Province of Pomerania (1815–1945)
Province of Pomerania Provinz Pommern | |||||||||||||
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Province of Prussia | |||||||||||||
1815–1945/47 | |||||||||||||
The Province of Pomerania (green) inside the German Empire (light green) in 1914 | |||||||||||||
Capital | Stettin (Szczecin) | ||||||||||||
Area | |||||||||||||
• Coordinates | 53°26′N 14°32′E / 53.433°N 14.533°E | ||||||||||||
• 1905 | 30,120 km2 (11,630 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
• 1939 | 38,400 km2 (14,800 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
Population | |||||||||||||
• 1905 | 1,684,125 | ||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||
• Established | 1815 | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1945/47 | ||||||||||||
Political subdivisions | Köslin Stettin Stralsund (1818−1932) Posen-West Prussia (1938−1945) | ||||||||||||
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Today part of |
The Province of Pomerania (German: Provinz Pommern; Polish: Prowincja Pomorze) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1945. Pomerania was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1815, an expansion of the older Brandenburg-Prussia province of Pomerania, and then became part of the German Empire in 1871. From 1918, Pomerania was a province of the Free State of Prussia until it was dissolved following World War II by decree of the Allied Control Council with the de jure abolition of Prussia on 25 February 1947, and its territory divided between Poland and Allied-occupied Germany. The city of Stettin (present-day Szczecin, Poland) was the provincial capital.
Etymology
The name Pomerania comes from Slavic po more, which means "Land at the Sea".[1]
Overview
The province was created from the
While in the Kingdom of Prussia, the province was heavily influenced by the reforms of
After World War I, democracy and the
In 1933, the
When the war was over, the Oder–Neisse line cut the province in two unequal parts. The smaller western part became part of the East German State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The larger eastern part was attached to post-war Poland as Szczecin Voivodeship. After the war, ethnic Germans were expelled from Poland in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement and the area was re-settled with Poles.[17] Currently, most of the territory of the province lies within the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, which share the same city—now Szczecin—as its capital.
Until 1932, the province was subdivided into the government regions (
In 1905 the province of Pomerania had 1,684,326 inhabitants, among them 1,616,550 Protestants, 50,206 Catholics, and 9,660 Jews. In 1900 Polish was the native language of 14,162 of the inhabitants (at the border to West Prussia), and there were 310 (at the Lake Leba and at the Lake Garde) whose native language was Kashubian. The area of the province amounted to 30,120 km2 (11,630 sq mi).[19] In 1925, the province had an area of 30,208 km2 (11,663 sq mi), with a population of 1,878,780 inhabitants.[20]
Creation and administration of the province within the Kingdom of Prussia
Although there had been a Prussian Province of Pomerania before, the province of Pomerania was newly constituted in 1815, based on the "decree concerning improved establishment of provincial offices" (German: Verordnung wegen verbesserter Einrichtung der Provinzialbehörden), issued by Karl August von Hardenberg on 30 April, and the integration of Swedish Pomerania, handed over to Prussia on 23 October.[2]
The Hardenberg decree reformed all Prussian territories, which henceforth formed ten (later eight) provinces with similar administrations. After the implementation of the reform, the new province of Pomerania consisted basically of its predecessor and Swedish Pomerania, but also of the
The province was headed by a governor (Oberpräsident, literally "senior president") with his seat in the capital, Stettin. It was subdivided into government regions (
In early 1818, Governor
The new parliament (Landtag) assembled first on October 3, 1824. Based on two laws of June 5[22] and July,[23] 1823, the Landtag was constituted by 25 lords and knights, 16 representatives of the towns, and eight from the rural communities.[24]
Subordinate to the provincial Landtag were two Kommunallandtag assemblies, one for former Swedish Pomerania (
The counties each assembled a Kreisstand, where the knights of the county had one vote each and towns also just one vote.[25][26]
Throughout its existence, the province was a stronghold of the Conservative Parties.[27]
Infrastructure
In the 19th century, the first overland routes (Chaussee) and railways were introduced in Pomerania. In 1848, 126.8 Prussian miles of new streets had been built. On October 12, 1840, construction of the Berlin-
In rural areas, many
The construction of narrow-gauge railways was enhanced by a special decree[29] of July 28, 1892, implementing Prussian financial aid programs. In 1900, the total of narrow-gauge railways had passed the 1,000-kilometer (620 mi) threshold.[30]
From 1910 to 1912, most of the province was supplied with electricity as the main lines were built. Plants were built since 1898.[31]
The Świna and lower Oder rivers, the major water route to Stettin, were deepened to five meters and shortened by a canal in 1862. In Stettin, heavy industry was settled, making it the only industrial center of the province.[32]
Stettin was connected to Berlin by the Berlin-Stettin waterway in 1914 after eight years of construction. The other traditional waterways and ports of the province, however, declined. Exceptions were only the port of
With the infrastructural improvements, mass tourism to the Baltic Coast started. The tourist resort (Ostseebad) Binz had 80 visitors in 1870, 10,000 in 1900, and 22,000 in 1910. The same phenomenon occurred in other tourist resorts.[34]
Agricultural reform
Already in 1807, Prussia issued a decree (Steinsches Oktoberedikt) abolishing
Tumults arose in 1847 in the towns of
On March 2, 1850, a law was passed[38] settling the conditions on which peasants and farmers could capitalize their property rights and feudal service duties, and thus get a long-term credit (41 to 56 years to pay back). This law made way for the establishment of Rentenbank credit houses and Rentengut farms. Subsequently, the previous rural structure changed dramatically as farmers, who used this credit to bail out their feudal duties, were now able to self determine how to use their land (so-called "regulated" peasants and farmers, regulierte Bauern). This was not possible before, when the jurisdiction had sanctioned the use of farmland and feudal services according not to property rights, but to social status within rural communities and estates.[39]
From 1891 to 1910, 4,731 Rentengut farms were set up, most (2,690) with a size of 10 to 25 hectares (0.10 to 0.25 km2; 0.039 to 0.097 sq mi).[35]
Bismarck era administrative reforms
Otto von Bismarck inherited from his father the Farther Pomeranian estates Külz (Kulice), Jarchlin (Jarchlino) and Kniephof (Konarzewo). Aiming at a farming career, he studied agriculture at the academy in Greifswald-Eldena. From 1867 to 1874, he bought and expanded the Varzin (Warcino) estates.[4]
In 1869, Friedrich Albrecht Graf zu Eulenburg drafted a county reform (Kreisreform) that was promoted by Bismarck. The reform passed the House of Lords on December 7, 1872. Most importantly, the reform cut the linkage between noble status and the right to vote, the latter now depended on property (one had to be above a certain tax threshold) and not on status, aiming against the overrepresentation of the knights compared to burghers.[4]
On June 29, 1875, a new constitution for the province was passed (Provinzialordnung[40]), which entered into force in 1876. It redefined the responsibilities of the provincial administration (headed by the Oberpräsident) and the self-administrative institutions (Provinzialverband, comprising the provincial parliament (Provinziallandtag), a Landeshauptmann (head) and a Landesausschuß (commission)). The Provinzialverband was financed directly from the Prussian state budget. The Landtag was responsible for streets, welfare, education, and culture. Landownership was no longer a criterion to become elected. The provincial Landtag (Provinziallandtag) was elected by the county representative assemblies (Kreistag for counties, Stadtverordnetenversammlung for town districts) for a six years' term. A subordinate Kommunallandtag only existed for Regierungsbezirk Stralsund, until it was abolished in 1881.[41]
In 1891, a county reform was passed,[42] allowing more communal self-government. Municipalities hence elected a Gemeindevorstand (head) and a Gemeindevertretung (communal parliament). Gutsbezirk districts, i.e. estates not included in counties, could be merged or dissolved.[43]
World War I
During the First World War, no battles took place in the province.[44]
Nevertheless, the war affected society, economy, and administration. During the war, the provincial administrative institutions were subordinate to the military and headed by military officials.
When the
Province of the Free State of Prussia
After the Kaiser was forced to abdicate, the province became part of the Free State of Prussia within the Weimar Republic.[44]
German Revolution of 1918–19
During the
On November 12, 1918, a decree[48] was issued allowing farmworkers' unions to negotiate with farmers (Junkers). The decree further regulated work time and wages for farmworkers.[49]
On May 15, 1919, street fights and plunder occurred following Communist assemblies in Stettin. The revolt was put down by the military. In late August, strikes of farmworkers occurred in the counties of Neustettin (Szczecinek) and Belgard (Białogard). The power of the councils however declined, only a few were left in the larger towns in 1920.[49]
Counter-revolution
Conservative and right-wing groups evolved in opposition to the revolutions' achievements.[50] Landowners formed the Pommerscher Landbund in February 1919, which by 1921 had 120,000 members and from the beginning was supplied with arms by the 2nd army corps in Stettin. Paramilitias ("Einwohnerwehr") formed throughout the spring of 1919.[49]
Pommerscher Landbund units participated in the nationalist Kapp Putsch in Berlin, 1920.[49]
Members of the "Iron Division" (Eiserne Division), a dissolved Freikorps in the Baltic, reorganized in Pomerania, where the Junkers hosted them on their estates as a private army.[49]
Also, counter-revolutionary Pomeranians formed
Constitution of 1920
In 1920 (changed in 1921 and 1924), the
The provincial and county parliaments (Landtag and Kreistag) were hence elected directly by the population, including women, in free and secret votes.[7]
The "Provinzialverband", which included all self-governmental institutions of the province such as the provincial parliament (Provinziallandtag), gained influence on the formerly Berlin-led provincial government: The Provinzialverband would hence elect the "Oberpräsident" (head of the administration) and appoint representatives for the Reichsrat assembly in Berlin. Furthermore, the Provinzialverband officials could hence self determine how to spend the money they received from Berlin.[7] From 1919 to 1930 Julius Lippmann served as governor of the province.[51]
Economy
The border changes however caused a severe decline in the province's economy. Farther Pomerania was cut off from Danzig (Gdańsk) by the so-called corridor. Former markets and supplies in the now Polish territories became unavailable.[52]
Farther Pomeranian farmers had sold their products primarily to the eastern provinces, that were now part of the
Stettin particularly suffered from a post-war change in trade routes. Before the territorial changes, it had been on the export route from the Katowice industrial region in now Polish Upper Silesia. Poland changed this export route to a new inner-Polish railway connecting Katowice with the new-build port of Gdynia within the corridor.[52]
As a counter-measure, Prussia invested in the Stettin port since 1923. While initially successful, a new economical recession led to the closure of one of Stettin's major shipyard, AG Vulcan Stettin, in 1927.[54]
The province also reacted to the availability of new traffic vehicles. Roads were developed due to the upcoming cars and buses, four towns got electric street cars, and an international airport was built in
The Pomeranian agriculture underwent a crisis. Programs were started to regain soil that had turned into swamps during the wartime, and even to establish new settlements by setting up settlement societies. The results were mixed. On the one hand, 130,858 hectares (1,308.58 km2; 505.25 sq mi) of farmland were settled with 8,734 new-build settlements[55] until 1933. The settlers originated in Pomerania itself, Saxony, and Thuringia, also refugees from the former Province of Posen settled in the province. On the other hand, people left the rural communities en masse and turned to Pomeranian and other urban centers (Landflucht). In 1925, 50.7% of the Pomeranians worked in agricultural professions, this percentage dropped to 38.2% in 1933.[56]
With the economic recession, unemployment rates reached 12% in 1933, compared to an overall 19% in the empire.[57]
Nazi era
Pomeranian Nazi movement before 1933
Throughout the existence of the
Corswant led the party from his estate in
In the elections of July 1932, the Nazis gained 48% of the Pomeranian votes, while the DNVP dropped to 15.8%. In March 1933, the NSDAP gained 56.3%.[58]
Nazi government since 1933
Immediately after their gain of power, the Nazis began arresting their opponents. In March 1933, 200 people[59] were arrested, this number rose to 600[60] during the following months. In Stettin-Bredow (Szczecin-Drzetowo), at the site of the bankrupt Vulcan shipyards, the Nazis set up a short-lived "wild" concentration camp from October 1933 to March 1934, where SA maltreated their victims. The Pomeranian SA in 1933 had grown to 100,000 members.[14]
Oberpräsident Carl von Halfern retired in 1933, and with him one third of the Landrat and Oberbürgermeister (mayor) officials.[59]
Also in 1933, an election was held for a new provincial parliament, which then had a Nazi majority. Decrees were issued that shifted all issues formerly in responsibility of the parliament to the Provinzialausschuß commission, and furthermore, shifted the power to decide on these issues from the Provinzialausschuß to the Oberpräsident official, although he had to hear the Provinzialrat commission before. Once the power was shifted to the Oberpräsident with the Provinzialrat as an advisor, all organs of the Provinzialverband (Provinziallandtag (parliament), Provinzialausschuß and all other commissions), the former self-administration of the province, were dissolved except for the downgraded Provinzialrat, which assembled about once a year without making use of its advisory rights. The Landeshauptmann position, the Provinzialverband's head, was not abolished. From 1933, Landeshauptmann would be a Nazi who was acting in line with the Oberpräsident. The law entered into force on April 1, 1934.[59]
In 1934, many of the heads of the Pomeranian Nazi-movement were exchanged. SA leader
As in all of Nazi Germany, the Nazis established totalitarian control over the province through their policy of Gleichschaltung.
Deportation of the Pomeranian Jews
In 1933, about 7,800 Jews lived in Pomerania, of which a third lived in Stettin (Szczecin). The other two thirds were living all over the province, Jewish communities numbering more than 200 people were in Stettin,
When the Nazis started to terrorize Jews, many emigrated. Twenty weeks after the Nazis seized power, the number of Jewish Pomeranians had already dropped by eight percent.[61]
Besides the repressions Jews had to endure in all
On February 12 and 13, 1940, 1,000 to 1,300 Pomeranian Jews, regardless of sex, age and health, were deported from Stettin and
According to Cullmann, the following events took place in Schneidemühl: "On February 15, 1940, an order had been issued by the Gestapo in Schneidemühl that the Jews of that town should get ready to be deported within a week, ostensibly to the Generalgouvernement in Eastern Poland. When Dr. Hildegard Böhme of the Reichsvereinigung had become aware of Gauleiter Schwede-Coburg's plan – and fearing a repetition of the events on the scale of the Stettin deportations – her timely and tireless intervention on behalf of the Reichsvereinigung with the RSHA in Berlin resulted in a modification of the planned deportations of Schneidemühl's Jews. The Stapo, the State police in Schneidemühl, however, played its own part in the planned round-up of the city's Jews by giving in to the local Nazi Party cadre and to the orders of the city's fanatic Mayor
Repressions against Polish minority
Grzęda (1994) says that in 1910, according to German data, 10,500 Poles lived in the Stettin (Szczecin) area, and that in his view the number was most likely reduced.
To maintain contact with the Poles of the province, Poland opened a consulate in Szczecin in 1925.[71]
A number of the Poles in Szczecin (Stettin) were members of the Union of Poles in Germany, a Polish scouts team was established there as well,[72][page needed] in addition to a Polish school where the Polish language was taught.[73]
Repressions intensified after Adolf Hitler came to power and led to closing of the school.[72] Members of Polish community who took part in cultural and political activities were persecuted and even murdered. In 1938 the head of Stettin's Union of Poles unit Stanisław Borkowski was imprisoned in Oranienburg.[72] In 1939, all Polish organisations in Stettin were disbanded by the authorities. During the war, two teachers from Polish school: Golisz and Omieczyński were murdered.[72]
Resistance
Resistance groups formed in the economical centers, especially in
Resistance is also reported from members of the nationalist conservative DNVP. The monarchist Herbert von Bismarck-Lasbeck was forced out of office in 1933. The newspaper Pommersche Tagespost was banned in 1935 after printing an article of monarchist Hans Joachim von Rohr (1888–1971). In 1936, four members of the DNVP were tried for founding a monarchist organization.[74]
Other DNVP members, who had addressed their opposition already before 1933, were arrested multiple times after the Nazis had taken over.
Within the
After the failed assassination attempt of Hitler on July 20, 1944,
World War II and aftermath
First war years
The
The pre-war persecution of Poles in the province further intensified in September 1939 with mass arrests of Polish activists, teachers etc., who were then sent to concentration camps.[79]
According to Kozłowski & Krzywicki (1988), around 56,000 Polish POWs were located in Pomerania after the invasion, and soon Germany stripped them of their status (against international law) turning them into
Because the invasion of Poland (and later the Soviet Union) was a success and the battle front moved far more east (Blitzkrieg), the province was not the site of battles in the first years of the war.
Germany operated several prisoner-of-war camps, including Stalag II-B, Stalag II-C, Stalag II-D, Stalag II-E, Stalag Luft I, Stalag Luft II, Stalag Luft IV, Stalag Luft 7, Stalag 302, Stalag 351, Oflag II-B, Oflag II-C, Oflag II-D and Oflag 65, for Polish POWs and civilians, including women and children, and French, Belgian, Dutch, Serbian, Italian, American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealander, Czech, Soviet, Senegalese, Tunisian, Moroccan, Algerian, South African and other Allied POWs, with numerous forced labour subcamps in the region.[81][82][83]
There were also several subcamps of the Stutthof concentration camp[84] and several Nazi prisons with numerous forced labour subcamps in the region. Połczyn-Zdrój was the location of a Germanisation camp for kidnapped Polish children.[85] Piła, Unieszyno and Police housed camps for Sinti and Romani people (see Romani Holocaust).[86][87][88]
The Polish resistance movement was active in the region, including the Odra organization and local units of the Home Army. Activities included espionage of German military activity, infiltration of the local German industry, sabotage actions, distribution of Polish underground press,[89][90] and facilitating escapes of Polish and British prisoners of war who fled from German POW camps by the Baltic Sea to neutral Sweden.[91]
Since 1943, the province became a target of allied air raids. The first attack was launched against
Despite these raids, the province was regarded "safe" compared to other areas of the
The Pomeranian Wall was renovated in the summer of 1944, and in the fall all men between sixteen and sixty years of age who had not yet been drafted were enrolled into Volkssturm units.[92]
In early 1945, German-perpetrated death marches of prisoners of German POW camps and concentration camps passed through the region.[93][94][95]
The province of Pomerania became a battlefield on January 26, 1945, when in the beginning of the
East Pomeranian Offensive
On February 14, the remnants of German
The fast advances of the Red Army during the
Battle of Berlin
On March 20, the
Throughout April, the
In Demmin, more than 1,000 people committed mass suicides after the Red Army had conquered the town facing only modest resistance. Coroner lists show that most drowned in the nearby River Tollense and River Peene, while others poisoned themselves. This was fueled by atrocities – rapes, pillage and executions – committed by Red Army soldiers after the Peene-bridge had been destroyed by retreating German troops. 80 percent of the town was destroyed in the first 3 days after its conquest.[98]
In the first days of May,
Dissolution of the province
-
Western part of the former province (Western Pomerania, Vorpommern, red) in modern Germany (grey)
-
Post-war Polish part of the pre-1937 province of Pomernia
By the terms of the
In 1990, after
Administrative subdivisions
Köslin government region (Farther Pomerania)
The Köslin government region (Regierungsbezirk Köslin) was the administrative name for the region of Farther Pomerania (Hinterpommern) along with the smaller region of Lauenburg and Bütow Land (easternmost part).[18]
These parts of Pomerania were integrated into the
Landkreis Lauenburg-Bütow comprised the Lauenburg and Bütow Land, a Pomerelian borderland with a somewhat different history than the rest of Pomerania. It was in 1846 dissolved into smaller administrative units. In contrast to ethnic German Pomerania, this area also had a Kashubian population.
Subdivisions
- urban districts (Stadtkreise):
- rural districts (Landkreise):
- Landkreis Belgard (Persante):[18]population 47,097 (1900); 79,183 (1939)
- Landkreis Dramburg:[18] population 35,863 (1900);
- Landkreis Fürstenthum[18] (1816–1872), 1872 divided into
- Landkreis Bublitz:[18] population 20,916 (1900); in 1932 merged into Landkreis Köslin
- Landkreis Kolberg-Körlin:[18]population 57,871 (1900); 38,785 (1939)
- Landkreis Köslin:[18] population 48,678 (1900); 80,287 (1939)
- Landkreis Greifenberg i. Pom.:[18] until 1939 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stettin, population 47,891 (1939)
- Landkreis Lauenburg-Bütow[18] (the Lauenburg and Bütow Land), 1846 divided into:
- Landkreis Bütow:[18] population 26,021 (1900); 28,018 (1939)
- Landkreis Lauenburg i. Pom.:[18] population 45,986 (1900); 63,985 (1939)
- Landkreis Neustettin:[18]population 76,101 (1900); since 1938 administered by Regierungsbezirk Grenzmark Posen-Westpreußen
- Regenwalde:[18] 49,668 (1939), until 1938 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stettin
- Landkreis Rummelsburg i. Pom.:[18] population 33,785 (1900); 40,692 (1939)
- Landkreis Schivelbein:[18] population 19,656 (1900); in 1932 merged into Landkreis Belgard (Persante)
- Landkreis Schlawe i. Pom.:[18] population 73,206 (1900); 78,363 (1939)
- Landkreis Stolp:[18] population 75,310 (1900); 83,009 (1939)
Stettin government region (Western Pomerania)
The
Stettin,
Subdivisions
- urban districts (Stadtkreise):
- Greifswald:[18] until 1932 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stralsund, population 37,051 (1939)
- Stargard (Pommern):[18]split off Landkreis Saatzig in 1901, population 39,760 (1939)
- Stettin:[18]population 210,702 (1900); 382,984 (1939)
- Stralsund:[18] until 1932 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stralsund, population 52,931 (1939)
- rural districts (Landkreise):
- Landkreis Anklam:[18] population 32,693 (1900); 39,527 (1939)
- Landkreis Cammin i. Pom.:[18] population 42,485 (1900); 45,694 (1939)
- Landkreis Demmin:[18]population 48,090 (1900); 54,769 (1939)
- Landkreis Franzburg-Barth (Capital: Barth):[18] until 1932 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stralsund, population 55,542 (1939)
- Landkreis Greifenberg i. Pom.:[18] population 37,483 (1900); after 1939 administered by Regierungsbezirk Köslin
- Landkreis Greifenhagen:[18] population 48,258 (1900); 69,326 (1939)
- Landkreis Greifswald:[18] until 1932 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stralsund, population 39,207 (1939)
- Landkreis Grimmen:[18] until 1932 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stralsund, population 42,259 (1939)
- Landkreis Naugard:[18] population 52,777 (1900); 61,320 (1939)
- Landkreis Pyritz:[18] population 42,686 (1900); 48,418 (1939)
- Landkreis Randow:[18] population 94,859 (1900); partitioned in 1939 by Stadtkreis Stettin, Landkreis Greifenhagen, Landkreis Ueckermünde, and Landkreis Naugard
- Landkreis Rügen (Capital: Bergen auf Rügen): until 1932 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stralsund, population 62,261 (1939)
- Landkreis Regenwalde:[18] population 44,954 (1900);
- Stargard (Pommern)):[18]population 69,762 (1900); 43,258 (1939)
- Landkreis Ueckermünde:[18] population 56,767 (1900); 79,996 (1939)
- Swinemünde):[18]population 52,193 (1900); 83,479 (1939)
Stralsund government region (Northwest)
The
The reason for creating a Regierungsbezirk as small as Stralsund was that Neuvorpommern had a somewhat different history than the rest of Pomerania. This region, consisting of the island of
The name New Western Pomerania (Neuvorpommern) stems from that era, to distinguish the Western Pomeranian areas south of the Peene River gained by Prussia in 1720 (Old Western Pomerania or Altvorpommern) from the northern regions gained in 1815 and to replace the outdated term Principality of Rügen.
When merged into the province in 1815, Neuvorpommern was guaranteed her constitution to be left in place. The administration was led by the former Swedish general governour, prince Malte von Putbus, until Regierungsbezirk Stralsund was officially created in 1818. Prussian law (Allgemeines Preußisches Landrecht and Preußisches Stadtrecht) was not enforced, and the Swedish jurisdiction with the court in Greifswald was left in place.[99]
Regierungsbezirk Stralsund was fused into Regierungsbezirk Stettin in 1932.
Subdivisions
- urban districts (Stadtkreise):
- Stralsund:[18] split off Landkreis Franzburg-Barth in 1874, population 31,076 (1900)
- Greifswald:[18] split off Landkreis Greifswald in 1913
- rural districts (Landkreise):
- Landkreis Franzburg-Barth:[18] population 41,704 (1900)
- Landkreis Greifswald:[18] population 61,840 (1900)
- Landkreis Grimmen:[18] population 35,540 (1900)
- Landkreis Rügen (capital Bergen auf Rügen):[18]population 46,270 (1900)
Posen-West Prussia government region
The Posen-West Prussia government region (Regierungsbezirk Grenzmark Posen-Westpreußen) was created in 1938 from the northern part of the former
Following
During World War II, it became a battlefield and was occupied by the Red Army in early 1945. Shortly thereafter, by the terms of the Potsdam Agreement, the Grenzmark, which was part of Polish Pomerania and Greater Poland before the Partitions of Poland, became again part of Poland and the remaining German population was expelled.
Subdivisions
- urban districts (Stadtkreise):
- rural districts (Landkreise):
- Landkreis Arnswalde[18]
- Landkreis Deutsch Krone[18]
- Landkreis Dramburg[18]
- Landkreis Flatow[18]
- Landkreis Friedeberg Nm.[18]
- Schönlanke)[18]
- Landkreis Neustettin[18]
- Landkreis Schlochau[18]
Demographics
- 1818: The province with an estimated area of 540 (Prussian) square miles had a population of 630,000. The Prussian state official ("Staatsminister") von Beyme stated in his report, that the province was in a "low state of population and culture".[99]
- 1823: In 1823, Georg Hassel published the following data about the population of the province of Pomerania:[100]
Ethnic group | Population (number) | Population (percent) |
---|---|---|
Germans (Deutsche) | 633,000 | 90.3% |
Slavic Wends and Kashubians (Wenden und Kassuben) | 65,000 | 9.3% |
Jews (Juden) | 2,976 | 0.4% |
Total | 700,766 | 100.0% |
According to Georg Hassel, there were 65,000 Slavic-speakers in the whole Provinz Pommern in 1817–1819. Modern estimates for just eastern parts of Pommern in early 1800s range between 40,000 (Leszek Belzyt) and 25,000 (Jan Mordawski, Zygmunt Szultka). The number declined to between 35,000 and 23,000 (Zygmunt Szultka, Leszek Belzyt) in the years 1827–1831. In the 1850–1860s there were an estimated 23,000 to 17,000 Slavic-speakers left in Pommern, down to 15,000 in year 1892 according to Stefan Ramułt. The number was declining due to Germanisation. The bulk of Slavic population in 19th century Pommern was concentrated in its easternmost counties: especially Bytów (Bütow), Lębork (Lauenburg) and Słupsk (Stolp).
Until 1841, immigration to the province was higher than emigration. This trend reversed since 1850. However, the population grew further due to high birth rates.[101]
- 1850: 1,255,900 inhabitants, predominantly Protestants, 11,100 Catholics, 9,700 Jews and 100 Mennonites.[102]
- 1858: 1,125,000 people, 28% of whom lived in towns.[103]
- 1871: 1,431,492 people, 68,7% of those lived in communities with less than 2,000 inhabitants.[104]
- 1875: 1,445,852 people lived in the province, then with an area of 30,131 km2. Of those, 685,147 lived in Regierungsbezirk Stettin, and 554,201 in Regierungsbezirk Köslin.[105]
- 1890: 1,520,889 people, 62,3% of those lived in communities with less than 2,000 inhabitants, and 7,6% in Stettin.[104] Among them were 1,476,300 Protestants, 27,476 Catholics, 4,587 persons belonging to other Christian religious groups, 200 dissidents and 12,246 Jews; 1,519,397 were citizens of the German Empire, 758 came from foreign territories attached to the empire, and 734 did not belong to any of these groups. With the exception of 10,666 persons composed of Poles, Kashubians and Masurians, all people of the Province used German as their native language.[106] According to Stefan Ramułt the number of Slavic-speakers was higher, 15,000 just in the three easternmost counties of Stolp, Lauenburg and Bütow in year 1892.
Between 1871 and 1914, the prime characteristic of the province's demography was migration from the rural areas, first to urban centers (Landflucht), then to destinations in other German provinces and overseas (Ostflucht). Despite the emigration during this time span, the population increased by 300,000 people.[107]
- Between 1871 and 1880, 61,700 people emigrated to America.[107]
- Between 1881 and 1890, 132,100 people emigrated to America; 95,000 of these emigrated between 1881 and 1885.[107]
- Between 1891 and 1900, 56,700 people emigrated to America.[107]
- Between 1871 and 1895, 242,505 people emigrated from the province, primarily from 1880 to 1885 (95,000 emigrants).[108]
- Between 1880 and 1910, 426,000 more people emigrated than immigrated. Emigrants came primarily from rural areas, which they left for economic reasons; prime destinations were
Most people emigrated from Regierungsbezirk Köslin, where the population numbers of 1880 were only reached again in 1899.[107]
The Province of Pomerania was one of the three provinces (the other two were
- 1905: Of 1,684,326 inhabitants 1,616,550 were Protestants, 50,206 Roman Catholics and 9660 Jews, (1900) 14,162 Polish speakers (at the West Prussian border) and 310 Kashubian speakers (at the Lakes Lebasee and Gardescher See).[111]
- 1907: 440,000 people born in the province lived in other areas of Germany.[107]
- 1910: 1,716,921 inhabitants, 55,3% of those lived in communities with less than 2,000 inhabitants, and 13,7% in Stettin.[104] Of those, the majority was Protestant (1,637,299; i.e. 95,36%), 56,298 were Roman Catholics (3,27%), less than one percent were Old Lutherans (primarily in the Cammin and Greifenberg counties), and 8862 were Jews (0,52%)[112]
Polish seasonal workers were employed in Pomeranian agriculture since the 1890s, initially to replace the emigrants.[110] In 1910, 7921 Poles lived steadily in the province. In 1912, 12,000 seasonal workers were employed in agriculture, in 1914 their number increased to 42,000.[68]
- 1919: On October 8, 1919, the province had 1,787,179 inhabitants. This population had increased by 160,000 in 1925.[113]
On October 1, 1938, the bulk of the former
On October 15, Stettin's city limits were expanded to an area of 460 km2 (180 sq mi), housing 383,000 people.[78]
During the Soviet conquest of
Modern inhabitants
During the Polish post-war census of December 1950, data about the pre-war places of residence of the inhabitants as of August 1939 was collected. In the case of children born between September 1939 and December 1950, their origin was reported based on the pre-war places of residence of their mothers. Thanks to this data it is possible to reconstruct the pre-war geographical origin of the post-war population. The same territory corresponding to 1939 Provinz Pommern east of the
Region (within 1939 borders): | Number | Percent |
---|---|---|
Autochthons (1939 DE/FCD citizens) | 70,209 | 6.7% |
Polish expellees from Kresy (USSR) | 250,091 | 24.0% |
Poles from abroad except the USSR | 18,607 | 1.8% |
Resettlers from the City of Warsaw
|
37,285 | 3.6% |
From Warsaw region (Masovia) | 73,936 | 7.1% |
From Białystok region and Sudovia | 16,081 | 1.5% |
From pre-war Polish Pomerania | 145,854 | 14.0% |
Resettlers from Poznań region
|
81,215 | 7.8% |
Katowice region ( East Upper Silesia )
|
11,869 | 1.1% |
Resettlers from the City of Łódź | 8,344 | 0.8% |
Resettlers from Łódź region | 76,128 | 7.3% |
Resettlers from Kielce region | 78,340 | 7.5% |
Resettlers from Lublin region | 81,167 | 7.8% |
Resettlers from Kraków region | 18,237 | 1.7% |
Resettlers from Rzeszów region
|
57,965 | 5.6% |
place of residence in 1939 unknown | 17,891 | 1.7% |
Total pop. in December 1950 | 1,043,219 | 100.0% |
Over 90% of the 1950 population were newcomers to the region, with less than 10% residing in German Province of Pomerania already back in August 1939 (so-called autochthons, who had German citizenship before
See also
References
- ^ Der Name Pommern (po more) ist slawischer Herkunft und bedeutet so viel wie "Land am Meer". (German: Pommersches Landesmuseum)
- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ a b Adolf Hitler: a biographical companion David Nicholls page 178 ;(November 1, 2000 The main nationalist party the German National People's Party DNVP was divided between reactionary conservative monarchists, who wished to turn the clock back to the pre-1918 Kaisereich, and more radical volkisch and anti-Semitic elements. It also inherited the support of the old Pan-German League, whose nationalists rested on the belief in the inherent superiority of the German people
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ Polonia szczecińska 1890–1939 Anna Poniatowska Bogusław Drewniak, Poznań 1961
- ^ HITLER'S PLANS FOR EASTERN EUROPE Archived April 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- Christopher R. Browning, Jürgen Matthäuspage 64 University of Nebraska Press, 2007
- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland)
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ ISBN 3-486-57641-0
- ^ Meyers Großes Konversationslexikon, 6th edition, Vol. 16, Leipzig/Wien: Bibliographisches Institut, 1909, p. 134.
- ^ Der Große Brockhaus, 15th edition, Vol. 14, Leipzig: Brockhaus Verlag, 1933, p. 741.
- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ Allgemeines Gesetz wegen Anordnung der Provinzialstände
- ^ Gesetz wegen Anordnung der Provinzialstände im Herzogtum Pommern und im Fürstentum Rügen
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ "Kreisordnung des Herzogtums Pommern und des Fürstentums Rügen" of 17 August 1825
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ Gesetz über Klein- und Privatanschlußbahnen
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ this data (ha of farmland substitute for monetary payment) is marked in the source as referring to Regierungsbezirk Stettin and Köslin only; note that the Stralsund district with its Swedish law had a somewhat different standing.
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ (titled "Ablösung der Reallasten und die Regulierung der gutsherrlichen und bäuerlichen Verhältnisse")
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ full name: Provinzialordnung für die Provinzen Preußen, Brandenburg, Pommern, Schlesien und Sachsen
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ "Landgemeindeordnung" for the eastern provinces of Prussia
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ Landarbeiterverordnung
- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8)
- )
- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ "Ansiedlungen" based on the "Reichssiedlungsgesetz" (law) of 1919
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ISBN 1-55553-233-0, p.138: February 12/13, 1940
- Isaiah Trunk, Jacob Robinson, Judenrat: The Jewish Councils in Eastern Europe Under Nazi Occupation, U of Nebraska Press, 1996, ISBN 0-8032-9428-X, p.133: February 14, 1940; unheated wagons, elderly and sick suffered most, inhumane treatment
- Leni Yahil, Ina Friedman, Haya Galai, The Holocaust: The Fate of European Jewry, 1932–1945, Oxford University Press US, 1991, ISBN 0-19-504523-8, p. 138: February 12/13, 1940, 1,300 Jews of all sexes and ages, extreme cruelty, no food allowed to be taken along, cold, some died during deportation, cold and snow during resettlement, 230 dead by March 12, Lublin reservation chosen in winter, 30,000 Germans resettled before to make room [1]
- Martin Gilbert, Eilert Herms, Alexandra Riebe, Geistliche als Retter – auch eine Lehre aus dem Holocaust: Auch eine Lehre aus dem Holocaust, Mohr Siebeck, 2003, ISBN 3-16-148229-8, pp. 14 (English) and 15 (German): February 15, 1940, 1000 Jews deported
- Jean-Claude Favez, John Fletcher, Beryl Fletcher, The Red Cross and the Holocaust, Cambridge University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-521-41587-X, p.33: February 12/13, 1,100 Jews deported, 300 died en route [2]
- Isaiah Trunk, Jacob Robinson, Judenrat: The Jewish Councils in Eastern Europe Under Nazi Occupation, U of Nebraska Press, 1996,
- ^ Yad Vashem Studies, Yad ṿa-shem, rashut ha-zikaron la-Shoʼah ṿela-gevurah, Yad Vashem Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, 1996
Notizen: v.12, p.69: 1,200 deported, 250 died during deportation
- Nathan Stoltzfus, Resistance of the Heart: Intermarriage and the Rosenstrasse Protest in Nazi Germany, Rutgers University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8135-2909-3, p. 130: February 11/12 from Stettin, soon thereafter from Schneidemühl, total of 1,260 Jews deported, among the deportees were intermarried non-Jewish women who had refused to divorce, – eager Nazi Gauleiter Schwede-Coburg was the first to have his Gau "judenfrei", Eichmann's "RSHA" (Reich Security Main Office) assured worried Eppstein of the Central Organization of Jews in Germany ("Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland") that this was an isolated local incident.
- John Mendelsohn, Legalizing the Holocaust, the Later Phase, 1939–1943, Garland Pub., 1982, ISBN 0-8240-4876-8, p.131: Stettin Jews' houses were sealed, belongings liquidated, funds to be held in blocked accounts
- Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, ISBN 3-88680-272-8, p. 506: Only very few [of the Pomeranian Jews] survived the Nazi era. p. 510: Nearly all Jews from Stettin and all the province, about a thousand
- Alicia Nitecki, Jack Terry, Jakub's World: A Boy's Story of Loss and Survival in the Holocaust, SUNY Press, 2005, ISBN 0-7914-6407-5, pp. 13ff: Stettin Jews to Belzyce in Lublin area, reservation purpose decline of Jews, terror command of Kurt Engels, shocking insights in life circumstances
- Nathan Stoltzfus, Resistance of the Heart: Intermarriage and the Rosenstrasse Protest in Nazi Germany, Rutgers University Press, 2001,
- ISBN 1-886223-27-0, pp. 170–183 Untergang
- ^ Polonia sczcecińska na przełomie dwóch epok, 1930–1935; Marian Grzęda Uniwersytet Szczeciński 1994 page 21
- ISBN 3-412-13892-4.
- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ Skóra, Wojciech: Konsulat Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej w Szczecinie w latach 1925–1939:powstanie i działalność Wojciech Skóra page 124 Pomorska Akademia Pedagogiczna w Słupsku, 2001
- ^ a b The Poles in Germany, 1919–1939 East European Quarterly, Summer, 1996 by Edward D. Wynot, Jr [3], quote: "This paper attempts to fill that apparent gap in scholarship by providing an overview of the Polish minority in inter-war Germany. [...] Whatever its actual size, the German Polish population was internally differentiated in terms of both geographical dispersal and socio-economic profile. By far most lived in areas that adjoined the Polish Republic. [...] The final group in this category lived along the border of the Poznan/Pomorze region (22,500–27,000), where, for the most part, they formed Polish islands surrounded by a German sea. The majority were peasants, with a smattering of small shopkeepers and craftsmen sprinkled among their midst and a colony of about 2,000 workers living in the port of Stettin/Szczecin."
- ISBN 978-83-65681-93-5.
- ^ a b c d Tadeusz Białecki, "Historia Szczecina" Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1992 Wrocław.
- ^ Polski ruch narodowy w Niemczech w latach 1922–1939 Wojciech Wrzesiński page 200 Ossolineum, 1993
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- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ Cygański, Mirosław (1984). "Hitlerowskie prześladowania przywódców i aktywu Związków Polaków w Niemczech w latach 1939-1945". Przegląd Zachodni (in Polish) (4): 48–49, 54.
- ^ Historyczna droga do polskiego Szczecina:wybór dokumentów i opracowań Kazimierz Kozłowski, Stanisław Krzywicki page 86 Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, 1988
- ISBN 978-0-253-06089-1.
- ^ "Les Kommandos". Stalag IIB Hammerstein, Czarne en Pologne (in French). Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ Aniszewska, Jolanta (2011). "W obowiązku pamięci... Stalag II D i formy upamiętnienia jeńców wojennych w Stargardzie Szczecińskim". Łambinowicki rocznik muzealny (in Polish). 34. Opole: 21.
- ISSN 0137-5377.
- ^ "Lebensborn". Połczyn-Zdrój (in Polish). Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ "Lager für Sinti und Roma Schneidemühl". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ "Lager für Sinti und Roma Wunneschin". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ^ "Lager für Sinti und Roma Stettin". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved December 12, 2023.
- ISBN 978-83-8229-411-8.
- ISBN 83-85003-97-5.
- ISSN 0137-5377.
- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ISSN 0137-5377.
- ISBN 978-83-950992-2-9.
- ^ "Stalag Luft IV. Marsz Śmierci". Miasto Białogard (in Polish). Retrieved December 12, 2023.
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- ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ISBN 978-0-19-953256-8.
Tief vergraben, nicht dran rühren Der Spiegel March 30, 2005 (in German)
Kriegsende in Demmin Archived February 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Norddeutscher Rundfunk (in German)
Tragödie an der Peene Focus May 8, 1995 (in German)
Bscheid, Andrea Karoline (2009). Das Nürnberger Bündnis gegen Depression (PDF) (in German). University of Munich. p. 19.
Buske, Norbert (Hg.): Das Kriegsende in Demmin 1945. Berichte Erinnerungen Dokumente (Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Landeskundliche Hefte), Schwerin 1995 - ^ ISBN 3-88680-272-8
- ^ a b Hassel, Georg (1823). Statistischer Umriß der sämmtlichen europäischen und der vornehmsten außereuropäischen Staaten, in Hinsicht ihrer Entwickelung, Größe, Volksmenge, Finanz- und Militärverfassung, tabellarisch dargestellt; Erster Heft: Welcher die beiden großen Mächte Österreich und Preußen und den Deutschen Staatenbund darstellt. Verlag des Geographischen Instituts Weimar. p. 31.
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- ^ Brockhaus' Konversations-Lexikon. 10th edition, vol. 12, Leipzig 1854, pp. 258–259.
- OCLC 43087092
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- ^ Brockhaus' Konversations-Lexikon. 14th edition, vol. 13, Leipzig 1895, p. 259.
- ^ OCLC 43087092
- ISBN 3-88680-272-8
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- ^ Meyers Konversations Lexikon 1905, online at
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- ^ Kosiński, Leszek (1960). "Pochodzenie terytorialne ludności Ziem Zachodnich w 1950 r. [Territorial origins of inhabitants of the Western Lands in year 1950]" (PDF). Dokumentacja Geograficzna (in Polish). 2. Warsaw: PAN (Polish Academy of Sciences), Institute of Geography: Tabela 1 (data by county) – via Repozytorium Cyfrowe Instytutów Naukowych.