Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by John K (talk | contribs) at 00:09, 12 April 2004. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

What evidence is there that Pruzzen meant "fair-haired?"

Does anyone know if Danzig was almost entirely German -- or was there a sizable proportion of native Prussians living there?

In the beginning Gdansk was entirely Polish without any Prussian population. In XIII and especially XIV century there was a huge wave of Dutch, Flemmish and German immigration to the City. Since the city never belonged to original land of Prussians there was never a Prussian Population there.Space Cadet 13:18, 6 Apr 2004 (UTC)

• Proper citation would be helpful. The eastern mouth of the Vistula was indeed part of the Prussian homeland since before Slavs arrived. After their arrival, was the native population forced out, or were they absorbed? Citation? Does info on St. Adalbert give much detail? Also, after Danzig became a Hansa port was there zero population from the neighboring old Prussian area or was it entirely German and Dutch?

• This article should be expanded with a description of Prussian culture (see external links in the page), and a brief summary of the Old Prussian language. Also, specifics on revival of culture and language may prove interesting. (Compare this article with that on Indigenous people.

• Watch out for one particular vandal who will destroy any article which does not eulogize the glories of Communism and Poland!
  --Wighson

There is no Prussian people, and has not been any since the 18th century. The inhabitants of East Prussia, who were expelled after the Second World War, considered themselves to be Germans. That they are now interested in reviving a "Prussian" identity is worth noting, but the idea that there is any kind of continuity between this and old Prussian culture is ridiculous. john 02:09, 11 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Misplaced Pages is maintained by compromise and co-operation with the community. If you have something worthwhile to contribute to an article you should do that. Blanking out the bulk of others' work, is not contribution and is in violation of Misplaced Pages's expressed policy.

The whole point of the article, and what makes it interesting and relevant, is that they are still an identifiable ethnic group and some among them wish to revive certain markers. The current movement of cultural revival was sparked by their physical removal from the lands which they have inhabited since before history.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion. But that's it -- it's an over-generalization. By the same logic, there are no Tibetan people and no Hawaiian people. By this logic, Koreans have no continuity with Koreans of the past because they were ruled so long by China and Japan. By this logic, Aborigines removed from their native lands cease to be Aborigine if they speak only English. This is ridiculous and offensive to people the world over. Needless to say, such a hostile racial stance is inappropriate on Misplaced Pages.

Intelligent conversation should be encouraged, not attacked. Without compromising neutrality, you could make an intelligent note of your opinion without gross censorship and Misplaced Pages:Vandalism of an article. You could, for example, ask the question: "If an ethnic group no longer speaks its native language, does it cease to exist? Does it lose the right to discuss its history since the said change?" If you are entitled to your opinion, others are entitled to theirs. Some Prussians do believe themselves to exist and wish to be heard, wrongly or rightly.

That said, do you have any knowledge of the Old Prussians to make an intelligent contribution? For example, Tacitus referred to them long before Adalbert. Moreover, there is a corpus of archaeological data from the region. If you have access to a university library, you could provide some intelligent input about this information. As it is, simply blanking out the bulk of an article doesn't demonstrate the minimum requisite knowledge necessary to contribute.

--Wighson

The comparisons you are making are ridiculous. No people living in East Prussia had a sense of being part of a "Prussian" nationality before 1945. They considered themselves to be Germans (or, in some cases, Poles). The idea that they were "Prussians" is a political invention designed to make it seem as though innocent Prussians were kicked off their lands by the mean Russians because of things that Germans did. While this should be discussed, it is not at all the same thing as Tibetans or Koreans being ruled by foreigners. Also, my last name is Kenney, and I did not even revert the article this last time. john 00:09, 12 Apr 2004 (UTC)