Abstract
At the German—Polish interface, the reverberations of the national conflict came to permeate the cultural practices of the region markedly after 1871. In the maelstrom of national competition and shifting identities, cultural institutions were among the most stable reference points of national life for both peoples. This role became heightened by the progressive nationalization of culture in the region after this date, which was a direct consequence of the politicization caused by the national conflict. Such processes centred on cultural institutions as the most tangible modes of cultural expression. Of these, the theatres, libraries and universities are selected here for discussion as being among the most representative cases. It will be argued that these institutions consolidated the linguistic premises of nationalism in the region and, hence, performed a leading role in sustaining ‘national culture’ in provinces of mixed settlement.
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Notes
E. Hasse, Deutsche Politik (München, 1905), p. 130.
F. W. F. Schmitt, Die Provinz Westpreussen, wie sie entstanden und wie sie gegenwärtig beschaffen ist (Thorn, 1879), pp. 70–1.
G. Richter, Ein deutsches Nationaltheater für Posen: eine Denkschrift von Gustaf Richter (Posen, 1909), p. 2.
W. Hagen, Germans, Poles, and Jews; the Nationality Conflict in the Prussian East 1772–1914 (Chicago, 1980), pp. 178–9.
J. Buzek, Historya polityki narodowosciowej Rządu Pruskiego wobec Polakôw od traktatów wiedenskich do ustaw wyjątkowych z r. 1908 (Lwow, 1909), pp. 382–407;
G. Rhode, Geschichte der Stadt Posen (Neuendettelsau, 1953), p. 151.
E. Kühnemann, Mit unbefangener Stirn: Mein Lebensbuch (Heilbronn, 1937), p. 130.
For instance, R. Martiny, ‘Die Formen der ländlichen Siedlungen in der Provinz Posen’, Zeitschrift der Historischen Gesellschaft für die Provinz Posen, 1 (1913), 23–42; C. Krollmann, ‘Zur Besiedlungs-Geschichte und Nationalitätenmischung in den Komtureien Christburg, Osterode und Elbing’, Zeitschri ft des Westpreussischen Geschichtsvereins, 64 (1923);
T. Stäsche, ‘Namen polnischer Herkunft aus Klein-Ellguth bei Oels’, Mitteilungen der Schlesischen Gesellschaft für Volkskunde, XIV (1905), 77–85.
E. Schmidt, Geschichte des Deutschtums im Lande Posen unter polnischer Herrschaft (Bromberg, 1904), p. III. Another typical example of nationalist historiography was Max Bär’s Westpreussen unter Friedrich dem Grossen, 2 vols (Leipzig, 1909). For a period assessment of historiography in Posen, see A. Warschauer, Die deutsche Geschichtsschreibung in der Provinz Posen (Posen, 1911).
For instance, O. Steinmann, Der Kreis Thorn. Statistische Beschreibung (Thorn, 1866);
J. Pawlowski, Populäre Landeskunde oder Handbuch der Geographie und Geschichte der Provinz Westpreussen (Berlin, 1881);
G. Gerlich, Statistische Beschreibung des Schwetzer Kreises (Schwetz, 1878).
Architecture became used by the ‘Preservation Movement’ in Imperial Germany in its endeavours to ground the German state in a more emotion-ally resonant way than had been achieved through Bismarckian politics, by initiatives including the increased protection of historic buildings and monuments. This was part of a broader drive to promote ‘historical culture’, with other manifestations being found in literature, folklore, the Heimat Movement, songs and museology. Each of these means functioned to construct national identity. According to Rudy Koshar, the ‘preservation movement’ in the late imperial period came to influence national identity by using material culture of the past and its potential symbolism as an ‘intervention in the present and future’. S. Muthesius, ‘Welche Rolle können Architekturstile in Grenzgebieten spielen? Elsass-Lothringen und Ost-Oberschlesien 1871— 1939’, Berichte und Beiträge des Geisteswissenschaftlichen Zentrums Geschichte und Kultur Ostmitteleuropas, 2 (2003), 7–31;
R. Koshar, ‘The Shape of the Nation: Old Buildings and Social Narratives in the German Kaiserreich’, in Haupt, Heinz-Gerhard, Michael G. Müller and Stuart Woolf (eds), Regional and National Identities in Europe in the XIXth and XXth Centuries (The Hague, 1998), pp. 343–78.
See also M. Jefferies, Imperial Culture in Germany, 1871–1918 (Basingstoke, 2003), pp. 95–9.
B. Miśkiewicz, Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza: 1919–1989 (Poznań, 1989), pp. 9–15;
A. Wrzosek, ‘Szkolnictwo akademickie w Poznaniu’, in Z. Zaleski (ed.), Księga pamiątkowa miasta poznania (Poznań, 1929), pp. 355–63.
H.-U. Wehler, Deutsche Gesellscha ftsgeschichte, 4 vols (München, 1987–2008), III (1995), 414–17, 1224–8.
W. Könnemann, Was bietet Posen, insbesondere die Königliche Akademie, zur Vorbereitung für die Prüfung der Mittelschullehrer, Rektoren und Oberlehrerinnen und welche Neueinführungen hierfür sind wünschenwert? (Halle, 1907), pp. 7–8;
W. Pniewski, Akademja Poznanska: Szkic historyczny (Poznań, 1919), pp. 19–23; Königliche Akademie zu Posen, Verzeichnis der Vorlesungen für das Sommersemester 1905 (Posen, 1905), p. 20. Almost all teachers from West Prussia and Posen participated in the courses for elementary school teachers. At the general meeting in 1907 of the Provincial Teachers’ Association in Posen, in an address made by Professor Wilhelm Könnemann, he had told them all about the benefits of the Academy’s training courses. Later, the Bromberg Russian Seminary merged with the Academy, and then in 1911, so did the Posen College of Civil Servants. The academy also had the duty to provide professional support for the provincial activities of the Society for Art and Science in Posen.
A. Knobloch, ‘Denkschrift über die Errichtung einer Universität zu Bromberg’, Aus dem Posener Lande, 2 (1913), 49–62; Buzek, Historya, pp. 386–7. A petition had been submitted in 1900 by the Oberbürgermeister Alfred Knobloch to Chancellor Bülow, arguing for the founding of a new university for the Eastern Marches situated in Bromberg. It was argued that Bromberg belonged economically in many respects to West Prussia, but was politically and ecclesiastically connected to Posen. It had good railways connections and was equidistant between the two provincial capitals. It was superior as a choice to Danzig because this town already had the Technical High School, and also to Posen because of the latter’s status as the seat of the Polish archbishop and its large Polish population. In comparison, Bromberg had a strong German population and a university would support the local German middle class, particularly the German officials and townspeople. M. Laubert, ‘Akademie oder Universität Posen?’, Aus dem Posener Lande, 8 (1912), 342–5.
Statistisches Jahrbuch für den Preussischen Staat, II (1904), p. 147; Pniewski, Akademja, pp. 19–23; M. Broesike, Deutsche und Polen der Provinz Posen im Lichte der Statistik (Berlin, 1913), pp. 2–3.
S. Mikos, Polacy na politechnice w Gdańsku w latach 1904–1939 (Warszawa, 1987), pp. 17–30, 218–43.
J. Kulczycki, School Strikes in Prussian Poland 1901–1907: the Struggle over Bilingual Education (New York, 1981), pp. 22–3.
The term ‘organic work’ (praca organiczna) was established by the 1840s and referred to a network of social and economic associations organized by members of the Polish gentry, intelligentsia and clergy. The movement’s leaders stood in opposition to the Polish nationalist strategy of insurrection, one which failed in 1830, 1848 and then again in 1863, and advocated a strategy of moderation towards the governments of the partitioning states. This, it was hoped, might achieve some system of autonomy such as had been sanctioned by the Congress of Vienna prior to 1830. The possibility was also entertained that a general European war might lead to the restoration of a Polish state. The movement aimed to elevate the educational, economic and cultural level of the Polish nation. This meant, in part, the creation of a Polish middle class. The movement was also intended to help sustain the economic position of the Polish gentry. One of the most important organizations in the movement was Karol Marcinowski’s ‘Society for Academic Aid to the Youth of the Grand Duchy of Poznania’. R. Blanke, Prussian Poland in the German Empire (1871–1900) (New York, 1981), p. 5; Hagen, Germans, Poles and Jews pp. 75–6.
O. Hermens, Die gemeinsame Gefahr der evangelischen Kirche und der deutschen Nationalität in der Diaspora der deutschen Grenzmarken (Leipzig, 1895), p. 57.
R. Focke, Das Volksbibliothekswesen in der Provinz Posen (Leipzig, 1909), pp. 1–15.
V. Boehmert, Die Entstehung der Gesellschaft für Verbreitung von Volksbildung (Berlin, 1907); Jahresberichte der Gesellschaft für Verbreitung von Volksbildung, 43 (1913), pp. 6–18; GStA PK, XVI, HA Posen, Rep. 30, I, No. 893 (vol. 2). The ‘Society for the Promotion of Folk Education’ was based in Berlin and had 8764 members in Prussia at the end of 1913, of which 231 lived in Posen and 566 in West Prussia. Its purpose was the dissemination of educative material among the lower classes. A ‘Provincial Verband für Ost- und Westpreussen’ had been founded on 13 January 1873; the ‘Neumärkisch-Posener Verband’ was founded on 12 November 1876. The ‘Christian Periodical Association’ (based in Berlin) was another organization whose presence was felt in the Eastern Marches. Its handbook read: ‘The Christian Periodical Association, founded on 10 November 1880, has set itself the task, free from political and confessional bias, to create through cheap journals, books, calendars, posters and brochures, particularly for the working classes, a positive counterweight against Social Democracy in the press, to strengthen fear of god, family values, love of the Fatherland, and loyalty to the emperor and empire, and to promote respect for social harmony and the collaboration of the lower classes. […] The association is absolutely independent and is not affiliated to any political or church party and, in accordance with its statutes, holds a distance from party purposes.’
R. Focke, Das staatlich organisierte Volksbibliothekswesen und die Zentralstelle für Volksunterhaltung in der Provinz Posen (Posen, 1911), pp. 7–18; Focke, Das Volksbibliothekswesen, pp. 1–15; APG. Oberpräsidium der Provinz Westpreussen. No. 7/232, pp. 43–54.
Quoted in G. Richter, Ein deutsches Nationaltheater für Posen: Eine Denkschrift von Gustaf Richter (Posen, 1909), p. 8. The imperial period saw a general growth in theatre production, involving greater audiences, more theatre buildings and greater numbers of productions. Historical dramas and comedies featured particularly prominently in repertoires in this period. See Jefferies, Imperial Culture, pp. 107–10.
H. Knudsen, Die Hauptepochen der Geschichte des deutschen Theaters in Posen (Posen 1912), pp 1–18
Quoted in E. Połczyńska. Im polnischen Wind (Poznań, 1988). p. 13.
H. Ehrenberg, Geschichte des Theaters in Posen, besonders in südpreussischer Zeit (Posen, 1889), pp. 3–5, 26–8; Knudsen, Die Hauptepochen, pp 1–18.
H. Knudsen, Deutsches Theater in Posen (Bad Nauheim, 1961), pp. 53–6.
A. Jakimiec, Teatr Polski w Poznaniu 1875–1975 (Poznań, 1975), pp. 6–8.
GStA PK, XIV. HA Westpreussen, Rep. 209, No. 3. Memoriał prezydium policji w Poznaniu, 6 February 1901, quoted in W. Jakôbczyk (ed.), Wielkopolska 1851–1914: wybôr zródel (Wrocław, 1954), pp. 242–4.
G. Lauterbach, ‘Die Spielzeit 1908/9 im Posener Stadttheater’, Aus dem Posner Lande, 14 (1909), 282–5.
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Tilse, M. (2011). The Nationalization of Culture. In: Transnationalism in the Prussian East. The Palgrave Macmillan Transnational History Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230307506_3
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