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Germanisation or Germanization is either the spread of the German language and culture either by force or assimilation, or the adaptation of a foreign word to the German language in linguistics, much like the Romanisation of many languages which do not use the Latin alphabet. It was a central plank of German liberal thinking in the early nineteenth century, at a period when liberalism and nationalism went hand in hand. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... German culture (German: Deutsche Kultur) is a term that refers to the heritage and weltanschauung of the people from the German-speaking world, or Deutschsprechende Welt. ... German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... A romanization or latinization is a system for representing a word or language with the Roman (Latin) alphabet, where the original word or language used a different writing system. ... The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. ...

There are historically very different forms and degrees of adopting German language and elements of German culture. Besides eclectic adoptions there are also examples of complete "melting" into the German culture, as it happened with the pagan Slavs in the diocese of Bamberg in the 11th century. A perfect example of eclectic adoption of German culture is the field of law in Imperial and present day Japan, which is organised very much to the model of the German Empire. Germanisation took place by cultural contact, by political decision of the adopting side (e.g. in the case of Japan) or (especially in the case of Imperial and Nazi Germany) by force. For other meanings, see Bamberg(disambiguation). ... Flag of the German Empire, 1871–1918: black-white-red The German Empire is the name conventionally given in English to the German state from the time of the proclamation of Wilhelm I of Prussia as German Emperor (January 18, 1871) to the abdication of Wilhelm II (November 9, 1918). ...

In Slavic countries the term Germanisation often is understood solely as the process of acculturation of Slavic and Baltic speakers, after the conquests or by cultural contact in the early dark ages, areas of the modern Eastern Germany to the line of Elbe. In East Prussia, extermination, enslavement and forced resettlement of the Prussian people by the Teutonic Order and the Prussian state, as well as acculturation from immigrants of various European countries (Poles, French, Germans) contributed to the eventual extinction of the Prussian language in the 17th century. The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia. ... The Baltic languages are a group of related languages belonging to the Indo-European language family and spoken mainly in areas extending east and southeast of the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. ... Petrarch, who conceived the idea of a European Dark Age. From Cycle of Famous Men and Women, Andrea di Bartolo di Bargillac, c. ... The River Elbe (Czech Labe , Sorbian/Lusatian Łobjo, German Elbe) is one of the major waterways of Central Europe. ... East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ... The Prussian people, or (old) Prussians, were Indo-European Balts inhabiting the area around the Curonian and Vistula Lagoons (i. ... Old Prussian is an extinct Baltic language spoken by the inhabitants of the area that later became East Prussia (now in north-eastern Poland, Lithuania and the Kaliningrad oblast of Russia) prior to Polish and German colonization of the area beginning in the 13th century. ...

Historical Germanisation

A complex process of Germanisation took place in Bohemia after the 1620 defeat of Bohemian Protestants. The Protestant Bohemian king elected against the Habsburgs by the Bohemian estates in 1619 was defeated in 1620 by Catholic forces under the German prince Frederick V of the Palatinate. Among the Bohemian Lords being punished and expropriated after Frederick's defeat in 1620 were German- and Czech-speaking landowners as well. Thus this conflict was by far an internal conflict resulting from the feudal system than a clash of different nations. Although the Czech language lost its significance (as a written language) in the aftermath of the events, it is questionable whether this was primarily intended by the Habsburg rulers, whose intentions were in religious and feudal categories. Flag of Bohemia Bohemia (Czech: ; German: ) is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western and middle thirds of the Czech Republic. ... Events September 6 - English emigrants on the Mayflower depart from Plymouth, England for the future New England and arrive at the end of the year. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... There are many different people who may be referred to as Frederick V or Friedrich V. They are listed here in chronological order: Friedrich V, Burggraf of Hohenzollern-Nürnberg (before 1333 - 1398) Friedrich V, Count of Leiningen (died 1327) Friedrich V of Castell, (fl. ... Feudalism comes from the Late Latin word feudum, itself borrowed from a Germanic root *fehu, a commonly used term in the Middle Ages which means fief, or land held under certain obligations by feodati. ...

Countermeasures to Germanisation did not arise until the 19th century. The rise of nationalism that occurred in the late 18th and 19th centuries in Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Pomerania, Lusatia and Slovenia led to an increased sense of "pride" in national cultures during this time. However, centuries of German dominance left the German mark on many societies; for instance the first modern grammar of the Czech language by Josef Dobrovský (1753-1829) – "Ausführliches Lehrgebäude der böhmischen Sprache" (1809) – was published in German because Czech language was not custom in academic scholarship. Flag of Bohemia Bohemia (Czech: ; German: ) is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western and middle thirds of the Czech Republic. ... Moravia in relation to the current kraje of the Czech Republic Moravia (Czech and Slovak: Morava, German: ( ), Hungarian: Morvaország, Polish: Morawy) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic. ... 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. ... Historic Pomerania (outlined in yellow) on the background of modern country borders. ... Lusatia (German Lausitz, Upper Sorbian Łužica, Lower Sorbian Łužyca, Polish Łużyce, Czech Lužice, sometimes called Sorbia, is a historical region between Bóbr-Kwisa rivers and Elbe river in northeastern Germany (states of Saxony and Brandenburg), south-western Poland (voivodship of Lower Silesia and northern Czech... Josef Dobrovský (August 17, 1753 - January 6, 1829) was Bohemian philologist and historian, one of the most important figures of the Bohemian national revival. ...

In the German colonies, the policy of having German as official language led to the forming of German-based pidgins and German-based creole languages, such as Unserdeutsch. German colonial empire This is a list of former German Empire colonies and protectorates (German: Schutzgebiete), the German colonial empire. ... A German creole, more properly a German-based creole language, is a creole language with a significant influence from the German language. ... Unserdeutsch (Our German), or Rabaul Creol German, is a German-based creole language spoken primarily in Papua New Guinea and the northeast of Australia. ...

Germanisation in Prussia occurred in several stages:

• Germanisation attempts pursued by Frederick the Great in Silesia, later extended to territories of Partitioned Poland

• Easing of Germanisation policy in the period 1815–30

• Intensification of Germanisation and persecution of Poles in the Grand Duch of Posen by E.Flotwell in 1830-1841

• The process of Germanisation is stopped during the period of 1841-1849

• Again restarted during years of 1849-1870

• Intensified by Bismarck during his Kulturkampf

• Slight easing of the persecution of Poles during 1890-1894

• Continuation and intensification of activity aiming at destroying Polish nation restarted in 1894 and pursued till the end of First World War

State legislation and government policies of Germanisation in the Kingdom of Prussia, Imperial Germany and Nazi Germany aimed to expand the German language and culture in areas populated by non-Germans, the eradication of their national identity, and the integration of conquered territories into German states[1]. 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. ... 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. ... This article or section should include material from German Monarchy The term German Empire (the translation from German of Deutsches Reich) commonly refers to Germany, from its consolidation as a unified nation-state on January 18, 1871, until the abdication of Kaiser (Emperor) Wilhelm II on November 9, 1918. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ...

Another example of Germanisation was aimed at national minorities in the Prussian state.Polish language was persecuted in Prussia[2].Frederick the Great started Germanisation efforts in territories of Silesia acquired in 1740-1745.[3] Germanisation efforts were later extended to territories gained by Prussia in the Partitions of Poland: Danzig, Pomerania, Warmia, and certain regions of Greater Poland. 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. ... The Partitions of Poland (Polish: Rozbiór Polski or Rozbiory Polski; Lithuanian: Padalijimas) took place in the 18th century and ended the existence of the sovereign Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. ...

Prussian authorities settled German speaking ethnic groups in Polish territories after the partitions of Poland. A similar policy was pursued by Austria in Galicia, until 1867 when Galicia gained autonomy. Later, the means of the policy was the elimination of non-German languages from public life and from academic settings (such as schools). Later in the German Empire, Poles were (together with Danes, Alsatians, German Catholics and Socialists) portrayed as "Reichsfeinde" ("foes to the empire")[4]. In addition, in 1885, the Prussian Settlement Commission financed from the national government's budget was set up to buy land from non-German hands and distribute it among German farmers.[5] From 1908 the committee was entitled to force the landowners to sell the land. Other means included Prussian deportations 1888: deportation of non-Prussian nationals who had lived in Prussia for substantial time periods (mostly Poles and Jews) and the ban on the building of houses by non-Germans (see Drzymała's van). Germanisation policy in schools also took the form of abuse of Polish children by Prussian officials (see Września). Germanisation unintentionally stimulated resistance, usually in the form of home schooling and tighter unity in the minority groups. The Partitions of Poland (Polish: Rozbiór Polski or Rozbiory Polski; Lithuanian: Padalijimas) took place in the 18th century and ended the existence of the sovereign Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. ... Flag of the German Empire, 1871–1918: black-white-red The German Empire is the name conventionally given in English to the German state from the time of the proclamation of Wilhelm I of Prussia as German Emperor (January 18, 1871) to the abdication of Wilhelm II (November 9, 1918). ... 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... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... DrzymaÅ‚as van (wóz DrzymaÅ‚y) was a symbol of Polish resistance to official Germanization policy in Imperial Germany. ... WrzeÅ›nia is a town in central Poland with 28,600 inhabitants (1995). ...

In 1910 Maria Konopnicka responded to the increasing persecution of Polish people by Germans by writing her famous song called Rota, that instantly became a national symbols for Poles, with its sentence known to many Poles:The German will not spit in our face, nor will he Germanise our children. Thus, the German efforts to eradicate Polish culture, language and people met not only with failure, but managed to reinforce the Polish national identity and strengthened efforts of Poles to re-establish a Polish state. An international meeting of socialists held in Brussels in 1902 condemned the Germanisation of Poles in Prussia, calling it "barbarous".[6] . You may also be looking for the plural of the word pole. ... Look up rota in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Similar Germanisation also happened for the Lithuanians (Lietuvininks) living in East Prussia, numbers of whom, once making up a majority of population in large areas of East Prussia (these areas are referred to as Lithuania Minor), decreased by much during 16th-20th centuries; policy of Germanisation was tightened during the 19th century; in the early 20th century Lithuanian majority remained only in the northernmost parts of the province (Memelland and some areas south of it). Lietuvinink (Lithuanian: Lietuvininkas, plural - Lietuvininkai) is a Lithuanian from Lithuania Minor. ... Lithuania Minor (or Prussian Lithuania, Lithuanian Mažoji Lietuva and PrÅ«sų Lietuva respectively) is one of five ethnographic regions of Lithuania. ... Klaipėda Region (Memel Region, Memelland) is the name of the coastland of Lithuania around Klaipėda (formerly known as Memel) and the Curonian Lagoon, on the right bank of river Nemunas. ...

Similar development happened with Courlandians, but this ethnic group never had a large population. Courlandians are the people who once lived around the Curonian lagoon (there are still low numbers of some old Courlandians remaining, but they are almost died out), especially in the Curonian spit. ...

Another form of Germanisation 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 [7]. Their citizens' rights were also limited by German state[8]. 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... Flag of the German Empire, 1871–1918: black-white-red The German Empire is the name conventionally given in English to the German state from the time of the proclamation of Wilhelm I of Prussia as German Emperor (January 18, 1871) to the abdication of Wilhelm II (November 9, 1918). ... This article is about the region in the United States of America. ...

In response to these policies, the Polish formed their own organisations to defend their interests and ethnic identity. The Sokól sports clubs and the workers' union Zjednoczenie Zawodowe Polskie (ZZP), Wiarus Polski (press) and Bank Robotnikow were among the best known such organisations near the Ruhr. 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[9]. In 1905 Polish and German workers organised their first common strike. Under the "Namensänderungsgesetz" (law of changing surnames) a significant number of "Ruhr-Poles" change their surnames and Christian names to "Germanised" forms, in order to evade ethnic discrimination. As the Prussian authorities during the Kulturkampf suppressed Catholic services in Polish language by Polish priests, the Poles had to rely on German Catholic priests. Increasing intermarriage between Germans and Poles contributed much to the Germanisation of ethnic Poles in the Ruhr area. 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. ...

During the Weimar Republic Poles first were recognised as minority only in Upper Silesia. The peace treaties after the First World War did contain an obligation for Poland to protect her national minorities (Germans, Ukrainians and other), whereas no such clause was introduced in retorsion by the victors in the peace treaty of Versailles with Germany. In 1928 the "Minderheitenschulgesetz" (minorities school act) regulated education of children form minorities in their native tongue.[10]. From 1930 on Poland and Germany agreed to treat their minorities vice versa.[11] Flag of Germany, 1919–1933 The Weimar Republic (German Weimarer Republik, IPA: []) is the historical name for the republic that governed Germany from 1919 to 1933. ... The Treaty of Versailles (1919) was the peace treaty which officially ended World War I between the Allied and Associated Powers and Germany. ...

Germanization in WW2

In the Nazi era, the days of certain minorities in Germany were numbered. "Racially acceptable" children were taken from their families, in order to be brought up as Germans[12]. In German occupied Poland it's estimated that a number ranging from 50.000 to 200.000 children were deprived of their families in order to be Germanised[13]. It's estimated that at least 10.000 of them were murdered in the process as they were determined unfit and sent to concentration camps faced brutal treatment or perished in the harsh conditions during their transport in cattle wagons, and only 10-15% returned to their families after the war[14]. Obligatory Hitlerjugend membership made dialogue between old and young next to impossible, as use of languages other than German was discouraged by officials. Members of minority organisations were sent to concentration camps by German authorities or have been executed. National Socialism redirects here. ... The German Nazi party established the Hitler Youth (in German: Hitler-Jugend or HJ) in 1926. ... A concentration camp is a large detention centre created for political opponents, aliens, specific ethnic or religious groups, civilians of a critical war-zone, or other groups of people, often during a war. ...

Under Generalplan Ost, a percentage of Slavs in the conquered territories were to be Germanized. Those unfit for Germanization were to be expelled from the areas marked out for German settlement. In considering the fate of the individual nations, the architects of the Plan decided that it would be possible to Germanize about 50 per cent of the Czechs, 35 per cent of the Ukrainians and 25 per cent of the Byelorussians. The remainder would have had to be deported to western Siberia. Belarusians, also spelt Belarusans, Belarussians, Byelorussians and Belorussians are a distinct ethnic group of East Slavs who are the major population of Belarus, also being minorities in the neighboring Poland (especially former Bialystok province), Russia, Lithuania and Ukraine. ...

Specific examples

Oletzko County was a historic East Prussian county with its capital at Oletzko. The county was populated by Mazurs, a Polish ethnic group. In the process of Germanisation, the proportion of Polish-speaking people declined steadily:
1818 - over 90% of population
1852 - 65%
1861 - 58%
1890 - 46%
1900 - 33.5% (Prussian census) Olecko (town) Olecko (german: Treuburg until 1945, Marggrabowa until 1928, also Oletzko) is a town in Masuria, in the Warminsko-Mazurskie voivodship of Poland, near Elk (Lyck) and Suwalki. ... East Prussia (German: Ostpreu en; Polish: Prusy Wschodnie; Russian: Восточная Пруссия — Vostochnaya Prussiya) was a province of Kingdom of Prussia, situated on the territory of former Ducal Prussia. ... Olecko (town) Olecko (german: Treuburg until 1945, Marggrabowa until 1928, also Oletzko) is a town in Masuria, in the Warminsko-Mazurskie voivodship of Poland, near Elk (Lyck) and Suwalki. ... Mazur can refer to: Mazurian ethnic group Mazur (Masur), a Polish or German surname (see also Mazurek) This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ...

Current state

In modern Germany Danes, Frisians and the Slavic Sorbs are classified as traditional ethnic minorities and are guaranteed cultural autonomy. Concerning the Danes, there is a treaty between Denmark and Germany from 1955 regulating the status of the German minority in Denmark and vice versa. Concerning the Frisians, the land Schleswig-Holstein passed a special law for preserving the language. The cultural autonomy of the Sorbs is a matter of the constitutions of Saxony and Brandenburg. Nevertheless most of the Sorbs are bilingual and the Lower Sorbian language is regarded as endangered, as the number of native speakers is dwindling. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Sorbs are a Slavic minority indigenous to the region known as Lusatia in the German states of Saxony and Brandenburg (in former GDR territory). ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... A LAND attack is a DoS (Denial of Service) attack that consists of sending a special poison spoofed packet to a computer, causing it to lock up. ... Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the 16 Bundesländer in Germany. ... The Free State of Saxony (German: Freistaat Sachsen; Sorbian: Swobodny Stata Sakska) is at a land area of 18,413 km² and a population of 4. ... Brandenburg (Lower Sorbian: Bramborska; Upper Sorbian: Braniborska) is one of Germanys sixteen Bundesländer (federal states) and lies in the east of the country. ... Lower Sorbian (dolnoserbski) is a minority language spoken in eastern Germany in the historical province of Lower Lusatia, today part of Brandenburg. ...

Descendants of Polish migrant workers and miners have mingled with the local population by intermarriage and are culturally no more identifiable as Poles. It's different with modern and present day immigration form Poland to Germany after the fall of the iron curtain. These immigrants usually are Polish citizens and live as foreigners in Germany. Some of them believe that to reveal Polish identity in Germany is dangerous for social status, as cases of hostility and discrimination against Poles exist. For many immigrant Poles, Polish ethnicity is not the prime category through which they wish to characterise themselves or want to be evaluated by others[15] as it could impact their lives in negative way. Representatives from organisations of Poles living in Germany, complain about unfair treatment compared to the benefits German minority receives in Poland. This point is disputable, as the ethnic Germans in Poland are Polish citizens, whereas the Poles that lately migrated to Germany usually stay Polish citizens and as such are treated as other foreigners by the EU. Countries behind Iron Curtain are shaded red. ...

Linguistic Germanisation

In linguistics Germanisation usually means the change in spelling of loanwords to the rules of the German language — for example the change from the imported word 'bureau' to 'Büro'. Language change is the manner in which the phonetic, morphological, semantic, syntactic, and other features of a language are modified over time. ...

The local dialect of the Ruhr Area still contains words derived from the Polish language, which have been Germanised in the linguistic sense. Among other things the Poles of the Ruhr also contributed much to German football. The club Schalke 04 had a very strong Polish influence up to the 1930s with Fritz Szepan and Ernst Kuzorra, both of Mazurian origin being outstanding players, running for the German national team as well. 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... FC Schalke 04 (short S04) is a German football team based in Gelsenkirchen. ...

See also

• Africanisation
• Polonophobia
• Pan-Germanism
• Germanism
• Germanistics
• Cultural imperialism
• Cultural assimilation
• German Eastern Marches Society
• Kulturkampf
• Masurians
• Russification
• Polonisation
• Potulice concentration camp
• Ruhrpolen

Africanization, as used in this article, refers to the modification of place names or personal names to better reflect an African identity. ... Look up anti-Polonism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Pan-Germanism, one of the ethnically-charged political movements of the 19th century for unity of the German-speaking peoples of Europe. ... It has been suggested that German studies be merged into this article or section. ... Cultural imperialism is the practice of promoting the culture or language of one nation in another. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... German Eastern Marches Society (German: Deutscher Ostmarkenverein) was a German nationalistic organisation founded in 1894 in what used to be Posen, Prussia (now Poznań, Poland). ... 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. ... Mazurs are Polish ethnic group from Mazovia (Catholics) or East Prussia (Protestant), the latter often called Masurians in English. ... Russification is an adoption of the Russian language or some other Russian attribute (whether voluntarily or not) by non-Russian communities. ... Polonization (in Polish: polonizacja) is the assumption, voluntary or involuntary, complete or partial, of the Polish language or another real or supposed Polish attribute. ...

References