TheOstflucht (German:[ˈɔstflʊxt]; "flight from the East") was the migration of Germans, in the later 19th century and early 20th century, from areas whichwere then eastern parts of Germany to more industrialized regions in central and western Germany. The migrants originated inEast Prussia,West Prussia,Silesia,Pomerania andPosen; they moved to provinces along theRhine andRuhr rivers. Most of the migrants were ethnic Germans, but many migrants to the Ruhr were ofPolish ethnicity, later known asRuhrpolen.
TheUnited States, which had been the major destination of emigrants from the German East, lost much of its attraction with theclosing of the American frontier and the end of large-scaleland runs in the 1890s.[1] At the same time, theRuhr area prospered, leading to high demand for labor, especially in coal mining and heavy industries. This led to an East-to-West migration within theKingdom of Prussia. Through 1907, 2,300,000 people emigrated from Prussia's eastern provinces (Pomerania,West Prussia,East Prussia,Posen, andSilesia), while only 358,000 migrated into these provinces.[2] Among the emigrants were 600,000 Poles.[3] This loss of workforce hit farms, which made up for this by calling in seasonal workers from further east.Berlin andBrandenburg in the same time gained 1,200,000 inhabitants, while theRuhr area and surrounding provinces (Westphalia andPalatinate) gained 640,000 people.[2]
At the same time, increased immigration into the eastern German regions by Poles from western Russia caused imbalances and upheavals there, especially inUpper Silesia.[citation needed]
The emigration of Germans, and the higher Polish birth rate in the eastern provinces caused concern among German nationalists. This led to some special measures:
The sociologistMax Weber first came to public attention in Germany as a result of his study of theOstflucht and of methods of combatting it, carried out on behalf of theVerein für Socialpolitik.
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