| Revision as of 18:33, 16 January 2006 edit217.185.75.61 (talk) →Historical Germanisation← Previous edit | Revision as of 18:35, 16 January 2006 edit undo87.239.90.151 (talk) The article isn't about a football club.Poles certainly aren't "completely assimiliated" since many activists complain at the treatment of Poles in Germany.Next edit → | ||
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| Similar development happened with ], but this ethnic group never had a large population. | Similar development happened with ], but this ethnic group never had a large population. | ||
| Another, if often neglected, form of Germanisation was the acculturation of Polish coal miners in the ]. Due to migration within the ] an enormous stream of Polish nationals of about 350 thousand people made their way to the Ruhr in the late 19th century, where they worked in the coal and iron industry. German authorities viewed them as potential danger and a threat that could work to restore Polish state and as "suspected political and national" element. All polish workers had special cards and were under constant observation by German authorities. In addition antipolish stereotypes were promoted, such as postcards with jokes about Poles, presenting them as irresponsible people. Many Polish traditional and religious songs were forbidden by Prussian authorities . To defend their interests and ethnic identity Poles formed their own organisations out of which the Sokól sports clubs and the workers' union Zjednoczenie Zawodowe Polskie (ZZP) are the most well known. Polish press (Wiarus Polski) and a Polish bank (Bank Robotnikow) were other remarkable features of the Polish at the Ruhr. The national gap between German and Polish workers began to close in the early 20th century. In 1905 Polish and German workers organised their . At first the Polish workers - different from German workers - had supported the Catholic . Since the beginning of the 20th century their support more and more shifted towards the social democrats. So the Poles gradually adopted the political leaning of the German workers. Among other things the Poles of the Ruhr also contributed much to German football. The club ] had a very strong Polish influence up to the 1930s with Fritz and Ernst , both of Mazurian origin being outstanding players, running for the German national team as well. |
Another, if often neglected, form of Germanisation was the acculturation of Polish coal miners in the ]. Due to migration within the ] an enormous stream of Polish nationals of about 350 thousand people made their way to the Ruhr in the late 19th century, where they worked in the coal and iron industry. German authorities viewed them as potential danger and a threat that could work to restore Polish state and as "suspected political and national" element. All polish workers had special cards and were under constant observation by German authorities. In addition antipolish stereotypes were promoted, such as postcards with jokes about Poles, presenting them as irresponsible people. Many Polish traditional and religious songs were forbidden by Prussian authorities . To defend their interests and ethnic identity Poles formed their own organisations out of which the Sokól sports clubs and the workers' union Zjednoczenie Zawodowe Polskie (ZZP) are the most well known. Polish press (Wiarus Polski) and a Polish bank (Bank Robotnikow) were other remarkable features of the Polish at the Ruhr. The national gap between German and Polish workers began to close in the early 20th century. In 1905 Polish and German workers organised their . At first the Polish workers - different from German workers - had supported the Catholic . Since the beginning of the 20th century their support more and more shifted towards the social democrats. So the Poles gradually adopted the political leaning of the German workers. Among other things the Poles of the Ruhr also contributed much to German football. The club ] had a very strong Polish influence up to the 1930s with Fritz and Ernst , both of Mazurian origin being outstanding players, running for the German national team as well. Polish players in teams from Germanic countries face discrimination and insults as shown by the example of Dietmar Kühbauer who refused to hold an interview with Adam Ledwon, saying he "stinks of Poland". | ||
| In the ] era, the days of minorities in Germany were numbered. "Racially acceptable" children were often taken from their families, in order to be brought up as Germans. In occupied Poland its estimated that a number ranging from 50.000 to 200.000 children were kidnaped from their families in order to be germanised. It's estimated that at least 10.000 of them were murdered in the process, and only 10-15 % returning to their families after the war. Obligatory ] membership made dialog 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 ] by German authorities or have been executed. | In the ] era, the days of minorities in Germany were numbered. "Racially acceptable" children were often taken from their families, in order to be brought up as Germans. In occupied Poland its estimated that a number ranging from 50.000 to 200.000 children were kidnaped from their families in order to be germanised. It's estimated that at least 10.000 of them were murdered in the process, and only 10-15 % returning to their families after the war. Obligatory ] membership made dialog 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 ] by German authorities or have been executed. | ||
| In modern Germany only (], ]s and the Slavic ])are classified as traditional ethnic minorities and are guaranteed cultural autonomy. |
In modern Germany only (], ]s and the Slavic ])are classified as traditional ethnic minorities and are guaranteed cultural autonomy. Poles that lived for centuries in Germany such as descendants of migrant workers and miners are denied the status of ethnic minority. Many of them believe that to reveal Polish identity in Germany is dangerous for social status, as numerous cases of hostility and discrimination against Poles exist. In the opinion polls Poles rank lower than Turks or Russians, and 87 percent of German youth regard Polish people as "worse than themselves". As a result of this for many immigrant Poles, Polish ethnicity is not the prime category through which they wish to characterize themselves or want to be evaluated by others 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. 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 ]s, the ] ] passed a for preserving the language. The cultural autonomy of the ] is a matter of the constitutions of ] and ]. Nevertheless most of the ] are bilingual and the ] language is regarded as endangered, as the number of native speakers is dwindling. | ||
| 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 ]s, the ] ] passed a for preserving the language. The cultural autonomy of the ] is a matter of the constitutions of ] and ]. Nevertheless most of the ] are bilingual and the ] language is regarded as endangered, as the number of native speakers is dwindling. | |||
| ===Examples=== | ===Examples=== | ||
Revision as of 18:35, 16 January 2006
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Germanisation is defined as either the spread of the German language and culture either by force or assimilation, or the adaptation of a word to the German language in linguistics.
Historical Germanisation
In wider sense, Germanisation refers to the process of acculturation of Slavic speakers and Baltic speakers, populating, after conquests or by cultural contact in the early dark ages, areas of the modern eastern Germany to the line of Elbe. The process was performed by elimination of the leading group and pushing most of Slavic speakers into status of serfs yet in Middle Ages. In East Prussia, extermination, enslavment and forced resettlements of the Prussians by Teutonic Order and Prussian state, especially after the 1525 rebellion, but also acculturation to immigrants from various European countries (Poles, French, Germans) contributed to the eventual extinction of the Prussian language in the 17th century.
A complex process 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 and defeated in 1620 by Catholic forces was the German prince Frederick V of the Palatinate. Among the Bohemian Lords being punished and expropriated after the Fredick's defeat in 1620 were German und Czech speaking landowners as well. Thus this conflict was overwhelmingly more a conflict within a feudal system than a clash of different nations. Although the Czech language lost its significance (as a written languange) in the aftermath of the events, it is questionable whether this was primarily intended by the Habsburg rulers, who were thinking in religious and feudal categories.
Germanisation was started to be followed by noteworthy countermeasures only in the 19th century by the rise of nationalism that occurred in the late 18th and 19th centuries in Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Pomerania, Lusatia and Slovenia.As a result of Germanisation some attempts to overcome centuries of German dominance were using German langugau, for instance the first modern grammar of the Czech language by Josef Dobrovský (1753-1829) was published in German: "Ausführliches Lehrgebäude der böhmischen Sprache" (1809) due to fact that Czech language was not custom in academic scholarship.
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.
Germanisation policies of Kingdom of Prussia, Imperial Germany and Nazi Germany were aimed to expand the German language and culture in areas populated by non-Germans. One example of Germanisation was aimed at national minorities in the Prussian state. Prussian authorities settled German speaking ethnic groups in Polish territories after partitions of Poland, closed down Polish monasteries, and raised taxes for Polish speaking nobility. Later the means of the policy was eradication of non-German languages from public life and from the schools. In addition in 1885 the Prussian Settlement Commission financed from budget was set up to buy land from non-German hands and distribute it among German farmers. Since 1908 the committee was entitled to force the landowners to sell the land. Other means included Prussian deportations 1888: deportation of non-Prussian nationals living in Prussia for longer times (mostly Poles and Jews) and the ban on building houses by non-Germans (see Drzymała's van). Germanisation policy in schools also took form of mistreatment of Polish children by Prussian officials (see Września).Germanisation stimulated resistance, especially by self-education and solidarity between the minority members.
International meeting of socialists held at Brussels in 1902 has condemned the Germanisation of Poles in Prussia naming it "barbarous". .
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 reffered 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).
Similar development happened with Courlandians, but this ethnic group never had a large population.
Another, if often neglected, form of Germanisation was the acculturation of Polish coal miners in the Ruhr area. Due to migration within the German Empire an enormous stream of Polish nationals of about 350 thousand people made their way to the Ruhr in the late 19th century, where they worked in the coal and iron industry. German authorities viewed them as potential danger and a threat that could work to restore Polish state and as "suspected political and national" element. All polish workers had special cards and were under constant observation by German authorities. In addition antipolish stereotypes were promoted, such as postcards with jokes about Poles, presenting them as irresponsible people. Many Polish traditional and religious songs were forbidden by Prussian authorities . To defend their interests and ethnic identity Poles formed their own organisations out of which the Sokól sports clubs and the workers' union Zjednoczenie Zawodowe Polskie (ZZP) are the most well known. Polish press (Wiarus Polski) and a Polish bank (Bank Robotnikow) were other remarkable features of the Polish at the Ruhr. The national gap between German and Polish workers began to close in the early 20th century. In 1905 Polish and German workers organised their first common strike. At first the Polish workers - different from German workers - had supported the Catholic centre party. Since the beginning of the 20th century their support more and more shifted towards the social democrats. So the Poles gradually adopted the political leaning of the German workers. 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. Polish players in teams from Germanic countries face discrimination and insults as shown by the example of Dietmar Kühbauer who refused to hold an interview with Adam Ledwon, saying he "stinks of Poland".
In the Nazi era, the days of minorities in Germany were numbered. "Racially acceptable" children were often taken from their families, in order to be brought up as Germans. In occupied Poland its estimated that a number ranging from 50.000 to 200.000 children were kidnaped from their families in order to be germanised. It's estimated that at least 10.000 of them were murdered in the process, and only 10-15 % returning to their families after the war. Obligatory Hitlerjugend membership made dialog 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.
In modern Germany only (Danes, Frisians and the Slavic Sorbs)are classified as traditional ethnic minorities and are guaranteed cultural autonomy. Poles that lived for centuries in Germany such as descendants of migrant workers and miners are denied the status of ethnic minority. Many of them believe that to reveal Polish identity in Germany is dangerous for social status, as numerous cases of hostility and discrimination against Poles exist. In the opinion polls Poles rank lower than Turks or Russians, and 87 percent of German youth regard Polish people as "worse than themselves". As a result of this for many immigrant Poles, Polish ethnicity is not the prime category through which they wish to characterize themselves or want to be evaluated by others 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. 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.
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 Germanization, the number of Polish-speaking people declined steadily:
1818 - over 90% of population
1852 - 65%
1861 - 58%
1890 - 46%
1900 - 33.5% (Prussian census)
In 1888, the Polish language was completely banned from schools at all levels.
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'.
See also
- Africanization
- Anti-Polonism
- Pan-Germanism
- Germanism
- Germanistics
- Cultural imperialism
- Cultural assimilation
- German Eastern Marches Society
- Kulturkampf
- Russification
References
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