Germanisation of Poles during the Partitions

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. 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. 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 and the land of several members of the Polish nobility was confiscated and given to German nobles. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. ==1871 until the Treaty of Versailles==

Within Bismarck's Kulturkampf policy, the Poles were purposefully presented as "foes of the empire" (). Bismarck himself privately believed that the only solution to Polish Question was the extermination of Poles. 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. In reaction to this the Poles also founded a commission of their own to buy farmland and distribute it to Poles. 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). 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". 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. 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 [http://www.deutsche-und-polen.de/_/ereignisse/frames/content_lang_jsp/key=ruhrpolen_1880.html first common strike. Under the German law of changing surnames () 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. ==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 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. Polish professor A. Cienciala says that Blanke's views in the book are sympathetic to Germany. • A number of former settlers from the Prussian Settlement Commission who settled in the area after 1886 in order to Germanise it were in some cases given a month to leave, in other cases they were told to leave at once. • Germans feared that the Poles would seek reprisals after over a century of harassment and discrimination by the Prussian and German state against the Polish population. 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. As many as 80% of Germans emigrated more or less voluntarily. Reversal of Germanisation in Poznan Reversal of Germanisation in Pomerania ==See also==