| Province of Posen | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Province ofPrussia | |||||||||||
| 1848–1920 | |||||||||||
 Coat of arms | |||||||||||
 Posen (red) within Prussia (blue) within the German Empire | |||||||||||
 | |||||||||||
| Capital | Poznań | ||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||
| • Coordinates | 52°24′N16°55′E / 52.400°N 16.917°E /52.400; 16.917 | ||||||||||
• 1910 | 28,970 km2 (11,190 sq mi) | ||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||
• 1910 | 2,099,831 | ||||||||||
 Lesser coat of arms | |||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
• Established | 1848 | ||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1920 | ||||||||||
| Political subdivisions | Posen Bromberg | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Today part of | Poland | ||||||||||
TheProvince of Posen (German:Provinz Posen;Polish:Prowincja Poznańska) was aprovince of theKingdom of Prussia from 1848 to 1920, occupying most of the historicalGreater Poland. The province was established following thePoznań Uprising of 1848 as a successor to theGrand Duchy of Posen, which in turn was annexed by Prussia in 1815 fromDuchy of Warsaw. It became part of theGerman Empire in 1871. AfterWorld War I, Posen was briefly part of theFree State of Prussia withinWeimar Germany, but was dissolved in 1920 after theGreater Poland Uprising broke out and most of its territory was incorporated into theSecond Polish Republic. The remaining German territory was re-organized intoPosen-West Prussia in 1922.
Posen (present-dayPoznań,Poland) was the provincial capital.
The land is mostly flat, drained by two majorwatershed systems; theNoteć (German:Netze) in the north and theWarta (Warthe) in the center.Ice Ageglaciers leftmoraine deposits and the land is speckled with hundreds of "finger lakes", streams flowing in and out on their way to one of the two rivers.
Agriculture was the primary industry. Thethree-field system was used to grow a variety of crops, primarilyrye,sugar beet,potatoes, othergrains, and sometobacco andhops. Significant parcels of wooded land provided building materials andfirewood. Small numbers oflivestock existed, includinggeese, but a fair number ofsheep were herded.
The 29,000 km2 (11,000 sq mi) area roughly corresponded to the historic region ofGreater Poland.[1] For more than a century, it was part of thePrussian Partition, with a brief exception during theNapoleonic Wars when it was incorporated into theDuchy of Warsaw. When this area came back under Prussian control, thefeudal system was still in force. It was officially ended in Prussia (seeFreiherr vom Stein) in 1810 (1864 inCongress Poland), but lingered in some practices until the late 19th century. The situation was thus that (primarily) Polish serfs lived and worked side by side with (predominantly) free German settlers. Though the settlers were given initial advantages, in time their lots were not much different. Serfs worked for the noble lord, who took care of them. Settlers worked for themselves and took care of themselves, but paid taxes to the lord.
Typically, an estate would have itsmanor and farm buildings, and a village nearby for the Polish laborers. Near that village, there might be a German settlement. And in the woods, there would be a forester's dwelling. The estate owners, usually of the nobility, owned the localgrist mill, and often other types of mills or perhaps adistillery. In many places,windmills dotted the landscape, reminding one of the earliest settlers, theDutch, who began the process of turning unproductive river marshes into fields. This process was finished by the German settlers employed to reclaim unproductive lands (not only marshland) for the host estate owners.
Greater Poland became Prussian in 1772 (Netze District) and 1793 (South Prussia) during theFirst andSecond Partition of Poland. After Prussia's defeat in theNapoleonic Wars, the territory was attached to theDuchy of Warsaw in 1807 upon the Franco-PrussianTreaty of Tilsit. In 1815 during theCongress of Vienna, Prussia gained the western third of the Warsaw duchy, which was about half of former South Prussia. Prussia then administered this province as the semi-autonomousGrand Duchy of Posen, which lost most of its exceptional status already after the 1830November Uprising inCongress Poland,[1] as the Prussian authorities feared a Polish national movement which would have swept away theHoly Alliance system inCentral Europe. Instead PrussianGermanisation measures increased underOberpräsidentEduard Heinrich von Flottwell, who had replaced Duke-governorAntoni Radziwiłł.
A firstGreater Poland Uprising in 1846 failed, as the leading insurgents aroundKarol Libelt andLudwik Mierosławski were reported to the Prussian police and arrested forhigh treason. Their trial at theBerlinKammergericht court gained them enormous popularity even among Germannational liberals, who themselves were suppressed by theCarlsbad Decrees. Both were released in theMarch Revolution of 1848 and triumphantly carried through the streets.
At the same time, a Polish national committee gathered at Poznań and demanded independence. ThePrussian Army under GeneralFriedrich August Peter von Colomb at first retired. KingFrederick William IV of Prussia as well as the new Prussian commissioner,Karl Wilhelm von Willisen, promised a renewed autonomy status.
However, both among the German-speaking population of the province as well as in the Prussian capital,anti-Polish sentiments arose. While the local Posen (Poznań) Parliament voted 26 to 17 votes against joining German Confederation, on 3 April 1848[2] theFrankfurt Parliament ignored the vote, unsuccessfully attempting its status change to a common Prussian province, as well as its incorporation into theGerman Confederation.[3] The Frankfurt parliamentarianCarl Friedrich Wilhelm Jordan vehemently spoke against Polish autonomy. The assembly at first attempted to divide the Posen duchy into two parts: the Province of Posen, which would have been given to the German population and annexed to a newly createdGreater Germany, and the Province ofGniezno, which would have been given to the Poles and remain outside of Germany. Because of the protest of Polish politicians, this plan failed and the integrity of the duchy was preserved.
Nevertheless, when the Prussian troops had finally crushed the Greater Polish revolt, after a series of broken assurances, on 9 February 1849 the Prussian authorities renamed the duchy as the Province of Posen. In spite of that, the territory formally remained outside of theGerman Confederation (and thus Germany) until the German Confederation was dissolved and theNorth German Confederation was established, which occurred in1866. Nevertheless, the Prussian Kings retained the title "Grand Duke of Posen" until the German and Prussian monarchy finally expired in 1918, following the abdication ofWilliam II.
With theunification of Germany after theFranco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the Province of Posen became part of theGerman Empire, and the city of Posen was officially named an imperial residence city. Bismarck's hostility towards the Poles was already well known, as in 1861 he had written in a letter to his sister:"Hit the Poles so hard that they despair of their life; I have full sympathy for their condition, but if we want to survive we can only exterminate them."[4] His dislike was firmly entrenched in traditions of Prussian mentality and history. There was little need for discussions in Prussian circles, as most of them, including the monarch, agreed with his views.[5] Poles suffered from discrimination by the Prussian state; numerous oppressive measures were implemented to eradicate the Polish community's identity and culture.[6][7]
The Polish inhabitants of Posen, who faced discrimination and even forced Germanization, favored the French side during theFranco-Prussian War. France and Napoleon III were known for their support and sympathy for the Poles under Prussian rule[8][9] Demonstrations at news of Prussian-German victories manifested Polish independence feelings and calls were also made for Polish recruits to desert from thePrussian Army, though these went mostly unheeded. Bismarck regarded these as an indication of a Slavic-Roman encirclement and even a threat to unified Germany.[10] Under German ChancellorOtto von Bismarck renewed Germanisation policies began, including an increase of the police, a colonization commission, and theKulturkampf. TheGerman Eastern Marches Society (Hakata) pressure group was founded in 1894 and in 1904, special legislation was passed against the Polish population. The legislation of 1908 allowed for the confiscation of Polish-owned property. The Prussian authorities did not permit the development of industries in Posen, so the duchy's economy was dominated by high-level agriculture.
At the end of World War I, the fate of the province was undecided. The Polish inhabitants demanded the region be included in the newly independentSecond Polish Republic, while the German minority refused any territorial concessions. AnotherGreater Poland Uprising broke out on 27 December 1918, a day afterIgnacy Jan Paderewski's speech. The uprising received little support from the Polish government inWarsaw. After the success of the uprising, Posen province was until mid-1919 an independent state with its own government, currency and military. With the signing of theTreaty of Versailles in 1919, most of the province, composed of the areas with a Polish majority, was ceded to Poland and was reformed as thePoznań Voivodeship. The majority-German populated remainder (withBomst,Fraustadt,Neu Bentschen,Meseritz,Tirschtiegel (partially),Schwerin,Blesen,Schönlanke,Filehne,Schloppe,Deutsch Krone,Tütz,Schneidemühl,Flatow,Jastrow, andKrojanke—about 2,200 km2 (850 sq mi)) was merged with the western remains of formerWest Prussia and was administered asPosen-West Prussia[1] with Schneidemühl as its capital. This province was dissolved in 1938, when its territory was split between the neighboring Prussian provinces ofSilesia,Pomerania andBrandenburg. In 1939, the territory of the former province of Posenwas annexed by Nazi Germany and made part ofReichsgau Danzig-West Prussia andReichsgau Wartheland (initiallyReichsgau Posen). By the timeWorld War II ended in May 1945, it had been overrun by theRed Army.
Following Germany's defeat in World War in 1945, atStalin's demand all of the German territory east of the newly establishedOder–Neisse line of thePotsdam Agreement was either turned over to thePoland or theSoviet Union. All historical parts of the province came under Polish control, and the remaining ethnic German population wasexpelled by force.
| Posen | Area in 1910 in km2 | Share of territory | Population in 1910 | After WW1 part of: | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Given to: | 28,992 km2[11] | 100% | 2,099,831 | Divided between: | |
| Poland | 26,111 km2[12] | 90%[13] | 93%[13] | Poznań Voivodeship | |
| Germany | 2,881 km2 | 10% | 7% | Posen-West Prussia[14] | [Note 1] |
This region was inhabited by aPolish majority, withGerman andJewish minorities and a smattering of other ethnic groups. Almost all the Poles wereRoman Catholic, and most of the Germans wereProtestant. The small numbers of Jews were primarily in the larger communities, mostly in skilled crafts, local commerce and regional trading. The smaller a community, the more likely it was to be either all Polish or German. These "pockets of ethnicity" existed side by side, with German villages being the most dense in the northwestern areas. Under Prussia'sGermanization policies, the population became more German until the end of the 19th century, when the trend reversed (in theOstflucht). This was despite efforts of the government inBerlin to prevent it, establishing theSettlement Commission to buy land from Poles and make it available for sale only to Germans.
The province's large number of resident Germans resulted from constant immigration since theMiddle Ages, when the first settlers arrived in the course of theOstsiedlung. Although many of those had beenPolonized over time,a continuous immigration resulted in maintaining a large German community. The 18th centuryJesuit-ledCounter-Reformation enacted severe restrictions on German Protestants. At the end of the 18th century when Prussia seized the area during thePartitions of Poland, thousands of German colonists were sent by Prussian officials to Germanize the area.
During the first half of the 19th century, the German population grew due to state sponsoredcolonisation.[15] In the second half, the Polish population grew gradually due to theOstflucht and a higher birthrate among the Poles. In theKulturkampf, mainly Protestant Prussia sought to reduce the Catholic impact on its society. Posen was hit severely by these measures due to its large, mainly Polish Catholic population. ManyCatholic Germans in Posen joined with ethnic Poles in opposition to anti-Catholic Kulturkampf measures[citation needed]. Following the Kulturkampf, theGerman Empire fornationalist reasons implemented Germanisation programs. One measure was to set up aSettlement Commission to attract German settlers to counter the Polish population's higher growth. However, this failed, even when accompanied by additional legal measures. The Polish language was eventually banned from use in schools and government offices as part of the Germanisation policies.
| Ethnolinguistic composition of the Province of Posen | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| year | 1815[16] | 1819[17] | 1837[18] | 1846[19] | 1890[20] | 1910[21] |
| total population[22] | 798,000 | 883,972 | 1,158,608 | 1,343,135 | 1,751,642 | 2,099,831 |
| % Polish-speaking (including bilinguals)[23] | 73% | 77.0% | 65.3% | 71.7% | 60.1% | 61.5% (or 65%)[21] |
| % German-speaking (including most of the Jews) | 25% | 17.5% | 28.3% | 28.3% | 39.9% | 38.5% (or 35%)[21] |
There is a notable disparity between German statistics gathered by the Prussian administration, and the Polish estimates conducted after 1918. According to the Prussian census of 1905, the number of German speakers in the Province of Posen was approximately 38.5% (which included colonists, military stationed in the area and German administration), while after 1918 the number of Germans in the Poznan Voivodship, which closely corresponded to province of Posen, was only 7%. According toWitold Jakóbczyk, the disparity between the number of ethnic Germans and the number of German speakers is because Prussian authorities placed ethnic Germans and the German-speaking Jewish minority into the same class.[24] Around 161,000 Germans in the province were officials, soldiers and their families settled in the region by German Empire.[25] In addition, there was a considerable exodus of Germans from theSecond Polish Republic after the latter was established. There was alsoPolonization of localCatholic Germans. Another reason of the disparity is that some border areas of the province, inhabited mostly by Germans (includingPiła), remained in Germany after 1918.[26][27] According to Polish authors, the real share of Poles in 1910 was 65% (rather than 61.5% claimed by official census).[21]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(September 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Area: 28,970 km2
Population
Prussian provinces were subdivided into government regions (Regierungsbezirke), in Posen:
These regions were again subdivided into districts calledKreise. Cities would have their own "Stadtkreis" (urban district) and the surrounding rural area would be named for the city, but referred to as a "Landkreis" (rural district). In the case of Posen, the Landkreis was split into two: Landkreis Posen West, and Landkreis Posen East.
| District | Name in Polish | Population | German | % | Polish | % | Bilingual | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Province of Posen | - | 2,099,831 | 806,720 | 38.4% | 1,278,890 | 60.9% | 11,899 | 0.6% |
| Bromberg Region | - | 763,947 | 379,488 | 49.7% | 378,831 | 49.6% | 4,956 | 0.6% |
| City of Bromberg | Bydgoszcz | 57,696 | 46,720 | 81.0% | 9,350 | 16.2% | 1,557 | 2.7% |
| Bromberg | Bydgoszcz | 96,473 | 58,783 | 60.9% | 37,049 | 38.4% | 590 | 0.6% |
| Czarnikau | Czarnków | 42,287 | 30,016 | 71.0% | 12,027 | 28.4% | 179 | 0.4% |
| Filehne | Wieleń | 33,653 | 23,504 | 69.8% | 9,918 | 29.5% | 217 | 0.6% |
| Gnesen | Gniezno | 56,250 | 21,461 | 38.2% | 34,643 | 61.6% | 129 | 0.2% |
| Hohensalza | Inowrocław | 77,294 | 28,394 | 36.7% | 48,599 | 62.9% | 258 | 0.3% |
| Kolmar in Posen | Chodzież | 76,020 | 61,600 | 81.0% | 13,957 | 18.4% | 427 | 0.6% |
| Mogilno | Mogilno | 49,253 | 14,274 | 29.0% | 34,659 | 70.4% | 194 | 0.4% |
| Schubin | Szubin | 48,304 | 21,035 | 43.5% | 26,799 | 55.5% | 403 | 0.8% |
| Strelno | Strzelno | 37,620 | 7,437 | 19.8% | 30,109 | 80.0% | 67 | 0.2% |
| Wirsitz | Wyrzysk | 67,219 | 34,235 | 50.9% | 32,446 | 48.3% | 495 | 0.7% |
| Witkowo | Witkowo | 29,094 | 4,814 | 16.5% | 24,164 | 83.1% | 91 | 0.3% |
| Wongrowitz | Wągrowiec | 52,574 | 16,309 | 31.0% | 35,955 | 68.4% | 216 | 0.4% |
| Znin | Żnin | 40,210 | 10,906 | 27.1% | 29,156 | 72.5% | 133 | 0.3% |
| Posen Region | - | 1,335,884 | 427,232 | 32.0% | 900,059 | 67.4% | 6,943 | 0.5% |
| Adelnau | Odolanów | 36,306 | 4,681 | 12.9% | 31,537 | 86.9% | 87 | 0.2% |
| Birnbaum | Międzychód | 28,887 | 14,069 | 48.7% | 14,513 | 50.2% | 264 | 0.9% |
| Bomst | Babimost | 63,120 | 30,980 | 49.1% | 31,794 | 50.4% | 214 | 0.3% |
| Fraustadt | Wschowa | 28,914 | 19,663 | 68.0% | 8,902 | 30.8% | 337 | 1.2% |
| Gostyn | Gostyń | 48,326 | 6,528 | 13.5% | 41,720 | 86.3% | 70 | 0.1% |
| Grätz | Grodzisk Wielkopolski | 36,483 | 5,997 | 16.4% | 30,280 | 83.0% | 199 | 0.5% |
| Jarotschin | Jarocin | 51,626 | 9,236 | 17.9% | 42,168 | 81.7% | 197 | 0.4% |
| Kempen | Kępno | 37,050 | 5,933 | 16.0% | 30,697 | 82.9% | 242 | 0.7% |
| Koschmin | Koźmin Wielkopolski | 33,519 | 5,719 | 17.1% | 27,685 | 82.6% | 58 | 0.2% |
| Kosten | Kościan | 47,325 | 5,149 | 10.9% | 42,091 | 88.9% | 50 | 0.1% |
| Krotoschin | Krotoszyn | 46,874 | 15,822 | 33.8% | 30,709 | 65.5% | 325 | 0.7% |
| Lissa | Leszno | 44,579 | 27,451 | 61.6% | 16,659 | 37.4% | 427 | 1.0% |
| Meseritz | Międzyrzecz | 53,306 | 41,059 | 77.0% | 12,207 | 22.9% | 3 | 0.0% |
| Neutomischel | Nowy Tomyśl | 34,292 | 15,700 | 45.8% | 18,481 | 53.9% | 109 | 0.3% |
| Obornik | Oborniki | 55,880 | 22,450 | 40.2% | 33,139 | 59.3% | 253 | 0.5% |
| Ostrowo | Ostrów Wielkopolski | 43,887 | 9,713 | 22.1% | 33,970 | 77.4% | 166 | 0.4% |
| Pleschen | Pleszew | 37,362 | 6,200 | 16.6% | 30,965 | 82.9% | 130 | 0.3% |
| City of Posen | Poznań | 156,691 | 65,319 | 41.7% | 89,351 | 57.0% | 1,333 | 0.9% |
| Posen West | Poznań, Zach. | 43,129 | 7,374 | 17.1% | 35,474 | 82.3% | 238 | 0.6% |
| Posen Ost | Poznań, Wsch. | 49,119 | 14,102 | 28.7% | 34,795 | 70.8% | 178 | 0.4% |
| Rawitsch | Rawicz | 50,523 | 21,253 | 42.1% | 29,150 | 57.7% | 99 | 0.2% |
| Samter | Szamotuły | 66,856 | 17,071 | 25.5% | 49,589 | 74.2% | 145 | 0.2% |
| Schildberg | Ostrzeszów | 37,290 | 5,470 | 14.7% | 31,100 | 83.4% | 718 | 1.9% |
| Schmiegel | Śmigiel | 36,383 | 6,626 | 18.2% | 29,544 | 81.2% | 208 | 0.6% |
| Schrimm | Śrem | 57,483 | 10,017 | 17.4% | 47,088 | 81.9% | 368 | 0.6% |
| Schroda | Środa Wielkopolska | 49,176 | 6,201 | 12.6% | 42,870 | 87.2% | 92 | 0.2% |
| Schwerin | Skwierzyna | 21,620 | 19,729 | 91.3% | 1,722 | 8.0% | 143 | 0.7% |
| Wreschen | Września | 39,878 | 7,720 | 19.4% | 31,859 | 79.9% | 290 | 0.7% |
The German figure includes the German-speaking Jewish population.
| This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(September 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The province was headed by presidents (German:Oberpräsidenten).
| Term | Name |
|---|---|
| 1815–1824 | Joseph Zerboni de Sposetti |
| 1825–1830 | Johann Friedrich Theodor von Baumann |
| 1830–1840 | Eduard Heinrich Flottwell |
| 1840–1842 | Adolf Heinrich Graf von Arnim-Boitzenburg |
| 1843–1850 | Carl Moritz von Beurmann |
| 1850–1851 | Gustav Carl Gisbert Heinrich Wilhelm Gebhard von Bonin (First term) |
| 1851–1860 | Eugen von Puttkamer 1800–1874 |
| 1860–1862 | Gustav Carl Gisbert Heinrich Wilhelm Gebhard von Bonin (Second term) |
| 1862–1869 | Carl Wilhelm Heinrich Georg von Horn |
| 1869–1873 | Otto Graf von Königsmarck |
| 1873–1886 | William Barstow von Guenther |
| 1886–1890 | Robert Graf von Zedtlitz-Trützschler |
| 1890–1899 | Hugo Freiherr von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff |
| 1899–1903 | Karl Julius Rudolf von Bitter |
| 1903–1911 | Wilhelm August Hans von Waldow-Reitzenstein |
| 1911–1914 | Philipp Schwartzkopf |
| 1914–1918 | Joh. Karl Friedr. Moritz Ferd. v. Eisenhart-Rothe |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
