Germanisation of Poles during the Partitions

Last updated

After partitioning Poland at the end of the 18th century, the Kingdom of Prussia and later the German Empire imposed a number of Germanisation policies and measures in the newly gained territories, aimed at limiting the Polish ethnic presence and culture in these areas. This process continued through its various stages until the end of World War I, when most of the territories became part of the Second Polish Republic, which largely limited the capacity of further Germanisation efforts of the Weimar Republic until the occupation during World War II.

Contents

Until the unification of Germany

Following the partitions, the Prussian authorities started the policy of settling German speaking ethnic groups in these areas. Frederick the Great, in an effort to populate his sparsely populated kingdom, settled around 300,000 colonists in all provinces of Prussia, most of which were of a German ethnic background, and aimed at a removal of the Polish nobility, which he treated with contempt. [1]

He likened the newly conquered West Prussia to a Prussian Canada and its inhabitants (which were German and Polish) to the Iroquois, who he saw as equally uncivilised. [2] [3] Under Prussian rule, Poles were subject to a series of measures aimed against them and their culture; Polish was replaced by German as the official language [4] and the land of several members of the Polish nobility was confiscated and given to German nobles. [2] [4]

1815–1831

The Prussian hold on Polish areas was somewhat weakened after 1807, where parts of its partition were given to the Duchy of Warsaw. [4] The power status of Prussia was dependent on hindering any form of Polish statehood[ according to whom? ], due to the crucial position of Wielkopolska, Silesia and West Prussia; all areas with either a Polish majority or substantial Polish population. The Prussian state did not support Polish attempts at restoration of Poland during the Congress of Vienna, where it tried to regain the Duchy of Warsaw or at least its western provinces. [4] In 1815, the Prussian king made several guarantees in his speech to Poles in the newly formed Grand Duchy of Posen (created out of the territories of the Duchy of Warsaw) in regards to rights of Polish language and cultural institutions. [4] In order to ensure loyalty of the newly re-conquered territories, the Prussians engaged in several propaganda gestures hoping they would be enough to gain land-owners' and aristocratic support. [5]

The base support of Prussian rule was from the influx of German officials and tradesmen, whose immigration started in 1772 due to Partitions of Poland, and while it was halted in 1806, it soon was reinstated after 1815 as planned systemic action of Prussian government. [5] The Prussians knew exactly that Polish aspirations were involved with independence; however, they were considering at the time two different methods to subdue Polish resistance. [5] One advocated ruthless Germanisation of the Polish provinces, the other pursued by Chancellor Hardenberg, wanted to gain support of Polish higher classes, while turning them away from Russian Tsar Alexander I. [5]

Initially, the position of the Chancellor prevailed. At the same time, Prussians and Russians, through secret police, worked together against Polish movements that would seek independence either from Russia or Prussia, and Prussian representative in Warsaw helped to create political climate that would abolish constitutional freedoms in Congress Poland. [5] The situation in Polish areas of Prussia was calmed down after a series of proclamations and assuring the Polish right to their education, religion and traditions. In the end, the Polish rights were defined very narrowly, and Prussia started to abolish Polish in administration, schooling, and courts. [5] In 1819 the gradual elimination of Polish in schools began, with German being introduced in its place. [5] This procedure was briefly stopped in 1822, but restarted in 1824.

In 1825 August Jacob, a politician hostile to Poles, gained power over newly created Provincial Educational Collegium in Posen (Poznań). [5] Across the Polish territories, Polish teachers were being removed from work, German educational programs were being introduced, and primary schooling was being replaced by German one that aimed at the creation of loyal Prussian citizens. [5] Already in 1816 the Polish gymnasium in Bromberg (Bydgoszcz) was turned into a German school and Polish was removed from classes.

In 1825 the Teacher's Seminary in Bromberg was Germanized as well. [5] While in 1824 a Provincial Parliament was invoked in Greater Poland, the representation was based on a wealth census, meaning that the result gave most of the power to German minority in the area. [5] Even when Poles managed to issue calls asking for enforcing of the guarantees formulated in treaties of Congress of Vienna and proclamations of Prussian King in 1815 they were rejected by Prussia. [5] Thus, neither the attempt to create Polish University in Posen nor Polish Society of Friends of Agriculture, Industry and Education were accepted by authorities. [5] Nevertheless, Poles continued to ask for Polish representation in administration of the area, representing the separate character of the Duchy, keeping the Polish character of schools. [5]

From 1825, the increase in anti-Polish policies became more visible and intense. [5] Prussian political circles demanded an end to the tolerance of Polishness. Among the Poles, two groups emerged, one still hoping for respect of separate status of the Duchy and insisting on working with Prussian authorities, hoping that in time they would grant some freedoms. The other faction still hoped for independence of Poland. As a consequence, many Polish activists were imprisoned. [5] A joint operation of Russian and Prussian secret police managed to discover Polish organizations working in Breslau (Wrocław) and Berlin, whose members were arrested and detained in Prussian jails. [5]

1830–1848

Intensification of anti-Polish policies started from 1830 onwards. [5] As the November Uprising in Russian-held Congress Poland began, Prussians closely worked with Russia in regards to stopping any Polish independence drive. A state of emergency was introduced in the Duchy, police surveillance started on a large scale and 80,000 soldiers were moved into the area. [5] The Prussian Foreign Minister openly declared that Prussia would oppose independence of Poland as it would mean territories taken in the Partitions of Poland could be claimed by it. [5] Russian soldiers fighting Poles received food supplies, equipment, and intelligence from Prussia. While Prussian generals even wanted to march into Congress Poland, the threat of French intervention stopped those plans. [5] The administrator of the region became Eduard Heinrich Flotwell, a self-declared enemy of Poles, who openly called for Germanisation and superiority of German culture over Polish people. Supported by Karl Grolman, a Prussian general, a program was presented that envisioned removing Poles from all offices, courts, judiciary system, and local administration, controlling the clergy, and making peasants loyal through enforced military service. Schools were to be Germanized as well. [5] Those plans were supported by such prominent public figures such as Carl von Clausewitz, August Neidhardt von Gneisenau, Theodor von Schon, Wilhelm von Humboldt. [5]

By 1830 the right to use Polish in courts and institutions was no longer respected. [4] While the Poles constituted the majority of population in the province of Poznan, they held only 4 out of 21 official posts of higher level. [4] From 1832 they could no longer hold higher posts at the local administrative level (Landrat). [4] At the same time the Prussian government and Prussian King pursued Germanisation of administration and judicial system, while local officials enforced Germanisation of educational system and tried to eradicate the economic position of Polish nobility. [4] In Bromberg the mayors were all Germans. In Posen, out of 700 officials, only 30 were Poles.

Flotwell also tried to reduce Polish landownership in favour of Germans. In the time period of 1832–1842 the number of Polish holdings was reduced from 1020 to 950 and the German ones increased from 280 to 400. [5] The Jewish minority in the Province was seen by Prussians as a useful ally to gain support for their policies. The Prussians hoped that by granting Jews rights and abolishing old limitations, they could integrate Jewish population into German society, and gain a counterweight to Polish presence. As a result, many Jews saw in Prussia a free, liberal state and were opposed to the Polish independence movement. [5]

When Frederick William IV ascended to the throne in 1840, certain concessions were again granted. [6] The German colonization was halted, some schools were able to teach Polish again, and promises were made to create Polish departments in universities in Breslau and Berlin, there were also vague promises about the creation of a university in Posen. [5] While the overall goal of Germanisation remained the same, the Prussian state hoped that by such concessions it could assure the identification of Poles with the Prussian state and an eventual change of their identity. [5] The concessions were also connected to the freezing of relations between Prussia and the Russian Empire, with Prussian politicians hoping that Poles could be used to fight Russia on Prussia's behalf. [5]

At this time the majority of Poles were not yet engaged in political activity. At most only the landowners, the intelligentsia and the upper urban classes possessed a developed national consciousness. The peasantry and the working class had yet to experience their own "Polish national awakening". Through military service and school education, and in the case of "regulated" peasants also in the wake of the benefits wrought by the final emancipation decree introduced in 1823, some segments of these social groups had begun to identify with the Prussian state. However, as German colonization grew in strength and policies against Polish religion and traditions were introduced the local population begun to feel hostility towards Prussia and German presence. [5] Economic factors also began to influence Polish-German relations. Colonization policies in particular created a fear of German competition among Poles. The greatest difference remained the religious segregation. The local Germans displayed rather politically apathy and refrained from creating an organized form of social life. Prior to 1848, the provincial diet remained the only forum of German political activity. In general relations of the local Germans with the Polish population were good. [6]

1871 until the Treaty of Versailles

Nationality map of eastern Germany in 1910 National map of eastern provinces of German Reich based on official census of 1910.jpg
Nationality map of eastern Germany in 1910

Within Bismarck's Kulturkampf policy, the Poles were purposefully presented as "foes of the empire" (German : Reichsfeinde). [7] Bismarck himself privately believed that the only solution to Polish Question was the extermination of Poles. [8] As the Prussian authorities suppressed Catholic services in Polish by Polish priests, the Poles had to rely on German Catholic priests. Later, in 1885, the Prussian Settlement Commission was set up from the national government's funds with a mission to buy land from Polish owners and distribute it among German colonists. [9] In reaction to this the Poles also founded a commission of their own to buy farmland and distribute it to Poles.[ citation needed ] Eventually 22,000 German families were settled through the Prussian Settlement Commission in the province of Posen. In 1885, 35.000 Poles, who had immigrated from Austria and the Russian Empire and therefore had no German citizenship, were deported from Germany. This was further strengthened by the ban on building of houses by Poles (see Drzymała's van). [10] Another means of the policy was the elimination of non-German languages from public life, schools and from academic settings. At its extremes, the Germanisation policies in schools took the form of abuse of Polish children by Prussian officials (see Września children strike). The harsh policies had the reverse effect of stimulating resistance, usually in the form of home schooling and tighter unity in the minority groups. In 1890 the Germanisation of Poles was slightly eased for a couple of years but the activities intensified again since 1894 and continued until the end of the World War I. This led to international condemnation, e.g., an international meeting of socialists held in Brussels in 1902 called the Germanisation of Poles in Prussia "barbarous". [11] Nevertheless, the Settlement Commission was empowered with new more powerful rights, which entitled it to force Poles to sell the land since 1908, although it was only ever used in one instance.

Germanisation of Poles in Ruhr area

Another form of Germanisation of Poles was the relation between the German state and Polish coal miners in the Ruhr area. Due to migration within the German Empire, an enormous stream of Polish nationals (as many as 350,000) made their way to the Ruhr in the late 19th century, where they worked in the coal and iron industries. Because of the various uprisings in occupied Poland during the previous century, German authorities viewed them as potential danger and a threat and as a "suspected political and national" element. All Polish workers had special identity cards and were under constant observation by German authorities. In addition, anti-Polish stereotypes were promoted, such as postcards with jokes about Poles, presenting them as irresponsible people, similar to the treatment of the Irish in New England around the same time. The vilification was mutual, with Polish rhymes often characterizing the Germans as dogs or less than human. Many Polish traditional and religious songs were forbidden by Prussian authorities . Their citizens' rights were also limited by the German state. [12] In response to these policies, the Polish formed their own organizations to defend their interests and ethnic identity. The Sokół sports clubs and the workers' union Zjednoczenie Zawodowe Polskie (ZZP), Wiarus Polski (press) and Bank Robotników were among the best known such organizations in the area. At first the Polish workers, ostracised by their German counterparts, had supported the Catholic Centre Party. Since the beginning of the 20th century their support more and more shifted towards the social democrats. In 1905 Polish and German workers organized their first common strike. Under the German law of changing surnames (German : Namensänderungsgesetz)[ clarification needed ] a significant number of "Ruhr-Poles" had to change their surnames and Christian names to Germanised forms, in order to evade ethnic discrimination. Increasing intermarriage between Germans and Poles also contributed much to the Germanisation of ethnic Poles in the Ruhr area.

Germanisation plans during First World War

During the First World War, the German Empire planned to annex up to 35,000 square kilometers of pre-war Congress Poland and ethnically cleanse between 2 and 3 million Poles and Jews out of these territories to make room for German settlers. [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]

Reversal of Germanisation after end of German rule over Polish territories

After World War I ended, the Germanisation of those Polish territories which were restored to Poland was largely reversed, although significant German minorities continued to exist.

The American historian of German descent [19] Richard Blanke in his book Orphans of Versailles names several reasons for the exodus of the German population. The author has been criticised by Christian Raitz von Frentz and his book classified by him as part of a series on the subject that have an anti-Polish bias. [20] Polish professor A. Cienciala says that Blanke's views in the book are sympathetic to Germany. [21]

Official encouragement by the Polish state played a secondary role in the exodus. [22] While there were demonstrations and protests and occasional violence against Germans, they were at a local level, and officials were quick to point out that they were a backlash against former discrimination against Poles. [22] There were other demonstrations when Germans showed disloyalty during the Polish-Bolshevik war [22] as the Red Army announced the return to the prewar borders of 1914. [24] As many as 80% of Germans emigrated more or less voluntarily. [22]

Reversal of Germanisation in Poznan

County
(German name in brackets) [25]
ethnic German population (1910)ethnic German population (1926)ethnic German population (1934)decline
(absolute numbers)
decline (percent)
Odolanów (Adelnau) 17,14810,0389,442−7,706−44.9
Międzychód (Birnbaum) 16,0124,6554,377−11,635−72.7
Bydgoszcz (Bromberg, town) 74,29211,01610,021−64,271−86.5
Bydgoszcz (Bromberg, district) 31,21213,28112,211−19,001−60.9
Czarnków (Czarnikau) 17,2735,5114,773−6,500−57.7
Gniezno (Gnesen) 26,2758,6167,876−18,399−70.0
Gostyń (Gostyn) 6,5282,3952,162−4,366−66.9
Grodzisk Wielkopolski (Grätz) / Nowy Tomyśl (Neutomischel) 33,24416,57616,555−16,689−50.2
Inowrocław (Hohensalza) 28,3948,4558,096−20,298−71.5
Jarocin (Jarotschin) / Pleszew (Pleschen) 15,4364,6674,019−11,417−74.0
Kępno (Kempen) / Ostrzeszów (Schildberg) 16,6319,31010,889−5,742−34.5
Chodzież (Kolmar) 34,00414,24612,348−21,656−63.7
Koźmin (Koschmin) / Krotoszyn (Krotoschin) 21,5426,5425,807−15,735−73.0
Leszno (Lissa) 31,0339,9178,371−22,662−73.0
Mogilno (Mogilno) / Strzelno (Strelno) 21,7118,7277,770−13,941−64.2
Oborniki (Obornik) 22,4509,4178,410−14,040−62.5
Poznań (Posen, town) 65,3215,9804,387−60,934−93.3
Poznań (Posen, district) 21,4864,6874,252−17,234−80.2
Rawicz (Rawitsch) 21,8426,1845,038−16,804−76.9
Szamotuły (Samter) 17,0715,0294,841−12,230−71.6
Śmigiel (Schmiegel) / Kościan (Kosten) 11,7753,6363,488−8,287−70.4
Śrem (Schrimm) 10,0172,8023,574−6,443−64.3
Środa Wielkopolska (Schroda) 6,2012,2692,029−4,172−67.3
Szubin (Schubin) 21,03510,1938,879−12,156−57.8
Wyrzysk (Wirsitz) 34,23513,49512,410−21,825−63.8
Wolsztyn (Wollstein) 22,23610,3699,313−12,923−58.1
Wągrowiec (Wongrowitz) 16,3098,4017,143−9,166−56.2
Września (Wreschen) 7,7202,4362,115−6,505−72.6
Żnin (Znin) 10,9065,4044,539−6,367−58.4
Poznań Voivodship (total)679,339224,254203,135−468,204−68.9

Reversal of Germanisation in Pomerania

County
(German name in brackets) [26]
ethnic German population (1910)ethnic German population (1926)ethnic German population (1934)decline
(absolute numbers)
decline (percent)
Kościerzyna (Berent) 20,8046,8845,974−14,830−71.3
Wąbrzeźno (Briesen) 24,0077,6157,344−16,663−69.4
Chełmno (Kulm) 23,3457,9057,673−15,672−67.1
Tczew (Dirschau)/ Gniew (Mewe)/ Świecie (Schwetz) 70,27920,44617,571−52,708−75.0
Grudziądz (Graudenz, town) 34,1943,5423,875−30,319−88.7
Grudziądz (Graudenz, district) 28,6989,3178,190−20,508−71.5
Kartuzy (Karthaus) 14,1704,8003,927−10,243−72.3
Chojnice (Konitz) 30,3269,0228,070−22,256−73.4
Lubawa (Löbau) 12,1222,0781,689−10,433−86.1
Wejherowo (Neustadt)/ Puck (Putzig) 24,5286,5566,305−18,223−74,3
Starogard Gdański (Pr. Stargard) 17,1652,9093,418−13,747−80.1
Toruń (Thorn, town) 30,5092,2552,057−28,452−93.3
Toruń (Thorn, district) 27,7577,1076,738−21,019−75.7
Tuchola (Tuchel) 11,2683,1702,861−8,407−74.6
Sępólno Krajeńskie (Zempelburg) 21,55410,86611,130−10,424−48.4
Pomeranian Voivodship (total)421,033117,251107,555−313,347−74.5

See also

Notes

  1. Ritter, Gerhard (1974). Frederick the Great: A Historical Profile. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp.  179–180. ISBN   0-520-02775-2. It has been estimated that during his reign 300,000 individuals settled in Prussia. ... While the commission for colonization established in the Bismarck era could in the course of two decades bring no more than 11,957 families to the eastern territories, Frederick settled a total of 57,475. ... It increased the German character of the population in the monarchy's provinces to a very significant degree. ... in West Prussia where he wished to drive out the Polish nobility and bring as many of their large estates as possible into German hands.
  2. 1 2 "In fact from Hitler to Hans we find frequent references and Jews as Indians. This, too, was a long standing trope. It can be traced back to Frederick the Great, who likened the 'slovenly Polish trash' in newly' reconquered West Prussia to Iroquois". Localism, Landscape, and the Ambiguities of Place: German-speaking Central Europe, 1860–1930 David Blackbourn, James N. Retallack University of Toronto 2007
  3. Karin, Friedrich (2000). The Other Prussia: Royal Prussia, Poland and Liberty, 1569-1772. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   0521583357.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Andrzej Chwalba, Historia Polski 1795–1918 Wydawnictwo Literackie 2000 Kraków pages 175–184, 307–312
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Jerzy Zdrada, Historia Polski 1795–1918 Warsaw Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN 2007; pages 268, 273–291, 359–370
  6. 1 2 Makowski, Krzysztof (Fall 1999). East European Quarterly (ed.). Poles, Germans And Jews In The Grand Duchy Of Posen in 1848: From Coexistence To Conflict.
  7. Abrams, p. 24.
  8. National Identity and Foreign Policy: Nationalism and Leadership in Poland, Russia and Ukraine (Cambridge Russian, Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies) Ilya Prizel page 113,Cambridge University Press 1998
  9. "Encyklopedia PWN". Archived from the original on 2006-05-22. Retrieved 2006-10-18.
  10. Jerzy Kwiatek: Polska – Urokliwy świat małych miasteczek. Wyd. 3. Warszawa: Sport i Turystyka MUZA SA, 2006, s. 452. ISBN   83-7319-993-4.
  11. "All items for this edition of World News are taken from the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH), January-February 1902". Archived from the original on 2005-12-08. Retrieved 2005-10-31.
  12. Bade, Weiner, p. 11.
  13. Truth or conjecture?: German civilian war losses in the East, page 366 Stanisław Schimitzek Zachodnia Agencia Prasowa, 1966
  14. To the Threshold of Power, 1922/33: Origins and Dynamics of the Fascist and Nationalist Socialist Dictatorships, page 151–152
  15. Shatterzone of Empires: Coexistence and Violence in the German, Habsburg, Russian, and Ottoman Borderlands by Omer Bartov and Eric D. Weitz page 55 Indiana University Press 2013
  16. Immanuel Geiss "Tzw. polski pas graniczny 1914-1918". Warszawa 1964
  17. The Red Prince: The Secret Lives of a Habsburg Archduke By Timothy Snyder "On the annexations and ethnic cleansing, see Geiss, Der Polnische Grenzstreifen"
  18. Absolute Destruction: Military Culture And The Practices Of War In Imperial Germany Isabel V. Hull page 233
  19. "Part I: to 1914". Web.ku.edu. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  20. A Lesson Forgotten: Minority Protection Under the League of Nations the Case of the German Minority in Poland, 1920-1934 Christian Raitz Von Frentz page 8
  21. "Anna M". Web.ku.edu. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Orphans of Versailles: The Germans in Western Poland, 1918-1939 pages 32-48 Richard Blanke University Press of Kentucky, 1993
  23. In the Margin of History, page 45 Lewis Bernstein Namier - (pub. 1969)
  24. NY Times report
  25. Kotowski, Albert S. (1998). Polens Politik gegenüber seiner deutschen Minderheit 1919-1939 (in German). Forschungsstelle Ostmitteleuropa, University of Dortmund. p. 56. ISBN   3-447-03997-3.
  26. Kotowski, Albert S. (1998). Polens Politik gegenüber seiner deutschen Minderheit 1919-1939 (in German). Forschungsstelle Ostmitteleuropa, University of Dortmund. p. 55. ISBN   3-447-03997-3.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masurians</span> Lechitic ethnic group of northeastern Poland

The Masurians or Mazurs, historically also known as Prussian Masurians, are an ethnic group originating from the region of Masuria, within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland. They number around 5,000–15,000 people. In the 2011 Polish census, 1,376 individuals declared themselves to be Masurian as either a first or a secondary identification. Before World War II and its post-war expulsions, Masurians used to be a more numerous ethnic group found in the southern parts of East Prussia for centuries following the 16th century Protestant Reformation. Today, most Masurians live in what is now Germany and elsewhere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duchy of Warsaw</span> Polish state (1807–1815)

The Duchy of Warsaw, also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnically Polish lands ceded to France by Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit, and was augmented in 1809 with territory ceded by Austria in the Treaty of Schönbrunn. It was the first attempt to re-establish Poland as a sovereign state after the 18th-century partitions and covered the central and southeastern parts of present-day Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prussia (region)</span> Historical region on the south-eastern coast of the Baltic Sea in Europe

Prussia is a historical region in Central Europe on the south-eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, that ranges from the Vistula delta in the west to the end of the Curonian Spit in the east and extends inland as far as Masuria, divided between Poland, Russia and Lithuania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Duchy of Posen</span> Polish client state of the Kingdom of Prussia (1815-48)

The Grand Duchy of Posen was part of the Kingdom of Prussia, created from territories annexed by Prussia after the Partitions of Poland, and formally established following the Napoleonic Wars in 1815. Per agreements derived at the Congress of Vienna it was to have some autonomy. However, in reality it was subordinated to Prussia and the proclaimed rights for Polish subjects were not fully implemented. On 9 February 1849, the Prussian administration renamed the grand duchy the Province of Posen. Its former name was unofficially used afterward for denoting the territory, especially by Poles, and today is used by modern historians to refer to different political entities until 1918. Its capital was Posen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Province of Silesia</span> Province of Prussia (1815–1919)

The Province of Silesia was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1742 and established as an official province in 1815, then became part of the German Empire in 1871. In 1919, as part of the Free State of Prussia within Weimar Germany, Silesia was divided into the provinces of Upper Silesia and Lower Silesia. Silesia was reunified briefly from 1 April 1938 to 27 January 1941 as a province of Nazi Germany before being divided back into Upper Silesia and Lower Silesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Posen–West Prussia</span> Prussian province created in 1922

The Frontier March of Posen–West Prussia was a province of Prussia from 1922 to 1938, covering most of lands of historical Greater Poland that were not included in the Second Polish Republic. Posen–West Prussia was established in 1922 as a province of the Free State of Prussia within Weimar Germany, formed from merging three remaining non-contiguous territories of Posen and West Prussia, which had lost the majority of their territory to the Second Polish Republic following the Greater Poland Uprising. From 1934, Posen–West Prussia was de facto ruled by Brandenburg until it was dissolved by Nazi Germany, effective 1 October 1938 and its territory divided between the provinces of Pomerania, Brandenburg and Silesia. Schneidemühl was the provincial capital. Today, lands of the province are entirely contained within Poland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Prussia</span> Province of Prussia

South Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1793 to 1807.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kreis Birnbaum</span>

Kreis Birnbaum was a district in Prussia (Kreis) in the west of the Grand Duchy of Posen and the succeeding Province of Posen, as part of Regierungsbezirk Posen between 1815 and 1920. Today the area belongs to the Polish voivodeships of Greater Poland and Lubusz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prussian Settlement Commission</span> Government body for Germanization of Polish lands

The Prussian Settlement Commission, officially known as the Royal Prussian Settlement Commission in the Provinces West Prussia and Posen was a Prussian government commission that operated between 1886 and 1924, but actively only until 1918. It was first up on the initiative of Otto von Bismarck to increase land ownership by ethnically German Germans at the expense Poles in Germany, by economic and political means, in Prussia's eastern provinces of West Prussia and the Posen as part of his larger efforts aiming at the end of Poles in Germany, the Germanisation of greater territories, in particular those under German rule and strengthening of and ascendancy of “Germandom” and the dominant German culture especially in the “East”, during the Kulturkampf though it survived it, and the end of the Bismarck-era generalised anti-Catholic government policy.

Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people, and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In linguistics, Germanisation of non-German languages also occurs when they adopt many German words.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Province of Posen</span> Province of Prussia (1848–1920)

The Province of Posen was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1848 to 1920, occupying most of the historical Greater Poland. The province was established following the Poznań Uprising of 1848 as a successor to the Grand Duchy of Posen, which in turn was annexed by Prussia in 1815 from Duchy of Warsaw. It became part of the German Empire in 1871. After World War I, Posen was briefly part of the Free State of Prussia within Weimar Germany and was an important theater of the Greater Poland Uprising, but was dissolved in 1920 when most of its territory was ceded to the Second Polish Republic under the Treaty of Versailles. The remaining German territory was re-organized into Posen-West Prussia in 1922.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Prussia</span> Province of Prussia

The Province of West Prussia was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1920. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1773, formed from Royal Prussia of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth annexed in the First Partition of Poland. West Prussia was dissolved in 1829 and merged with East Prussia to form the Province of Prussia, but was re-established in 1878 when the merger was reversed and became part of the German Empire. From 1918, West Prussia was a province of the Free State of Prussia within Weimar Germany, losing most of its territory to the Second Polish Republic and the Free City of Danzig in the Treaty of Versailles. West Prussia was dissolved in 1920, and its remaining western territory was merged with Posen to form Posen-West Prussia, and its eastern territory merged with East Prussia as the Region of West Prussia district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Babimost</span> Town in Lubusz Voivodeship, Poland

Babimost is a town in Zielona Góra County, Lubusz Voivodeship, western Poland. It is the administrative seat of Gmina Babimost. Babimost has an area of 3.65 square kilometres, and as of June 2022 it has a population of 3,848.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greater Poland Uprising (1848)</span> 1848 military insurrection in Prussian-occupied Greater Poland

The Greater Poland uprising of 1848 or Poznań Uprising was an unsuccessful military insurrection of Poles against forces of the Kingdom of Prussia, during the Revolutions of 1848. The main fighting in the Prussian Partition of Poland was concentrated in the Greater Poland region but some fighting also occurred in Pomerelia. In addition, protests were also held in Polish inhabited regions of Silesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poles in Germany</span> Ethnic group

Poles in Germany are the second largest Polish diaspora (Polonia) in the world and the biggest in Europe. Estimates of the number of Poles living in Germany vary from 2 million to about 3 million people living that might be of Polish descent. Their number has quickly decreased over the years, and according to the latest census, there are approximately 866,690 Poles in Germany. The main Polonia organisations in Germany are the Union of Poles in Germany and Congress of Polonia in Germany. Polish surnames are relatively common in Germany, especially in the Ruhr area.

German Eastern Marches Society was a German radical, extremely nationalist xenophobic organization founded in 1894. Mainly among Poles, it was sometimes known acronymically as Hakata or H-K-T after its founders von Hansemann, Kennemann and von Tiedemann. Its main aims were the promotion of Germanization of Poles living in Prussia and destruction of Polish national identity in German eastern provinces. Contrary to many similar nationalist organizations created in that period, the Ostmarkenverein had relatively close ties with the government and local administration, which made it largely successful, even though it opposed both the policy of seeking some modo vivendi with the Poles pursued by Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg and Leo von Caprivi's policies of relaxation of anti-Polish measures. While of limited significance and often overrated, the organization formed a notable part of German anti-democratic pluralist part of the political landscape of the Wilhelmine era.

The term "Lesser Germany" or "Lesser German solution" denoted essentially exclusion of the multinational Austria of the Habsburgs from the planned German unification as an option for solving the German question, in opposition to the one of 'Greater Germany'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prussian Partition</span> Territory of Poland–Lithuania acquired by Prussia during the Partitions of Poland

The Prussian Partition, or Prussian Poland, is the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired during the Partitions of Poland, in the late 18th century by the Kingdom of Prussia. The Prussian acquisition amounted to 141,400 km2 of land constituting formerly western territory of the Commonwealth. The first partitioning led by imperial Russia with Prussian participation took place in 1772; the second in 1793, and the third in 1795, resulting in Poland's elimination as a state for the next 123 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Germanisation of the Province of Posen</span>

The Germanisation of the Province of Posen was a policy of the Kulturkampf measures enacted by German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, whose goal was to Germanize Polish-speaking areas in the Prussian Province of Posen by eradicating and discrimination of Polish language and culture, as well as to reduce the influence of the "ultramontanist" Roman Catholic clergy in those regions.

The intermittent Germanisation of Prussia was a historical process that resulted in the region’s inclusion in various German states. Originating with the arrival of ethnically German groups in the Baltic region, it progressed sporadically with the development of the Teutonic Order and then much later under the Kingdom of Prussia, which continued to impact the region with germanising policies generally aimed at enhancing state control. Ultimately, attempts at Germanisation peaked as the Prussian state transitioned into the German Empire, which affected Germany's Lithuanian and Polish subjects, only to be halted by the outbreak of the First World War.

References