After partitioning Poland in the end of 18th century, the Kingdom of Prussia and later German Empire imposed a number of Germanisation policies and measures in the newly gained territories, aimed at limiting the Polish ethnic presence in these areas. This process continued through its various stages until the end of World War I, when most of the territories were returned to Poland, which largely limited the capacity of further Germanisation efforts of the Weimar Republic until the later Nazi occupation. The Partitions of Poland (Polish: Rozbiór Polski or Rozbiory Polski; Lithuanian: Padalijimas, Belarusian: Падзелы Рэчы Паспалітай) took place in the 18th century and ended the existence of the sovereign Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. ... Flag of Prussia (1894 - 1918) The Kingdom of Prussia existed from 1701 until 1918, and from 1871 was the leading kingdom of the German Empire, comprising in its last form almost two-thirds of the area of the Empire. ... Motto: Gott mit Uns (German: God with us”) Anthem: Heil dir im Siegerkranz (unofficial) Territory of the German Empire in 1914, prior to World War I   Capital Berlin Language(s) German (official) Polish (Posen, Upper Silesia, Masuria) French (Alsace-Lorraine) Government Constitutional monarchy Emperor  - 1871-1888 William I  - 1888 Frederick... Combatants Allied Powers: France Italy Russia Serbia United Kingdom United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul von Hindenburg Reinhard... Anthem: Das Lied der Deutschen The Länder of Germany during the Weimar Republic, with the Free State of Prussia (Freistaat Preußen) as the largest Capital Berlin Language(s) German Government Republic President  - 1919-1925 Friedrich Ebert  - 1925-1933 Paul von Hindenburg Chancellor  - 1919 Philipp Scheidemann  - 1933 Adolf Hitler... National Socialism redirects here. ...

Until the Unification of Germany

Following the partitions, the previous Germanisation attempts pursued by Frederick the Great in Silesia were naturally extended to encompass the newly gained Polish territories. The Prussian authorities started the policy of settling German speaking ethnic groups in these areas. These polices continued until 1815, when they were relaxed for several years. 1830 again saw the intensification of Germanisation and persecution of Poles in the Grand Duchy of Poznań by Eduard Heinrich Flottwell until 1841. After a short break the process of Germanisation continued since 1849. Frederick the Great Frederick II of Prussia (Friedrich der Große, Frederick the Great, January 24, 1712 – August 17, 1786) was the Hohenzollern king of Prussia 1740–86. ... Prussian Silesia, 1871, outlined in yellow; Silesia at the close of the Seven Years War in 1763, outlined in cyan (areas now in the Czech Republic were Austrian-ruled at that time) Silesia (Czech: ; German: ; Polish: ; Silesian: Åšlonsk / Åšlónsk) is a historical region in central Europe. ... Grand Duchy of PoznaÅ„ (Polish: Wielkie KsiÄ™stwo PoznaÅ„skie, German: Großherzogtum Posen) was an autonomous province of the Kingdom of Prussia in the Polish lands commonly known as Great Poland between the years 1815-1848. ...

1871 until the Treaty of Versailles

Within Bismarck's Kulturkampf policy, the Poles were purposefully presented as "foes of the empire" (German: Reichsfeinde). ^[1] As the Prussian authorities suppressed Catholic services in Polish language 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. [1]. In 1888 the mass deportations of Poles from Prussia were organized by German authorities. This was further strengthened by the ban on building of houses by non-Germans (see Drzymała's van). Bismarck redirects here. ... The German term Kulturkampf (literally, culture struggle, invented by Rudolf Virchow[1]) refers to German policies in relation to the influence of the Roman Catholic Church, enacted from 1871 to 1878 by the Chancellor of the German Empire, Otto von Bismarck. ... Polish (jÄ™zyk polski, polszczyzna) is the official language of Poland. ... 1885 (MDCCCLXXXV) is a common year starting on Thursday. ... Building of Settlement Commission in PoznaÅ„, today Collegium Maius The Settlement Commission (German: Ansiedlungskommission) was a department that operated between 1886 and 1918, set up by Otto von Bismarck to increase land ownership of Germans at the expense of Poles in the eastern provinces of the German Empire, through the... Deportation is the expelling of someone from a country. ... DrzymaÅ‚as van (wóz DrzymaÅ‚y) was a symbol of Polish resistance to official Germanization policy in Imperial Germany. ...

Another means of the policy was the elimination of non-German languages from public life, schools and from academic settings. In its extremes, the Germanisation policies in schools took the form of abuse of Polish children by Prussian officials (see Września). 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 till the end of the World War I. This lead to international condemnation e.g. an international meeting of socialists held in Brussels in 1902 called the Germanisation of Poles in Prussia "barbarous". [2] Nevertheless, the Settlement Commission was empowered with new more powerful rights, which entitled it to force Poles to sell the land since 1908. WrzeÅ›nia is a town in central Poland with 28,600 inhabitants (1995). ... Combatants Allied Powers: France Italy Russia Serbia United Kingdom United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul von Hindenburg Reinhard... Building of Settlement Commission in PoznaÅ„, today Collegium Maius The Settlement Commission (German: Ansiedlungskommission) was a department that operated between 1886 and 1918, set up by Otto von Bismarck to increase land ownership of Germans at the expense of Poles in the eastern provinces of the German Empire, through the...

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. German authorities viewed them as potential danger and a threat and as a "suspected political and national" element. All Polish workers had special 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. Many Polish traditional and religious songs were forbidden by Prussian authorities [3]. Their citizens' rights were also limited by German state ^[2]. 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) 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. Map of the Ruhr Area The Ruhr Area (German Ruhrgebiet, colloquially Ruhrpott or Kohlenpott or simply Pott) is an urban area in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, consisting of a number of large (former) industrial cities bordered by the rivers Ruhr to the south, Rhine to the west, and Lippe to... Motto: Gott mit Uns (German: God with us”) Anthem: Heil dir im Siegerkranz (unofficial) Territory of the German Empire in 1914, prior to World War I   Capital Berlin Language(s) German (official) Polish (Posen, Upper Silesia, Masuria) French (Alsace-Lorraine) Government Constitutional monarchy Emperor  - 1871-1888 William I  - 1888 Frederick... The states marked in red show New England. ... Banner of the BÄ™dzin-based Sokół nest Sokół festival in Lwów, 1903 Sokół member in parade uniform Sokół (Polish: , Polish Gymnastic Society Falcon) is the oldest Polish youth movement organization, modelled after the Pan-Slavic Sokol. ... The German Centre Party (Deutsche Zentrumspartei or merely Zentrum), often called the Catholic Centre Party, was a Catholic political party in Germany during the Kaiserreich and the Weimar Republic. ...

Notes

1. ^ Abrams, p. 24.
2. ^ Bade, Weiner, p. 11.

References

• Abrams, Lynn (1995). "Bismarck and the German Empire, 1871-1918". Routledge, 24. ISBN 0415077818.
• Klaus J. (EDT) Bade, Myron Weiner (2002). "Migration Past, Migration Future". New York, Oxford: Berghahn Books, 11. ISBN 0415077818.
• Zybura, Marek (2004). "Niemcy w Polsce". Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Dolnośląskie. ISBN 83-7384-171-7.