Defence of the Polish Post in Danzig

Defence of the Polish Post Office in Danzig (today Gdańsk)

Captured postmen being led away under the SS escort, with members of the SA and Danzig police looking on.

Date	September 1, 1939
Location	Free City of Danzig 54°21′18″N 18°39′25″E / 54.355°N 18.657°E / 54.355; 18.657Coordinates: 54°21′18″N 18°39′25″E / 54.355°N 18.657°E / 54.355; 18.657
Result	German victory

Belligerents

Poland

Free City of Danzig

Nazi Germany

Commanders and leaders

Strength

55 postmen, army officers and civilian volunteers
1 railwayman

More than 200 SS and SA soldiers, policemen, paramilitaries and regulars
3+ ADGZ armored cars

Casualties and losses

6 killed (2 killed after surrendering)
14 wounded, 4 died of their wounds,
38 captured and executed

10 killed
25 wounded
1 ADGZ destroyed

The Defence of the Polish Post Office in Danzig (Gdańsk) was one of the first acts of World War II in Europe, as part of the Invasion of Poland.

On September 1, 1939, Polish personnel defended the building for some 15 hours against assaults by the SS Heimwehr Danzig (SS Danzig Home Defense), local SA formations and special units of Danzig police. All but four of the defenders, who were able to escape from the building during the surrender, were sentenced to death by a German court martial as illegal combatants on October 5, 1939 and executed.

The Polish Post Office (Poczta Polska) in the Free City of Danzig was created in 1920 under the Treaty of Versailles, and its buildings were considered extraterritorial Polish property. The Polish Post Office in Danzig comprised several buildings.

As tensions between Poland and Germany grew, in April 1939 the Polish High Command detached combat engineer and Army Reserve Sublieutenant (or 2LT) Konrad Guderski to the Baltic Sea coast. With Alfons Flisykowski and others, he helped organise the official and volunteer security staff at the Polish Post Office in Danzig, and prepared them for possible hostilities. In addition to training the staff, he prepared the defences in and around the building: nearby trees were removed and the entrance was fortified. In mid-August, ten additional employees were sent to the post office from Polish Post offices in Gdynia and Bydgoszcz (mostly reserve non-commissioned officers).

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Wikipedia