GDAŃSKI PRZEDSIĘBIORCA ERNST AUGUST CLAASZEN JAKO HONOROWY AGENT KONSULARNY USA W ŚWIETLE RAPORTÓW Z LAT 1909 I 1912
ERNST AUGUST CLAASZEN – BUSINESSMAN AND US CONSULAR AGENT IN DANZIG

Summary/Abstract: The author describes the aspect of Ernst August Claaszen’s activity as a US consular agent in Danzig (Gdańsk), not known so far in historiography. Hitherto, Claaszen has been primarily associated with the history of Sopot due to the rich villa which he got built at the Baltic beach. At present the building houses the Museum of Sopot. The author describes to what extent Claaszen separated his family life (which has already been largely described in the literature on the subject) from his professional life, especially as an American consular agent in Danzig. In addition to recalling many threads from Claaszen’s life, on the basis of the available literature on the subject and the collections of the Sopot Museum, the author also discloses two reports on American inspections carried out at Claaszen’s workplace (the Old Bench House in Gdańsk), where he performed his duties as an American consular agent in Gdańsk, West Prussia. The inspections were carried out in 1909 and 1912 by the American consulate in Szczecin, commissioned by the US State Department. Apart from all aspects of life in the city presented by the consul, the inspector was most interested in the volume of trade with the USA, the possibilities of its development and the types of goods exported to and imported from the United States of America. In addition, the inspector was interested in securing American citizens and interests in the region and other foreign diplomatic missions operating in the city. Finally, the inspector’s dilemma whether it is worth having Claaszen, a businessman from Gdańsk and a German, as an American consular agent in Gdańsk was presented. The audits and the reports highlighted both strengths and weaknesses of this choice. On the basis of archival files from these inspections located in the USA, which the author had reached, a different scope of Claaszen’s activity was presented, bringing elements of his institution’s activities to the historiography of Gdańsk and the American point of view on the the events taking place at the beginning of the 20th century in Gdańsk and the whole Pomerania region.

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