Decree of October 22, 1947 on the citizenship of the Polish State of persons of Polish nationality residing in the area of the former Free City of Gdańsk
After the end of World War II, due to the change of state borders, Poland had to adapt its legislation to the new reality. One of the areas requiring new regulations was the issue of the status of people living in the Free City of Gdańsk before the war. Pursuant to Art. 105 of the Treaty of Versailles, which established the Free City of Gdańsk, the inhabitants of this area lost their German citizenship and gained the right to the citizenship of the Free City. At the same time, Art. 106 of the Treaty granted the right to choose between Gdańsk and German citizenship. Choosing German citizenship required moving to Germany. Despite this, people of Polish origin constituted a significant minority in the Free City.
After the end of hostilities, the Polish legislator, pursuant to the decree of October 22, 1947 on the citizenship of the Polish State for persons of Polish nationality residing in the area of the former Free City of Gdańsk, granted Polish citizenship to residents of Polish origin, provided they met the following conditions:
- • before September 1, 1939, they had permanent residence in the area of the former Free City of Gdańsk
- • they proved their Polish nationality before the verification (nationality) commission and obtained, on this basis, confirmation of their Polish nationality by the competent authority of the general administration of the first instance
- • made a declaration of loyalty to the Polish Nation and State
Pursuant to art. 2 of the decrees: "persons who did not submit to verification before the verification commission for reasons worth considering may apply for confirmation of Polish nationality by the authority of the general administration of the first instance of their last place of residence."
Article 3 established the principle that the procedure specified in the decree would not be carried out for persons who, before the date of entry into force of the decree, had undergone nationality verification (analogous to that in the decree) in accordance with the provisions of the Act of April 28, 1946 on the citizenship of the Polish State of persons of Polish nationality living in the Recovered Territories. Such persons could obtain Polish citizenship under this act, even if they lived in the area of the former Free City of Gdańsk only after August 31, 1939.
