West Prussia

• 1. Teutonic Conquest And Polish Resistance

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  In 1308, the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights invaded Pomerelia under a false pretext. They claimed to help King Władysław I Łokietek quell a rebellion in Danzig. Instead, they committed atrocities against the local population known as the Slaughter of Gdańsk. This event marked the beginning of centuries of conflict between Poland and the Germanic order. The possession of Danzig and surrounding lands was consistently questioned by Polish kings in papal courts during 1320 and 1333. Popes ordered the return of these territories multiple times, yet the Teutonic Knights refused compliance. These disputes sparked a series of wars throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Under their rule, western farmers and craftsmen were encouraged to settle in the region. Local rebellions eventually formed the Lizard Union and later the Prussian Confederation. Both groups pledged allegiance to the Polish king to fight back. Their struggle led to the Thirteen Years' War and the Second Peace of Thorn treaty. Most of the region was reclaimed by Poland and became Royal Prussia. This area retained some autonomy with its own legislature called the Prussian Estates. However, it was ultimately re-absorbed into the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland following the Union of Lublin in 1569.

• 2. Prussian Partition And Colonial Policy

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  Frederick the Great seized the opportunity presented by the First Partition of Poland in 1772. He annexed most of Royal Prussia to create a land connection between Pomerania and East Prussia. This move cut off Polish access to the Baltic Sea and made East Prussia more defensible against Russia. The province of West Prussia was established the following year from these newly acquired lands. Frederick II replaced the existing Polish administrative code with the Prussian system. Between 1772 and 1775, authorities built 750 schools across the territory. Teachers were encouraged to speak both German and Polish to facilitate administration. Despite this policy, Frederick held deep contempt for his new subjects. In an 1735 letter, he described them as dirty and vile apes. He viewed Poland as having the worst government in Europe alongside the Ottoman Empire. The King invited three hundred thousand German colonists to redevelop the province. By the time of the Second Partition in 1793, cities like Danzig and Thorn were captured. Historical records indicate that fifty-four percent of the annexed area became German-speaking Protestant. This demographic shift laid the groundwork for future ethnic tensions within the region.

• 3. Napoleonic Wars And Territorial Shifts

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  The defeat of Prussia at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt in 1806 triggered a major territorial loss. Following the Treaties of Tilsit, West Prussia surrendered its southern territory near Thorn and Kulm to the Duchy of Warsaw. The city of Danzig also fell under control as a Free City from 1807 until 1814. After Napoleon's final defeat in 1815, the Congress of Vienna restored these areas to West Prussia. Resolution of the Vienna Congress returned Danzig, Kulm, and Thorn to Prussian hands. Some parts of Greater Poland annexed earlier were added back to the province. The remainder of those lands formed part of the Grand Duchy of Posen instead. In 1829, the province was combined with East Prussia to form a single entity called Province of Prussia. This merger lasted until 1878 when they were re-established as separate provinces again. King Frederick William IV attempted reconciliation in 1840 by granting amnesty to imprisoned Polish bishops. He also re-established Polish instruction in schools where Polish majorities existed. These efforts aimed to heal divisions but failed to stop rising nationalist sentiments.

• 4. Germanization And Ethnic Tensions

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  Nationalist fervor grew throughout the nineteenth century within Hohenzollern-ruled territories. Aggressive Germanisation policies targeted ethnic Germans who received preferential treatment in government contracts. Only ethnic Germans won supply contracts over their Polish counterparts. Authorities promoted German craftsmen to prime locations in cities so they could prosper. Soldiers received orders banning them from buying goods in Polish shops under threat of arrest. Tax incentives encouraged German officials and clerks to settle in Polish-inhabited provinces. The German census of 1910 recorded a population of 1,703,474 people. Around sixty-four percent listed their first language as German while twenty-eight percent spoke Polish. Seven percent identified as Kashubian speakers. Polish authors argued that the real share of Poles and Kashubians was actually forty-three percent rather than thirty-five point five percent. Many individuals counted as Catholic Germans by Prussian census clerks were actually Polish speakers. This discrepancy highlights the systematic nature of cultural suppression during this era. The policy ensured that ethnic Germans remained the dominant group until the province's dissolution in 1920.

• 5. Post-War Dissolution And Plebiscites

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  The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 redrew the map of West Prussia significantly. Most of the pre-war territory covering sixty-two percent of land area went to the Second Polish Republic or Free City of Danzig. Fifty-seven percent of the population resided in these newly assigned areas. Parts remaining in western Germany formed Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia in 1922. Eastern territories became part of Regierungsbezirk West Prussia within East Prussia. A plebiscite held in 1920 determined the fate of the Marienwerder region. Residents voted overwhelmingly with ninety-two point four percent support to remain with Germany. This vote included districts such as Marienwerder, Stuhm, Rosenberg, and Marienburg. Despite the majority vote, the region was divided between Poland, Weimar Germany, and the Free City of Danzig. The division allocated specific percentages of territory and population to each entity. Poland received fifteen thousand nine hundred square kilometers while Germany kept two thousand nine hundred twenty-seven square kilometers. The Free City of Danzig obtained one thousand nine hundred sixty-six square kilometers. These boundaries reflected a complex mix of ethnic populations and strategic interests.

• 6. World War II Expulsion And Democide

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  In 1939, Nazi forces invaded the region and established Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia. One hundred thirty thousand German colonists were settled into the area during occupation. Between 120,000 and 170,000 Poles and Jews were removed through expulsion or massacres. Many victims were enslaved or killed in extermination camps like Stutthof concentration camp. The German state classified Poles and Jews as Untermenschen subjecting them to slavery and extermination. During Intelligenzaktion Pommern, targeted campaigns eliminated Polish intellectuals and leaders. As the Red Army advanced on the Eastern Front, many West Prussian Germans fled westward. All areas occupied by Nazis were restored to Poland according to the Potsdam Agreement in 1945. The vast majority of remaining German civilians were subsequently expelled westward. Some refugees were deported to labor camps such as Vorkuta in the Soviet Union where many perished. In 1949, displaced persons formed Landsmannschaft Westpreußen to represent West Prussians in Germany. This organization sought to preserve identity and advocate for rights in the Federal Republic.