After World War II, the German population of Gdańsk (formerly Danzig) was almost entirely expelled or fled, making the city overwhelmingly Polish. While a few individuals with mixed heritage remained, there is no significant, distinct German minority residing in the city today; it is considered a firmly Polish city.
After 1945 Germans was expelled, except rather tiny group of mixed. Present population of Gdańsk is made mostly of people who came then, many from Kresy (land lost to Soviets), e.g. Wilno. Mostly, but not all - some have ties to pre-1945 Polish, mixed, or even German population.
According to the 2021 census, most of the Germans in Poland (67.2%) live in Silesia: 59,911 in the Opole Voivodeship, i.e. 41.6% of all Germans in Poland and a share of 6.57% of the local population; 27,923 in the Silesian Voivodeship, i.e. 19.4% of all Germans in Poland and 0.66% of the local population; plus 8,978 in ...
Gdańsk is now a thoroughly Polish city, but it has a deep and complex German past, having been ruled by German states (Prussia/Germany) for significant periods, leading to a blend of architectural and historical influences; after WWII, its German population largely fled, and the city was rebuilt and repopulated as Polish, cementing its modern Polish identity.
It's just that during the Prussian (and later German Empire) rule over this region, after the partitions of the PLC, the facades were covered with Prussian styles to make it seem like the city was always German ( and btw prussian styles were always too bulky and butt ugly imho).
One provision required Germany to cede West Prussia to the newly reconstructed state of Poland. Danzig, largely an ethnically German city, became a "free city" under the protection of the League of Nations (the worldwide organization of states established by the treaty), but with special administrative ties to Poland.
If you're planning to visit and only speak English, you'll find that Gdańsk is generally quite English-friendly. English is widely spoken among younger people and in tourist-focused areas, making it easier for international visitors to navigate the city. Most hotels in Gdańsk have English-speaking staff.
One of the main factors in the declining crime rate is changes of a socio-economic nature. Declining unemployment, economic growth, which translates into increased household income, and Poland's high rate of economic development are the main reasons for the country's crime rate.
In the decades that followed the majority of the inhabitants of the Ruhr of Polish descent became Germanised, and what remained were the surnames along with other traces of a Polish presence. The process of Germanisation also took place in the eastern Prussian provinces, where the Polish inhabitants were indigenous.
Which countries are visa - and -permit exempt for Poland? EU, EEA, and Swiss citizens enjoy complete freedom of movement across each other's countries. They don't need visas or work permits to live and work in Poland.
These days Gdansk's Jewish community numbers around 100, with an excellent exhibition dedicated to the history of the city's Jews in the New Synagogue, built in 1927 in the district of Wrzeszcz.
How far is it from Gdańsk to Germany? The distance between Gdańsk and Germany is 588 km. The road distance is 490.1 km. How do I travel from Gdańsk to Germany without a car?
The 1939 German ultimatum to Poland refers to a list of 16 demands (or points) by Nazi Germany to Poland, demanding the return of the Free City of Danzig to Germany and for a plebiscite to be held on the status of the Polish Corridor as part of German demands to negotiate on August 29, 1939.
Some of these loans were only paid off in the early 21st century. On 31 December 2006, Britain made a final payments of about $83m (£45.5m) to the US and about $23.6m to Canada. By the end of World War II Britain had amassed an immense debt of £21 billion.
Gdańsk is now a thoroughly Polish city, but it has a deep and complex German past, having been ruled by German states (Prussia/Germany) for significant periods, leading to a blend of architectural and historical influences; after WWII, its German population largely fled, and the city was rebuilt and repopulated as Polish, cementing its modern Polish identity.
Warsaw, Kraków, Poznań, Wrocław, Gdańsk, Bielsko-Biała, Lodz, Gdynia, Sopot, Lublin, Katowice, Szczecin, Rzeszów and Toruń are the best places to live in Poland for expats and digital nomads in 2026.
Yes. Some city's are referred to by their pre war Name like Danzig, Breslau, Posen, Stettin or Königsberg. The reason: Polish language is a bit difficult for Germans to pronounce, and it would be confusing to refer to Allenstein as Olsztyn or to Breslau by Wroclaw.
The tourist hotspot of Kraków in southern Poland has topped a ranking of the world's cleanest cities. According to Radical Storage, a global luggage storage service, 98.5% of cleanliness-related reviews posted between October 2024 and November 2025 were positive about Kraków's tidiness.
In Warsaw, a city of nearly two million residents, there are already 32 people with assets worth at least $100 million and four billionaires. The richest city in the world is New York, home to as many as 384,000 millionaires. But New York is several times larger than Warsaw and has four times more residents.
Krakow, Poland's cultural jewel, ranks fifth in Europe for safety, with an impressive score of 64.3. Its beautifully preserved medieval Old Town, also a UNESCO World Heritage site, is not only breathtaking but also regarded as one of the safest areas for visitors—even at night.
