Gallery

 

In This Report:
The Schleswig-Holstein in Danzig - Case White begins at 4:45 A.M. at Westerplatte Pages .....................1-16
Special Edition Definitives - Reunion of Danzig to Prussia commemorative ................17
The Artushof: Home of the NSDAP2 .........................18
Letters to the Editor ........................20-23
Map: Hafen von Danzig with surrounding communities ...................24

In the Light of History
Many times, we have stated that the printing of stamps and postal stationery doesn’t exist in a vacuum. All philatelic output is the result of political, economic and historic considerations by the issuing country. In our case, Danzig just happens to provide a tremendous scope of possibilities for the collector. It has led a life of historical variety, and this is still apparent to the visitor of Gdansk today. The grip of the Teutonic Knights is still seen in the Marienkirche and in other structures, roads, walls and details of this great city. Within its 997 years of some kind of existence, however, the most damaging man-made destruction has been during the 20th Century. And the siege of 1 September 1939 resulted in only minor damage to its ancient structures; the realdamage occurred in the spring of 1945.This story will be told in 1995, guided by a colored map that shows the extent of damage to every building in the old city. Hitler could have declared Danzig an Open City in 1945, and the Soviets could have bypassed it during their sweep west. Hindsight
shows us what should have been done, but it is too late to do anything except make the best of the situation. Which is exactly what the Polish people thought after the war, when they decided to rebuild most of the city of Gdansk intothe marvel that we see today. Progress on some of the buildings is slow, as we report in this issue on the Artushof and the Rathaus, but progress is still being made. The main thrust of this Report concerns the use of an old battleship to kick off the second world war, and her use as a heavy-gun platform from the Vistula to the Hela penins ula. A handful of heroes, best known for their defensive actions at the Polish post office on He.velius Place and at the Westerplatte, made their way into stamp designs. The photo at the right shows the surrender of Major Sucharski to Generalmajor Eberhardt during the ceremonies, in which Sucharski is allowed to keep his sword.

 

Danzig Report Vol. 1 - Nr. 84 - July - August - Sept - 1994, Page 2.