres. The historical and political division between [[West Prussia|Pomerelia]] and [[Posen]] is the line of the Netze Canal, constructed by [[Frederick the Great]]. Frederick reclaimed the whole of the territory forming the eastern block of the Corridor and put it into communication by water with East Prussia and other parts of his kingdom.<ref>''The Polish Corridor and the Consequences'' by Sir Robert Donald, G.B.E., LL.D., London, 1929, p.23.</ref>

==Versailles==
[[United States]]' President [[Woodrow Wilson]]'s infamous Fourteen Points, including self-determination, based upon governments' deriving their powers from the consent of the governed, was his ideal. However, in eastern Europe this was to end in tears. Pomerelia was never ethnically Polish or part of ethnic Poland. The Polish delegation at Versailles, led by Roman Dmowski, a fanatical nationalist, opposed self-determination; there should be no "plebiscite comedies" he said.<ref>Donald, 1929, p.6.</ref> (Danzig, for instance, which the Poles asked for, was 98% German, and it was obvious which way a vote would have gone there.) Both President Wilson and [[Britain]]'s Mr Lloyd George stated that territories inhabited by "essentially Polish elements" and "indisputably Polish populations" should go to Poland.<ref>Donald, 1929, p.20.</ref> Polish delegates at Versailles also demanded the counties of Marienwerder ([[West Prussia]]) and Allenstein ([[East Prussia]]). However the conference decided upon plebiscites in those two counties, held on 11 July 1920, supervised by the Italians and the British. In Marienwerder 92.8 per cent voted to remain in [[Weimar Germany|Germany]] and in Allenstein 97.5 per cent.<ref>''The Eastern Frontiers of Germany'' by René Martel, London, 1930, p.67-9.</ref> These figures included a very large proportion of ethnic Poles living there. (It seems likely by all considerations available that something similar would have occurred across 'the Corridor' had a plebiscite been held there.)<ref>Newman, 1938, p.106-7.</ref>

==After Versailles - What they said==
In response to the [[Versailles Treaty]] the '''[[Weimar Germany|German Government]]''' stated:

"No nation, even amongst the Allied and Associated Powers, can expect the German people to accept peace-terms which must detach vital members from the body-corporate of Germany without any consultation of the populations involved."<ref>Martel, London, 1930, p.66.</ref>

'''Hermann Müller''' (SPD), new German Foreign Minister, stated in July 1919: "The German government would leave in no doubt its intentions to revise this treaty."

'''Fritz Thyssen''', the famous industrialist who was one of the members of the German Peace Delegation in 1919, stated: "it is clear to everybody that the Treaty imposed on Germany was nefarious".<ref>''I Paid Hitler'' by Fritz Thyssen, London & New York, 1941, p.90.</ref>

'''Ferdinand Foch''', French Marshal, wrote: "This is not peace. It is an armistice for 20 years"....."There (the Polish Corridor) lies the root of the next war."<ref>''Germany Under The Treaty'' by William Harbutt Dawson, London & New York 1933, citation:p.93.</ref><ref>Lengyel, Emil, ''The Cauldron Boils'', New York, 1932, p.7.</ref>

'''Francesco Nitti''', Prime Minister of Italy wrote: "The [eastern] frontiers of Germany, as laid down by Articles 27 and 28 of the Treaty, constitute the greatest violation of the principles of self-determination, and are mere allotments of territory, marked out at random, and in violation of International Law....The labour of centuries was destroyed at a blow."<ref>''The Decadence of Europe'' by Francesco Nitti, London, 1923, p.87.</ref>

'''Dr. Otto Braun''', Prime Minister of Prussia 1920-1932, stated: "we will always protest against the violation of our rights. We will never recognise the arbitrary and unjust frontiers."<ref>Lengyel, 1932, citation p.9.</ref>

'''Count Carlo Sforza''', former Foreign Minister of Italy, said: "No serious statesman ever believed that the solution of the Corridor problem would not be temporary."<ref>Lengyel, 1932, p.12-13.</ref>

'''Hjalmar Schacht'''. famous economist, wrote: "Never yet in modern history has a peace treaty so flown in the face of the basic principles of morality as the Treaty of Versailles."<ref>''The End of Reparations'' by Hjalmar Schacht, New York, 1931, pps:1-5.</ref>

After the [[Treaty of Locarno]], signed on 12 October 1925, when Germany's western borders as laid down in the Versailles Treaty were confirmed, the question of the eastern borders with Poland, and Danzig, remained a matter for future arbitration.<ref>''The [[Weimar Republic]]'' edited by Henrik Neubauer, English-language edition, Cologne, Germany, 2000, p.96-7. ISBN 3-8290-2697-8</ref>

'''Lord d'Abernon''', former British Ambassador to Berlin, stated "After Locarno, the Polish Corridor becomes Europe's [next] powder-box."<ref>Lengyel, 1932, p.13.</ref>

'''William E. Borah''', USA Senator, startled Poland by suggesting that economic conditions cannot improve as long as the Treaty of Versailles is unmodified. "First of all the frontiers of [[Upper Silesia]] and the Polish Corridor must be rectified."<ref>Lengyel, 1932, p.13.</ref>

In September 1930 '''[[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]]''', then leader of the [[NSDAP]], contributed an article to the London newspaper ''The Sunday Express'' in part of which he stated: "We, the [[National Socialists]], demand the revision of the [[Versailles Treaty]]; we demand the return to Germany of the Polish Corridor, which is like a strip of flesh cut from our body as it cuts Germany in two. It is a national wound that bleeds continuously, and will continue to bleed till the land is returned to us. We will rouse all Germans against this injustice."<ref>''The Speeches of Adolf Hitler, April 1922-August 1939'' edited by Norman H. Baynes, New York, 1969, vol.ii, p.994-5.</ref>

'''Karl Renner''', Austrian socialist politician, writing to the Foreign Ministry in 1930 said: "It is impossible to imagine a peaceful solution to the problem of the Polish Corridor".

'''Austen Chamberlain''''s feelings were that "no British Government ever will or ever can risk the bones of a single British grenadier" for the Corridor.<ref>''The Origins of the Second World War'' by A. J. P. Taylor, London, 1961, p.54.</ref>

'''Tomáš G. Masaryk''', Czech statesman, wrote: "As for the Polish Corridor, it may be definitely said that Germany will never tolerate a condition of things by which [[East Prussia]] is separated from the German Reich."<ref>''Saturday Review'', London, October 1930.</ref>.

'''H. G. Wells''', famous British author, wrote: "The most disastrous of all the follies of Versailles was the creation of the Free City of [[Danzig]] and what was called the Polish Corridor."<ref>cited in ''Poland from the Inside'' by Count Bertram de Colonna, London, 1939p.76.</ref>

'''Sir Horace Rumbold, 9th Bt.''', British Ambassador at Berlin in a telegram to London Foreign Office, 26 Feb 1931: "It must be remembered that a war against [[Poland]] to rectify the eastern frontiers would be in the nature of a crusade. A large part of the population would eagerly join in it without compulsion."<ref>Woodward, Professor E.L., & Butler, Rohan, ''Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939'' Second series, vol.1, HMSO, London, 1946,p.569.</ref>

'''Edouard Daladier''', Premier of France: "Soon, despite the [Great Power] illusions harboured by the Poles, there would [soon be] a Fuhrer in the Polish Corridor."<ref>''Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939'' edited by Professor E.L. Woodward, M.A., F.B.A., Rohan Butler, M.A., and Margaret Lambert, PhD., 3rd series, vol.ii, 1938, H.M.S.O., London, 1949, p.381.</ref>

'''Sir Robert Vansittart''' wrote on 1 May 1930, in a British Foreign Office ''Memorandum'' surveying international affairs, that the objectives of German Foreign Policy included "a drastic modification of the German-Polish frontier".<ref>This was almost 3 years prior to the [[National Socialists]] being voted into power. Woodward & Butler, 1946, p.501n.</ref>

'''The Luxemburg Conversations''': In a ''Protocol'' of conversations held in January 1933 (these meetings had commenced in 1931) with delegates from [[Weimar Germany|Germany]] [[France]], [[Belgium]] & [[Luxemburg]] of industrialists, the German delegation stated that "abolition of the Corridor" and "rectifications of the frontiers of [[Upper Silesia]]" had to take place and set forth their proposals.<ref>''Documents on German Foreign Policy 1918-1945'' by an editorial committee, Her Majesty's Stationary Office, London, 1957, Series C, vol.1, pps:2-4</ref>

Since 1919 '''all German Governments''' had sought revisions based upon Article 19 of the [[League of Nations]]' Covenant (which was incorporated in the [[Treaty of Versailles]])<ref>Woodward, Professor E.L., & Butler, Rohan, editors, ''Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939'' Second series, vol.1, H.M.S.O., London, 1946, p.492-3</ref> which said:

: ''The Assembly may from time to time advise the reconsideration by Members of the League of Treaties which have become inapplicable and the consideration of international conditions which might endanger the peace of the world.''<ref>Newman, 1938, p.20.</ref>

'''German Foreign Minister''' Baron von Neurath stated on 9 February 1933: ''For our starting point, we must always begin with the injustices of [[Treaty of Versailles|Versailles]] with regard to the Corridor,.........[and] Heretofore we have always demanded the return of all of Upper Silesia''.<ref>Baron (''Freiherr'') von Neurath, German Foreign Minister 1932-1938, in German Documents, 1957, pps: 38-41.</ref>

'''Alfred Wysocki''', Polish Minister in [[Berlin]] (Feb 1931-July 1933), in an agitated state, called upon Richard Meyer, Director of Dept IV at the German Foreign Ministry on 17 February 1933, saying "we are on the eve of a war between Germany and Poland" complaining about German press articles. In response Meyer said there would be no war, but that Wysocki knew "there was no German Government and no party in Germany, from the [[Communists]] to the [[National Socialists]], which recognized as justified the borders forced on Germany by the dictatorial [[Treaty of Versailles]]". In reply Wysocki stated "the Polish people were of one mind that they would rather let themselves be killed than retreat one foot from the present borders."<ref>German Documents, 1957, p.46-7.</ref>

'''Jules Larouche''', French Ambassador to Poland in February 1933, who had worked on various sub-committees during the [[Treaty of Versailles|Versailles]] peace deliberations, claimed that he had nothing to do with fixing the eastern border of Germany and he had foreseen that only friction and lasting enmity between Germany and Poland would result from the 'Corridor'. He regarded it as incompatible with the modern concept of State territory, said it was in the interests of Poland to reach a ''rapprochement'' with Germany, and he understood that was not possible without eliminating the Corridor. He had said this repeatedly at the French Foreign Office in the Quai d'Orsay in [[Paris]]. He also said that "there existed a fear bordering on psychosis" in [[Poland]] about any negotiations concerning it, adding that "all Poles who had broached this subject to him had always expressed the view in agreement with the present official position ''hammered into the whole population by intensive propaganda'', that territorial negotiations were out of the question."<ref>German Documents, 1957, p.73-4, Communication by Hans Adolf von Moltke, German Ambassador to Poland, dated 22 Feb 1939.</ref>

'''[[Winston Churchill]]''', Member of the UK parliament, said in April 1933:

: ''Many people would like to see, or would have liked to see a little while ago - I was one of them - the question of the Polish Corridor adjusted. For my part, I should certainly have considered that to be one of the greatest practical objectives of European peace-seeking diplomacy.''<ref>Churchill is cited in ''France: The Tragic Years 1939-1947'' by Sisley Huddleston, Devin-Adair Co., New York, 1955, p.15.</ref>

It becomes very obvious that this was a major issue for Germany from '''1919''' onwards and was not a specifically [[National Socialist]] complaint:

: ''Poland is not a grievance of Hitler's making, but a German grievance...'' ~ '''Sir Neville Henderson''', British Ambassador to Berlin.<ref>Woodward, Professor E. L., Butler, Rohan, & Orde, Anne, editors, ''Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939'', Third Series, vol.vii, Her Majesty's Stationary Office, London, 1954, p.36.</ref>

The new National Socialist government was not even formed until 30 January 1933. It can therefore be safely assumed that it would be months before new foreign policy directives would be sent to the German Foreign Office.

==Some issues==
During the Paris Peace Conference the demarcation of the new German-Polish frontier was handed over to a Commission on Polish Affairs on 12 Feb 1919. Its President was Jules Cambon and the Vice-President was General le Rond of the French army. Both were violently anti-German and pro-Poland. The Polish delegation to the conference pronounced Germany as "an enemy of humanity" and demanded the frontiers Poland had in 1771, ''which were not ethnographic frontiers''.<ref>Donald, 1929, p.13.</ref> This was declined by the Peace Conference, although almost all the county of [[Posen]] was returned to Poland. [[West Prussia]] was also given to them without a plebiscite, and [[Danzig]] forced to become a 'Free City' under the sovereignty of the [[League of Nations]] without any consultation of the 407,000 population.

Almost immediately, despite signing the Minorities Treaty at Versailles, [[Poland]] began a regime of systematic oppression against the German population who at a stroke had found themselves under a new sovereignty (See "Minorities" on the [[Poland]] page). This behaviour took many forms, some incredibly trivial: for instance, the Polish Post Office refused to deliver letters addressed to the ancient German place-names in what had been [[West Prussia]] and the former Prussian province of [[Posen]]. In 1923 the Polish Government banned the [[Bromberg]]-based German League. By 1926 some 85% of the Germans in the towns of [[West Prussia]] and the province of [[Posen]] were said to have left, often by eviction due to 'land reform', meaning expropriation, and other bureaucratic procedures. (Although Newman states: Up to 1928 there was still an almost solid German population in the cities of [[Bromberg]] and [[Thorn]].<ref>Newman, 1938, p.110.</ref>) Anyone crossing the Corridor by road or rail now required a Polish transit visa, even if they were on a direct train which did not stop in Poland. One family who remained on their farm wrote that the German community to which she belonged had always felt superior to the Poles, such feelings were taken for granted. After 1919 they felt they had to simply seal themselves off from the Poles.<ref>Ferguson, Niall, ''The War of the World'', Allen Lane pubs., London 2006, p.169. ISBN:0-713-99708-7</ref>

On 17th February 1933 the Director of Department IV in the Berlin Foreign Office, Richard Meyer, speaking to the Polish Minister in Berlin, Alfred Wysocki, complained of the continuing discriminations against the German minority in [[Poland]] and mentioned the complaints about schools, agrarian 'reform', etc. He pointed out that the Polish press were permanently hostile to the German minority and that the Polish Government also violated the rights of [[Danzig]], and took no account of any decision by the [[League of Nations]] on any issue.<ref>German Documents, 1957, p.47.</ref>

===Railways===
The Corridor totally disrupted the fine Prussian railway network, much of it now in Polish possession, and other communications. To go by train from East Prussia to the Reich or in the opposite direction, one now had to cross five frontiers: the German-Danzig frontier at Marienburg, the Danzig-Polish frontier at Dirschau, the Polish-Danzig frontier at Muehlbanz, the Danzig-Polish frontier at Zoppot or Gross Katz, and the Polish-German frontier at Boschpol. The Poles deliberately delayed the trains for fantastic periods, sometimes taking three to four days to cover a mere 200 miles. Freight trains from Berlin to Marienburg were now taking eight or more hours longer than before 1918. All kinds of ridiculous regulations were now imposed.<ref>Lengyel, 1932, p.17.</ref>

===Population===
According to numerous references the southern boundary of the Polish Corridor was the ethnical and governmental frontier of fourteenth century Poland.<ref>''The Cauldron Boils'' by Emil Lengyel, New York, 1932, p.10, being one reference.</ref> After the imposed Treaty of [[Thorn]] in 1466 the province came under Polish occupation until 1772, when it was returned to Prussia. Even then, Lord Eversley points out that "the larger part of West Prussia was inhabited by Germans."<ref>''The Partitions of Poland'' by Lord Eversley, London, 1915, p.16-17.</ref> In 1920 The Corridor and its over one million inhabitants were transferred from German sovereignty to Poland without being consulted<ref>''Orphans of Versailles'' - The Germans in Western Poland 1918-1939 by Professor Richard Blanke, Kentucky University Press, 1993, ISBN 0-8131-1803-4</ref> an absolute contravention of the infamous Fourteen Points. Von Bulow stated on 10 Feb 1933 that almost all of these "had already been pushed out" by then.<ref>Bernhard von Bulow, Secretary of State at the German Foreign Ministry, in German Documents, 1957, p.42.</ref> It was an ethnological "bridge" between [[East Prussia]] and the rest of Germany. The Poles were numerous both farther south and farther north, mostly through immigration (see below).

The last German Census in 1910 gave the relative numerical strength of Germans and Poles in [[West Prussia]] according to ethnicity and language<ref>Donald, 1929, p.22-3.</ref>:

Germans: 603,821; Poles: 545,846; [[Kashubian]]s: 104,474; Bilingual: 17,435. These figures ''exclude'' [[Danzig]]. Had Danzig, now carved out of the Corridor, been included, it would have been overwhelmingly German, with over 1.1 million of them.<ref>Donald, 1929, p.23.</ref> The Polish delegation at Paris disputed the 1910 Census as "inaccurate" but Germany was in no difficulty then and there are no grounds whatsoever to suggest that the census was anything but completely accurate. It should be also noted that Polish migration and settlement into this region in the 50 years prior to the census was very considerable<ref>''Imperial Germany'' by Prince Bernhard von Bulow, Cassell & co., London & New York, 1914, "The Eastern Marches" pps:239-268.</ref>, something overlooked by several observers such as Bernard Newman.

===Unrest in Poland===
Sir Howard Kennard, British Ambassador at [[Warsaw]] telegraphed Viscount Halifax in London on 26 September 1938: "There were anti-German demonstrations in The Corridor yesterday".<ref>Woodward, Prof.E.L., Butler, Rohan, Lambert, Margaret, editors, ''Documents on British Foreign Policy 1919-1939'', Third Series, vol.iii, HMSO, London, 1950, p.34.</ref>

In March 1939 there were anti-German demonstrations in [[Bromberg]], including the beating and maltreatment of German women and children. The Polish Ambassador in [[Berlin]] (Lipski) was called to the German Foreign Office to receive a protest about these "excesses" and "outrages". He replied that he "deplored" these events but gave the excuse that they were due to "the nervous tension at present prevailing in Poland".<ref>''Documents on German Foreign Policy 1918-1945'' by an editorial committee, Series D, vol.vi, Her Majesty's Stationary Office, London, 1956, no,.108, p.135.</ref>

On 11 April 1939 the German ''[[Abwehr]]'' reported:

: ''"Poland is safeguarding the crucial area of the Corridor against any surprise attacks, by maintaining troops on the frontier in a continuous state of alert."''<ref>''Documents on German Foreign Policy 1918-1945'' by a large editorial board, Series D, vol.vi, Her Majesty's Stationary Office, London, 1956, pps: 101-2 & 223.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Treaty of Versailles]]
*[[Causes of World War II]]
*[[Campaign in Poland]]

==Sources==
<references/>
* Schmitz, Hans Jacob, ''The Colonization of the Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia'' translated into English by Ernst Horstmann, Heimatblatter-Verlag, n/d (l930s).
* Blanke, Professor Richard, ''Orphans of Versailles'' - The Germans in Western Poland 1918-1939, University Press of Kentucky, 1993, ISBN: 0-8131-1803-4
* Chu, Professor Winson, ''The German Minority in Inter-war Poland'', Cambridge University Press, U.K., 2012/2013, ISBN 978-1-107-63462-6

[[Category:Revanchism]]
[[Category:Poland]]
[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:Occupied Germany]]
[[Category:History]]
[[Category:European history]]
[[Category:German history]]
[[Category:European history]]
[[Category:Towns in occupied Germany]]

[[de:Polnischer Korridor]]
[[es:Corredor polaco]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 00:57, 4 February 2024
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	: See also [[West Prussia]]		: See also [[West Prussia]]
	[[File:Germany_1919_Lost_territory.~~jpg~~\|300px\|thumb\|right\|The Polish Corridor & associated territories]]		[[File:Germany_1919_Lost_territory.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|The Polish Corridor & associated territories]]
	[[File:Prussia dismemberment in 1919.~~jpg~~\|300px\|thumb\|right\|The dismemberment of Prussia by the Western Allies in 1919. The lands above the Vistula river were taken from her. The Corridor is shown.]]		[[File:Prussia dismemberment in 1919.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|The dismemberment of Prussia by the Western Allies in 1919. The lands above the Vistula river were taken from her. The Corridor is shown.]]
	[[File:Germany Polish Corridor lost railway network.~~jpg~~\|300px\|thumb\|right\|Map showing the German railway network in the Corridor, [[Posen]] - and even into Congress Poland which had few railways. The loss of this infrastructure and capital investment without any compensation caused chaos and anger.]]		[[File:Germany Polish Corridor lost railway network.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|Map showing the German railway network in the Corridor, [[Posen]] - and even into Congress Poland which had few railways. The loss of this infrastructure and capital investment without any compensation caused chaos and anger.]]
	[[File:Germany West Prussia Communications 1920.~~jpg~~\|300px\|thumb\|right\|Disrupted communications]]		[[File:Germany West Prussia Communications 1920.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|Disrupted communications]]
	[[File:German proposal to Poland by Hitler.~~jpg~~\|300px\|thumb\|right\|German proposals for extra-territorial access. The black and dotted territories were all part of Germany before 1919.]]		[[File:German proposal to Poland by Hitler.png\|300px\|thumb\|right\|German proposals for extra-territorial access. The black and dotted territories were all part of Germany before 1919.]]
	The '''Polish Corridor''' (which Poland named ''Pomorze''), was a creation of the [[Treaty of Versailles]] and consisted of the former province of [[West Prussia]] or old Pomerelia (minus its former capital of [[Danzig]]), the latter's hinterland and the county of [[Posen]], all of which were taken off Prussia ([[Weimar Germany\|Germany]]) and given to the newly resurrected state of [[Poland]], without a plebiscite, the latter action greatly angering the Germans.<ref>''Danger Spots of Europe'' by Bernard Newman, London, 1938, p.106-7.</ref> The Corridor now separated Germany proper from its province of [[East Prussia]], and [[Danzig]].		The '''Polish Corridor''' (which Poland named ''Pomorze''), was a creation of the [[Treaty of Versailles]] and consisted of the former province of [[West Prussia]] or old Pomerelia (minus its former capital of [[Danzig]]), the latter's hinterland and the county of [[Posen]], all of which were taken off Prussia ([[Weimar Germany\|Germany]]) and given to the newly resurrected state of [[Poland]], without a plebiscite, the latter action greatly angering the Germans.<ref>''Danger Spots of Europe'' by Bernard Newman, London, 1938, p.106-7.</ref> The Corridor now separated Germany proper from its province of [[East Prussia]], and [[Danzig]].