Baltic German

The Baltic Germans (German: Deutsch-Balten, Deutschbalten, sometimes incorrectly Baltendeutsche), were ethnically German inhabitants of the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea which forms today the countries of Estonia and Latvia.

History

Middle Ages

Ethnic proto-Germans began to settle in the Baltic region in the 12th century when traders and missionaries began to visit the coastal lands inhabited by tribes who spoke Finnic and Baltic languages. Systematic settlement as the dominating class by the first "Baltic Germans" dates from 1199, when Albert von Buxhoeveden from Bremen became the first Bishop of Livonia. Two years later he founded Riga and the crusading Order of the Sword Brothers (Livonian Order) to protect the mission against the local heathens; the knights quickly began to administer the territory instead of turning the land over to the bishop. The Sword Brothers became part of the Teutonic Order in 1236. For 200 years, the knights on the shores of the eastern Baltic had support from the Holy Roman Empire.

Related Topics:
Ethnic proto-Germans - Baltic region - 12th century - Finnic - Baltic - 1199 - Albert von Buxhoeveden - Bremen - Bishop - Crusading - Order of the Sword Brothers - Livonian Order - Heathen - Teutonic Order - 1236 - Holy Roman Empire

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As the Teutonic Knights were weakened during the 15th century through wars with Poland and Lithuania, the Livonian branch in the north began to pursue its own policies. When the Prussian branch of the Order secularized in 1525 and became the Duchy of Prussia, the Livonian Order remained independent, although surrounded by aggressive neighbors. In 1558 Russia's invasion of Livonia began the Livonian War between Russia, Poland, Sweden, and Denmark which lasted for 20 years. In course of the war, the state was divided between Denmark (which took Ösel), Sweden (which took Estland), Poland (which took Livland), and the Protestant state of Courland, a fief of Poland.

Related Topics:
15th century - Poland - Lithuania - 1525 - Duchy of Prussia - 1558 - Livonian War - Denmark - Protestant

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Reformation

The Baltic provinces, like many other German-led states, became Protestant during the Reformation, and the secularized land was split up among the remaining aristocratic knights.

Related Topics:
Reformation - Aristocratic

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Kurland existed as a German-speaking country for over 200 years, while Livland was once again split. Sweden controlled Estland between 1561 and 1710 and Livland between 1621 and 1710, having signed an agreement to not undermine German Baltic autonomy. The German-language University of Dorpat (University of Tartu), the foundation of which was supported by King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden (himself a native German-speaker), remained the only one in the Baltic region for centuries and became the intellectual focus of the Baltic Germans, both nobles and intellectuals.

Related Topics:
1561 - 1710 - 1621 - University of Tartu - Gustav II Adolf

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Russian control

Between 1710 and 1795, following Russia's success in the Great Northern War and the Partitions of Poland, the three Baltic states became provinces of Imperial Russia.

Related Topics:
1710 - 1795 - Great Northern War - Partitions of Poland - Province - Imperial Russia

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However, the Baltic provinces remained dominated and self-governed by the local German-speaking aristocracy. This Ritterschaft was based on the former knights but also included immigrants from the German principalities to the west. Most of the professional classes in the region, the literati, were German-speakers. Government, however, was in the hands of the Ritterschaft of each province, in which only members of the matriculated nobility held membership. Autonomy was guaranteed by the various rulers, especially during Russian times. Germans, other than the estate-owners, mainly settled in the cities, such as Riga, Reval (Tallinn), Dorpat (Tartu), and Pernau (Pärnu); as late as the mid-19th century the population of many of these municipalities still had a German majority with an Estonian or Latvian minority.

Related Topics:
Aristocracy - Ritterschaft - Literati - Matriculated - Nobility - Autonomy - Riga - Tallinn - Tartu - Pärnu - 19th century

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The indigenous people of the Baltic region enjoyed fewer rights under the Baltic German nobility compared to their brethren in Germany, Sweden or even Poland; and until serfdom was officially abolished in the Baltic provinces in the beginning of 19th century, their fate resemble that of the serfs in Russia proper. Harsh treatment resulted in uprisings which were brutally suppressed. The situation in the cities was in some cases better.

Related Topics:
Indigenous - Nobility - Serfdom - Serf

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German cultural autonomy ceased in the 1880s, when Russification replaced German administration and schooling with the usage of the Russian language. The Revolution of 1905 led to attacks against the Germans, the burning of manors, and the killing and torture of members of the nobility, if usually not by the local inhabitants but by outside revolutionary bands. Owing to their German heritage, during World War I Baltic Germans were seen as the enemy by Russians, yet also as traitors by the German Empire if they remained loyal to Russia. As a result of the Russian Revolution and the subsequent Russian Civil War, many Baltic Germans fled to Weimar Germany.

Related Topics:
1880s - Russification - Russian language - Revolution of 1905 - World War I - German Empire - Russian Revolution - Russian Civil War - Weimar Germany

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Post WWI

When the Republics of Estonia and Latvia were founded in 1918-19, the Baltic German estate owners were largely expropriated in a land reform, although the Germans were given considerable cultural autonomy.

Related Topics:
Estonia - Latvia - 1918 - 19 - Land reform

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Estonia's Baltic German population was smaller, so as Estonians continued to fill professional positions such as law and medicine, there was less of a leadership role for the Baltic Germans. Many Baltic Germans began to leave during the interwar era. No precise numbers are available for the emigration during this period.

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In Latvia, Baltic Germans were the most politically active and organized ethnic group, although they lost some influence after Karlis Ulmanis' coup in 1934. As a result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union (1939), Estonia and Latvia were "restored" to Russian control; the remaining Baltic Germans were evacuated and resettled into the Warthegau and other areas that were parts of occupied Poland.

Related Topics:
Karlis Ulmanis - 1934 - Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact - Nazi Germany - Soviet Union - 1939 - Warthegau - Poland

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Some 21,400 Baltic Germans were resettled from Estonia to Germany in late 1939. Close to 50,000 were resettled from Latvia by late 1939.

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The Soviet advance into Poland and East Prussia in 1945 resulted in their having to trek to the West. Many Baltic Germans were onboard the KdF Ship Wilhelm Gustloff when it was sunk by a Soviet submarine on January 30, 1945 in the worst loss of life from a single vessel in maritime history. Additional Baltic Germans died during the sinking of the SS General von Steuben on February 10, 1945.

Related Topics:
1945 - KdF Ship Wilhelm Gustloff - Submarine - January 30 - SS General von Steuben - February 10

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When Estonia declared independence from the Soviet Union on August 20 1991, the exiled association of the German Baltic nobility sent an official message to the president-to-be Lennart Meri that no member of the association would claim proprietary rights to their former Estonian lands. This, and the fact that the first German ambassadors to Estonia and Latvia were both Baltic Germans, helped reconcile the two peoples.

Related Topics:
Soviet Union - August 20 - 1991 - Lennart Meri - Estonia - Latvia

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