The
plebiscite areas (; ) were placed under the authority of two Inter-Allied Commissions of five members, who were appointed by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers representing the
League of Nations. British and Italian troops, under the command of the Commissions, arrived on and soon after 12 February 1920 after the regular German
Reichswehr had previously left the plebiscite areas. The civil and municipal administration was continued by the existing German authorities, which were responsible to the Commissions for their duration. In accordance with Articles 94 to 97 of the Treaty of Versailles (section entitled "East Prussia"), the Marienwerder Plebiscite Area was formed of northeastern
Marienwerder Government Region, based in Marienwerder in West Prussia, now
Kwidzyn, which encompassed the districts of
Marienwerder (east of the
Vistula),
Stuhm (based in Stuhm, now
Sztum),
Rosenberg (based in Rosenberg in West Prussia, now
Susz) as well as parts (based in Marienburg in West Prussia,
Malbork, part of the
Danzig Government Region) east of the
Nogat. The treaty defined the Allenstein Plebiscite Area as "The western and northern boundary of
Allenstein Government Region to its junction with the boundary between the
districts (based in Marggrabowa, now
Olecko) and (based in Angerburg, now
Węgorzewo). The northern boundary of the Oletzko District to its junction with the old frontier of East Prussia." The official Prussian census of 1910 showed 245,000 Polish- and Mazurian-speakers and 289,000 German-speakers in the Allenstein Government Region and 23,000 and 136,000 in the Marienwerder Government Region.
Allenstein / Olsztyn Plebiscite Area The Allied forces had to intervene here in 1919 to release imprisoned Masurians, who had tried to reach the Paris Conference. The president and British commissioner of the Inter-Allied Administrative and Plebiscite Commission for Allenstein was
Ernest Rennie; the French commissioner was ; the Italian commissioner was Marquis Fracassi, a
senator; and the Japanese commissioner was Marumo. The German government, under the Protocol's terms, was allowed to attach a delegate and sent
Reichskommissar Wilhelm von Gayl, who had been in the service of the Interior Ministry before he was on the Inner Colonisation Committee. The local police forces were placed under the control of two British officers: Lieutenant-Colonel Bennet and Major David Deevis. Bennet reported that he regarded them as "well-disciplined and reliable". There was also a battalion from the
Royal Irish Regiment and an Italian regiment stationed at
Lyck (Ełk). According to Jerzy Minakowski, the small forces had proven themselves inadequate to protect pro-Polish voters in the precincts from pro-German repressions. The Commission had general powers of administration and was particularly "charged with the duty of arranging for the vote and of taking such measures as it may deem necessary to ensure its freedom, fairness, and secrecy. The Commission will have all necessary authority to decide any questions to which the execution of these provisions may give rise. The Commission will make such arrangements as may be necessary for assistance in the exercise of its functions by officials chosen by itself from the local population. Its decisions will be taken by a majority". The Commission was welcomed by the Poles in the region, who hoped that its presence would improve their situation, but petitions were made to remove German officials and the
Sicherheitswehr and demanded the official welcoming committee of German officials to show the representatives of the Allies the plight of ethnic Poles. The commission eventually had to remove both the mayor of Allenstein, , and an officer of
Sicherheitswehr, Major Oldenburg, after a Polish banner at the local consulate of Poland was defaced. The Poles expressed gratitude for Allied protection of Polish rights and underlined their desire for peaceful co-existence with the Germans. In April 1920, during a Polish theatrical performance in Deuthen (Dajtki), near Allenstein, Poles were attacked by pro-German activists. As demanded by the Allied Commission, the German police escorted Polish actors but they ignored the attackers. In
Bischofsburg (Biskupiec), a pogrom against Poles was organised, which prompted the creation of a special commission to find the perpetrators. The
Allensteiner Zeitung newspaper called on its readers to remain calm and to cease pogroms against Poles and pointed out that they could lead to postponing the plebiscite, which would go against German interests. Italian forces were sent to Lötzen (Giżycko), according to Minakowski, to protect the Poles after a pogrom had occurred on 17 April. In May, several attacks on Poles were reported in
Osterode (Ostróda) and included attacks on coworkers of the Masurian Committee.
Marienwerder / Kwidzyn Plebiscite Area Parts of the
Marienwerder Government Region were confined as the Marienwerder Plebiscite Area. The commission for the plebiscite area reached Marienwerder (Kwidzyn) on 17 February 1920. Upon its arrival, it found an Italian battalion of
Bersaglieri on guard that then marched past at the double. The commission had about 1,400 uniformed German police under its authority. Beaumont was accused by Poles of having a cold and ironic attitude toward them. Beaumont said that with the exception of the , where Poles admittedly numbered 15,500 out of a population of 36,500 (42%), they had Polish sympathies since they were Catholics. In the other districts, with the exception of Allenstein, Poles depicting themselves as Mazurians were Lutherans and German in a national conviction. On the eve of the plebiscite, Beaumont reported that Poles strictly guarded the new frontier between East Prussia and Poland to prevent people from passing to East Prussia without vexatious formalities. They held up trains for hours and constantly interrupted or even completely suppressed postal, telegraphic and telephonic communication service. The at
Dirschau was barred by sentries in French uniforms, "who refuse to understand any language but Polish". As a result, Beaumont wrote that area to have been "cut off from its shopping centre and chief port almost completely". After the plebiscite, the bridge was removed. To Beaumont, it would be "desirable to convey a hint to the Warsaw Government that their present policy is scarcely calculated to gain them votes".
Sir Horace Rumbold, the British minister in Warsaw, also wrote to
George Curzon on 5 March 1920 that the Plebiscite Commissions at Allenstein and Marienwerder "felt that they were isolated both from Poland and from Germany" and that the Polish authorities were holding up supplies of coal and petrol to those districts. Rumbold had a meeting with the Polish Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Stanisław Patek, who declared that he was disappointed with his people's behaviour and "spoke strongly about the tactlessness and rigidity of the Polish Military authorities". On 10 March, Beaumont wrote of numerous continuing difficulties being made by Polish officials and stressed the "ill-will between Polish and German nationalities and the irritation due to Polish intolerance towards the German inhabitants in the Corridor (now under their rule), far worse than any former German intolerance of the Poles, are growing to such an extent that it is impossible to believe the present settlement (borders) can have any chance of being permanent...". The Poles began to harden their position, and Rumbold reported to Curzon on 22 March 1920 that Count , an official of the Polish Foreign Office, had told
Sir Percy Loraine, First Secretary at the legation at Warsaw, that the Poles questioned the impartiality of the Inter-Allied Commissions and indicated that the Polish government might refuse to recognise the results of the plebiscites. Infiltration attempts of Polish irregulars into the Marienwerder area were checked by Italian troops. ==Propaganda==