An industrial port and shipbuilding centre in northern Poland, on an inlet of the Baltic Sea; population 456,103 (2007). Disputed between Prussia and Poland during the 19th century, it was a free city under a League of Nations mandate from 1919 until 1939, when it was annexed by Nazi Germany, precipitating hostilities with Poland and the outbreak of the Second World War.
An industrial port and shipbuilding center in northern Poland, on an inlet of the Baltic Sea; population 456,103 (2007). Disputed between Prussia and Poland during the 19th century, it was a free city under a League of Nations mandate 1919–39, when it was annexed by Nazi Germany, which precipitated hostilities with Poland and the outbreak of World War II.