Province of Posen

The Province of Posen (German: Provinz Posen, Polish: Prowincja Pozna?ska) was a province of Prussia from 1846-1918. Its capital was Pozna? (German: Posen). Known as the "cradle of the Polish nation", this region was the home to Poles, Germans, some Jews and a smattering of other peoples. Almost all the Poles were Roman Catholic, and about 90% of the Germans were Protestant. The small numbers of Jews were primarily to be found in the larger communities, mostly in skilled crafts, local commerce and regional trading. The smaller the community, the more likely it was to be either Polish or German. These "pockets of ethnicity" existed side by side, with more of them being German in the northwest, and more being Polish in the southeast. As the years progressed, the population became more German until the end of the 1800s, when the trend reversed (so called Ostflucht). This was despite efforts of the government in Berlin, which established a resettlement program to buy land from Poles and make it available only to Germans.

Related Topics:
German - Polish - Prussia - 1846 - 1918 - Pozna? - Poles - Germans - Jews - Roman Catholic - Protestant - 1800s - Ostflucht - Government - Berlin - Resettlement program

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~