Polish Party

Polish Party Koło Polskie (Polish) Polenpartei (German)
Founded	1848
Dissolved	1918
Preceded by	Polish National Committee (1848)
Succeeded by	Polish People's Party "Piast" National People's Union
Newspaper	Dziennik Poznański Gazeta Toruńska
Ideology	Polish nationalism [1] Political Catholicism [2] Defense of Polish minority rights
Religion	Roman Catholicism (unofficial)
Politics of Germany Political parties Elections

The Polish Party (German : Polnische Partei) was a political party in the German Empire and the Free City of Danzig. Representing the Polish population in Germany, it was the largest of the minority parties. ^[3]

History

The party had its origins in the national associations that were established during the 1848 revolution, but was formally established when the first Reichstag was elected in 1871. ^[3] It won 13 seats in the elections, the lowest number of seats it held in the Reichstag until World War I. Its best performance was in the 1907 elections, when it won 20 seats. ^[4]

Following the war and the loss of Polish-dominated territory to newly established Poland, the party ceased to exist. ^[5]

Ideology

The party opposed the Germanisation and secularisation policies of the government, seeking to protect the rights of Poles living in Germany. It was usually allied with the Centre Party and other minority parties. ^[5]

Election results

Election	Votes	%	Seats	+/–
February 1867	209,382	5.61	13 / 297	–
August 1867	169,006	7.35	11 / 297	2
1871	176,342	4.54	13 / 382	2
1874	208,797	4.02	14 / 397	1
1877	216,157	4.00	14 / 397
1878	216,148	3.75	14 / 397
1881	200,734	3.94	18 / 397	4
1884	209,825	3.71	16 / 397	2
1887	227,835	3.02	13 / 397	3

See also

• Sejm of the Grand Duchy of Posen

References

1. Hagen, pp. 203–280.
2. Porter, When Nationalism Began to Hate.
3. Vincent E. McHale (1983) Political parties of Europe, Greenwood Press, p428 ISBN   0-313-23804-9
4. McHale, p434
5. McHale, p429