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Province of Pomerania (1815–1945)

February 15, 2024

For other provinces of this name, see Pomerania Province (disambiguation).

The Province of Pomerania (German: Provinz Pommern; Polish: Prowincja Pomorze) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1945. Pomerania was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1815, an expansion of the older Brandenburg-Prussia province of Pomerania, and then became part of the German Empire in 1871. From 1918, Pomerania was a province of the Free State of Prussia until it was dissolved in 1945 following World War II, and its territory divided between Poland and Allied-occupied Germany. The city of Stettin (present-day Szczecin, Poland) was the provincial capital.

Province of Pomerania
Provinz Pommern
Province of Prussia
1815–1945
Coat of arms

The Province of Pomerania (green) inside the German Empire (light green) in 1914
CapitalStettin (Szczecin)
Area
 • Coordinates53°26′N 14°32′E / 53.433°N 14.533°E / 53.433; 14.533
 
• 1905
30,120 km2 (11,630 sq mi)
• 1939
38,400 km2 (14,800 sq mi)
Population 
• 1905
1,684,125
History 
• Established
1815
• Disestablished
1945
Political subdivisionsKöslin
Stettin
Stralsund (1818−1932)
Posen-West Prussia (1938−1945)
Today part of

Etymology edit

The name Pomerania comes from Slavic po more, which means "Land at the Sea".[1]

Overview edit

The province was created from the former Prussian Province of Pomerania, which consisted of Farther Pomerania and the southern Western Pomerania, and former Swedish Pomerania. It resembled the territory of the former Duchy of Pomerania, which after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 had been split between Brandenburg-Prussia and Sweden. Also, the districts of Schivelbein (Świdwin) and Dramburg (Drawsko Pomorskie), formerly belonging to the Neumark, were merged into the new province.[2]

While in the Kingdom of Prussia, the province was heavily influenced by the reforms of Karl August von Hardenberg[3] and Otto von Bismarck.[4] The Industrial Revolution primarily affected the Stettin area and the infrastructure, while most of the province retained a rural and agricultural character.[5] From 1850, the net migration rate was negative; Pomeranians emigrated primarily to Berlin, the West German industrial regions and overseas.[6]

After World War I, democracy and the women's right to vote were introduced to the province. After Wilhelm II's abdication, it was part of the Free State of Prussia.[7] The economic situation worsened due to the consequences of World War I and worldwide recession.[8] As in the previous Kingdom of Prussia, Pomerania was a stronghold of the national conservatives[9] who continued in the Weimar Republic.[10]

In 1933, the Nazis established a totalitarian regime, concentrating the province's administration in the hands of their Gauleiter, and implementing Gleichschaltung. The German invasion of Poland in 1939 was launched in part from Pomeranian soil. Jewish and Polish populations (whose minorities lived in the region) were classified as "subhuman" by the German state during the war and subjected to repressions, slave work and executions.[11][12][13] Opponents were arrested and executed; Jews who by 1940 had not emigrated were all deported to the Lublin reservation.[14][15] Besides the air raids conducted since 1943, World War II reached the province in early 1945 with the East Pomeranian Offensive and the Battle of Berlin, both launched and won by the Soviet Union's Red Army. Insufficient evacuation left the population subject to murder, war rape, and plunder by the successors.[16]

When the war was over, the Oder–Neisse line cut the province in two unequal parts. The smaller western part became part of the East German State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The larger eastern part was attached to post-war Poland as Szczecin Voivodeship. After the war, ethnic Germans were expelled from Poland in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement and the area was re-settled with Poles.[17] Currently, most of the territory of the province lies within the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, which share the same city—now Szczecin—as its capital.

Until 1932, the province was subdivided into the government regions (Regierungsbezirk Köslin (eastern part, Farther Pomerania), Stettin (southwestern part, Old Western Pomerania), and Stralsund (northwestern part, Neuvorpommern).[18] The Stralsund region was merged into the Stettin region in 1932. In 1938, the Grenzmark Posen-West Prussia region (southeastern part, created from the former Prussian Province Posen-West Prussia) was merged into the province.[18] The provincial capital was Stettin (now Szczecin), the Regierungsbezirk capitals were Köslin (now Koszalin), Stettin, Stralsund and Schneidemühl (now Piła), respectively.[18]

In 1905 the province of Pomerania had 1,684,326 inhabitants, among them 1,616,550 Protestants, 50,206 Catholics, and 9,660 Jews. In 1900 Polish was the native language of 14,162 of the inhabitants (at the border to West Prussia), and there were 310 (at the Lake Leba and at the Lake Garde) whose native language was Kashubian. The area of the province amounted to 30,120 km2 (11,630 sq mi).[19] In 1925, the province had an area of 30,208 km2 (11,663 sq mi), with a population of 1,878,780 inhabitants.[20]

Creation and administration of the province within the Kingdom of Prussia edit

 
Karl August von Hardenberg

Although there had been a Prussian Province of Pomerania before, the province of Pomerania was newly constituted in 1815, based on the "decree concerning improved establishment of provincial offices" (German: Verordnung wegen verbesserter Einrichtung der Provinzialbehörden), issued by Karl August von Hardenberg on 30 April, and the integration of Swedish Pomerania, handed over to Prussia on 23 October.[2]

The Hardenberg decree reformed all Prussian territories, which henceforth formed ten (later eight) provinces with similar administrations. After the implementation of the reform, the new province of Pomerania consisted basically of its predecessor and Swedish Pomerania, but also of the Dramburg and Schivelbein counties.[2]

The province was headed by a governor (Oberpräsident, literally "senior president") with his seat in the capital, Stettin. It was subdivided into government regions (Regierungsbezirke) headed by a president (Regierungspräsident). Initially, two such regions were planned (Regierungsbezirk Stettin, comprising Western Pomerania, and Regierungsbezirk Köslin, comprising Farther Pomerania). Hardenberg however, who as the Prussian chief diplomat had settled the terms of session of Swedish Pomerania with Sweden at the Congress of Vienna, had assured to leave the local constitution in place when the treaty was signed on 7 June 1815. This circumstance led to a creation of a third government region, Regierungsbezirk Stralsund, for the former Swedish Pomerania at the expense of the Stettin region.[21]

In early 1818, Governor Johann August Sack had reformed the county (Kreise) shapes, yet adopted the former shape in most cases. Köslin government region comprised nine counties, Stettin government region thirteen, and Stralsund government region four (identical with the former Swedish Ämter (districts)).[21]

The new parliament (Landtag) assembled first on October 3, 1824. Based on two laws of June 5[22] and July,[23] 1823, the Landtag was constituted by 25 lords and knights, 16 representatives of the towns, and eight from the rural communities.[24]

Subordinate to the provincial Landtag were two Kommunallandtag assemblies, one for former Swedish Pomerania (Western Pomerania north of the Peene River) and one for the former Prussian part.[25]

The counties each assembled a Kreisstand, where the knights of the county had one vote each and towns also just one vote.[25][26]

Throughout its existence, the province was a stronghold of the Conservative Parties.[27]

Infrastructure edit

 
Narrow gauge railway "Rügensche Kleinbahn", operating since 1895
 
Binz, tourist resort since the 1860s

In the 19th century, the first overland routes (Chaussee) and railways were introduced in Pomerania. In 1848, 126.8 Prussian miles of new streets had been built. On October 12, 1840, construction of the Berlin-Stettin railway began, which was finished on 15 August 1843. Other railways followed: Stettin–Köslin (1859), Angermünde–Stralsund and Züssow–Wolgast (1863), Stettin–Stolp (1869), and a connection with Danzig (1870).[5]

In rural areas, many narrow-gauge railways were built for faster transport of crops. The first gas, water, and power plants were built. Streets and canalisation of the towns were modernized.[28]

The construction of narrow-gauge railways was enhanced by a special decree[29] of July 28, 1892, implementing Prussian financial aid programs. In 1900, the total of narrow-gauge railways had passed the 1,000-kilometer (620 mi) threshold.[30]

From 1910 to 1912, most of the province was supplied with electricity as the main lines were built. Plants were built since 1898.[31]

The Świna and lower Oder rivers, the major water route to Stettin, were deepened to five meters and shortened by a canal in 1862. In Stettin, heavy industry was settled, making it the only industrial center of the province.[32]

Stettin was connected to Berlin by the Berlin-Stettin waterway in 1914 after eight years of construction. The other traditional waterways and ports of the province, however, declined. Exceptions were only the port of Swinemünde (Świnoujście), which was used by the navy, and the port of Stolpmünde (Ustka), from which parts of the Farther Pomeranian exports were shipped, and the port of Sassnitz, which was built in 1895 for railway ferries to Scandinavia.[33]

With the infrastructural improvements, mass tourism to the Baltic Coast started. The tourist resort (Ostseebad) Binz had 80 visitors in 1870, 10,000 in 1900, and 22,000 in 1910. The same phenomenon occurred in other tourist resorts.[34]

Agricultural reform edit

 
Pomeranian Coarsewool Sheep. Pomerania was the leading Prussian province in sheep breeding.[35]

Already in 1807, Prussia issued a decree (Steinsches Oktoberedikt) abolishing serfdom. Hardenberg issued a decree on September 14, 1811, defining the terms by which serfs were to be released (Hardenbergsches Regulierungsedikt). This could either be done by monetary payment or by releasing title to the land to the former lord. These reforms were applied during the early years of the province's existence. The so-called "regulation" was applied to 10,744 peasants until 1838, who paid their former lords 724,954 taler and handed over 255,952 hectares (2,559.52 km2; 988.24 sq mi)[36] of farmland to bail themselves out.[3]

Tumults arose in 1847 in the towns of Stettin and Köslin due to food shortages, as a result, prices for some foods were fixed.[37]

On March 2, 1850, a law was passed[38] settling the conditions on which peasants and farmers could capitalize their property rights and feudal service duties, and thus get a long-term credit (41 to 56 years to pay back). This law made way for the establishment of Rentenbank credit houses and Rentengut farms. Subsequently, the previous rural structure changed dramatically as farmers, who used this credit to bail out their feudal duties, were now able to self determine how to use their land (so-called "regulated" peasants and farmers, regulierte Bauern). This was not possible before, when the jurisdiction had sanctioned the use of farmland and feudal services according not to property rights, but to social status within rural communities and estates.[39]

From 1891 to 1910, 4,731 Rentengut farms were set up, most (2,690) with a size of 10 to 25 hectares (0.10 to 0.25 km2; 0.039 to 0.097 sq mi).[35]

Bismarck era administrative reforms edit

 
Otto von Bismarck in 1873

Otto von Bismarck inherited from his father the Farther Pomeranian estates Külz (Kulice), Jarchlin (Jarchlino) and Kniephof (Konarzewo). Aiming at a farming career, he studied agriculture at the academy in Greifswald-Eldena. From 1867 to 1874, he bought and expanded the Varzin (Warcino) estates.[4]

In 1869, Friedrich Albrecht Graf zu Eulenburg drafted a county reform (Kreisreform) that was promoted by Bismarck. The reform passed the House of Lords on December 7, 1872. Most importantly, the reform cut the linkage between noble status and the right to vote, the latter now depended on property (one had to be above a certain tax threshold) and not on status, aiming against the overrepresentation of the knights compared to burghers.[4]

On June 29, 1875, a new constitution for the province was passed (Provinzialordnung[40]), which entered into force in 1876. It redefined the responsibilities of the provincial administration (headed by the Oberpräsident) and the self-administrative institutions (Provinzialverband, comprising the provincial parliament (Provinziallandtag), a Landeshauptmann (head) and a Landesausschuß (commission)). The Provinzialverband was financed directly from the Prussian state budget. The Landtag was responsible for streets, welfare, education, and culture. Landownership was no longer a criterion to become elected. The provincial Landtag (Provinziallandtag) was elected by the county representative assemblies (Kreistag for counties, Stadtverordnetenversammlung for town districts) for a six years' term. A subordinate Kommunallandtag only existed for Regierungsbezirk Stralsund, until it was abolished in 1881.[41]

In 1891, a county reform was passed,[42] allowing more communal self-government. Municipalities hence elected a Gemeindevorstand (head) and a Gemeindevertretung (communal parliament). Gutsbezirk districts, i.e. estates not included in counties, could be merged or dissolved.[43]

World War I edit

 
Memorial at the War Cemetery in Stargard

During the First World War, no battles took place in the province.[44]

Nevertheless, the war affected society, economy, and administration. During the war, the provincial administrative institutions were subordinate to the military and headed by military officials. Mobilization resulted in work force shortage affecting all non-war-related industry, construction, and agriculture. Women, minors and POWs partially replaced the drafted men. Import and fishing declined when the ports were blocked. With the war going on, food shortages occurred, especially in the winter of 1916/17. Also coal, gas, and electricity were at times unavailable.[45]

When the Treaty of Versailles entered into force on January 10, 1920, the province's eastern frontier became the border to the newly created Second Polish Republic, comprising most of Pomerelia in the so-called Polish Corridor. Minor border adjustments followed, where 9,5 km2 of the province became Polish and 74 km2 of former West Prussia (parts of the former counties of Neustadt in Westpreußen and Karthaus)[46] were merged into the province.[44]

Province of the Free State of Prussia edit

After the Kaiser was forced to abdicate, the province became part of the Free State of Prussia within the Weimar Republic.[44]

German Revolution of 1918–19 edit

During the German Revolution of 1918–19, revolutionary councils of soldiers and workers took over the Pomeranian towns (Stralsund on November 9, Stettin, Greifswald, Pasewalk, Stargard, and Swinemünde on November 10, Barth, Bütow, Neustettin, Köslin, and Stolp on November 11). On January 5, 1919, "Workers' and Soldiers' Councils" (Arbeiter- und Soldatenräte) were in charge of most of the province (231 towns and rural municipalities). The revolution was peaceful, no riots are reported. The councils were led by Social Democrats, who cooperated with the provincial administration. Of the 21 Landrat officials, only five were replaced, while of the three heads of the government regions ("Regierungspräsident") two were replaced (in Stralsund and Köslin) in 1919.[47]

On November 12, 1918, a decree[48] was issued allowing farmworkers' unions to negotiate with farmers (Junkers). The decree further regulated work time and wages for farmworkers.[49]

On May 15, 1919, street fights and plunder occurred following Communist assemblies in Stettin. The revolt was put down by the military. In late August, strikes of farmworkers occurred in the counties of Neustettin (Szczecinek) and Belgard (Białogard). The power of the councils however declined, only a few were left in the larger towns in 1920.[49]

Counter-revolution edit

Conservative and right-wing groups evolved in opposition to the revolutions' achievements.[50] Landowners formed the Pommerscher Landbund in February 1919, which by 1921 had 120,000 members and from the beginning was supplied with arms by the 2nd army corps in Stettin. Paramilitias ("Einwohnerwehr") formed throughout the spring of 1919.[49]

Pommerscher Landbund units participated in the nationalist Kapp Putsch in Berlin, 1920.[49]

Members of the "Iron Division" (Eiserne Division), a dissolved Freikorps in the Baltic, reorganized in Pomerania, where the Junkers hosted them on their estates as a private army.[49]

Also, counter-revolutionary Pomeranians formed Freikorps participating in fights in the Ruhr area.[49]

Constitution of 1920 edit

In 1920 (changed in 1921 and 1924), the Free State of Prussia adopted a democratic constitution for her provinces. The constitution granted a number of civil rights to the Prussian population and enhanced the self-government of the provinces.[49]

The provincial and county parliaments (Landtag and Kreistag) were hence elected directly by the population, including women, in free and secret votes.[7]

The "Provinzialverband", which included all self-governmental institutions of the province such as the provincial parliament (Provinziallandtag), gained influence on the formerly Berlin-led provincial government: The Provinzialverband would hence elect the "Oberpräsident" (head of the administration) and appoint representatives for the Reichsrat assembly in Berlin. Furthermore, the Provinzialverband officials could hence self determine how to spend the money they received from Berlin.[7] From 1919 to 1930 Julius Lippmann served as governor of the province.[51]

Economy edit

The border changes however caused a severe decline in the province's economy. Farther Pomerania was cut off from Danzig (Gdańsk) by the so-called corridor. Former markets and supplies in the now Polish territories became unavailable.[52]

Farther Pomeranian farmers had sold their products primarily to the eastern provinces, that were now part of the Second Polish Republic. Due to high transport costs, the markets in the West were unavailable too. The farmers reacted by modernizing their equipment, improving the quality of their products, and applying new technical methods. As a consequence, more than half of the farmers were severely indebted in 1927. The government reacted with the Osthilfe program, and granted credits to favourable conditions.[53]

Stettin particularly suffered from a post-war change in trade routes. Before the territorial changes, it had been on the export route from the Katowice industrial region in now Polish Upper Silesia. Poland changed this export route to a new inner-Polish railway connecting Katowice with the new-build port of Gdynia within the corridor.[52]

As a counter-measure, Prussia invested in the Stettin port since 1923. While initially successful, a new economical recession led to the closure of one of Stettin's major shipyard, AG Vulcan Stettin, in 1927.[54]

The province also reacted to the availability of new traffic vehicles. Roads were developed due to the upcoming cars and buses, four towns got electric street cars, and an international airport was built in Altdamm (Dąbie) near Stettin.[54]

The Pomeranian agriculture underwent a crisis. Programs were started to regain soil that had turned into swamps during the wartime, and even to establish new settlements by setting up settlement societies. The results were mixed. On the one hand, 130,858 hectares (1,308.58 km2; 505.25 sq mi) of farmland were settled with 8,734 new-build settlements[55] until 1933. The settlers originated in Pomerania itself, Saxony, and Thuringia, also refugees from the former Province of Posen settled in the province. On the other hand, people left the rural communities en masse and turned to Pomeranian and other urban centers (Landflucht). In 1925, 50.7% of the Pomeranians worked in agricultural professions, this percentage dropped to 38.2% in 1933.[56]

With the economic recession, unemployment rates reached 12% in 1933, compared to an overall 19% in the empire.[57]

Nazi era edit

Pomeranian Nazi movement before 1933 edit

Throughout the existence of the Weimar Republic, politics in the province was dominated by the nationalist conservative DNVP (Deutschnationale Volkspartei, German National People's Party); an entity composed of nationalists, monarchists, radical volkisch and anti-semitic elements, and supported by Pan-German League an old organisation believing in superiority of German people over others.[9] The Nazi party (NSDAP) did not have any significant success at elections, nor did it have a substantial number of members. The Pomeranian Nazi party was founded by students of the University of Greifswald in 1922, when the NSDAP was officially forbidden. The university's rector Theodor Vahlen became Gauleiter (head of the provincial party) in 1924. Soon afterwards, he was fired by the university and went bankrupt. In 1924, the party had 330 members, and in December 1925, 297 members. The party was not present in all of the province. The members were concentrated mainly in Western Pomerania and internally divided. Vahlen retired from the Gauleiter position in 1927 and was replaced by Walther von Corswant, a Pomeranian knight estate holder.[58]

Corswant led the party from his estate in Kuntzow. In the 1928 Reichstag elections, the Nazis got 1.5% of the votes in Pomerania. Party property was partially pawned. In 1929, the party gained 4.1% of the votes. Corswant was fired after conflicts with the party's leadership and replaced with Wilhelm Karpenstein, one of the former students who formed the Pomeranian Nazi party in 1922 and since 1929 a lawyer in Greifswald. He moved the headquarters to Stettin and replaced many of the party officials predominantly with young radicals. In the Reichstag elections of September 14, 1930, the party gained a significant 24.3% of the Pomeranian votes and thus became the second strongest party, the strongest still being the DNVP, which however was internally divided in the early 1930s.[58]

In the elections of July 1932, the Nazis gained 48% of the Pomeranian votes, while the DNVP dropped to 15.8%. In March 1933, the NSDAP gained 56.3%.[58]

Nazi government since 1933 edit

Immediately after their gain of power, the Nazis began arresting their opponents. In March 1933, 200 people[59] were arrested, this number rose to 600[60] during the following months. In Stettin-Bredow (Szczecin-Drzetowo), at the site of the bankrupt Vulcan shipyards, the Nazis set up a short-lived "wild" concentration camp from October 1933 to March 1934, where SA maltreated their victims. The Pomeranian SA in 1933 had grown to 100,000 members.[14]

Oberpräsident Carl von Halfern retired in 1933, and with him one third of the Landrat and Oberbürgermeister (mayor) officials.[59]

Also in 1933, an election was held for a new provincial parliament, which then had a Nazi majority. Decrees were issued that shifted all issues formerly in responsibility of the parliament to the Provinzialausschuß commission, and furthermore, shifted the power to decide on these issues from the Provinzialausschuß to the Oberpräsident official, although he had to hear the Provinzialrat commission before. Once the power was shifted to the Oberpräsident with the Provinzialrat as an advisor, all organs of the Provinzialverband (Provinziallandtag (parliament), Provinzialausschuß and all other commissions), the former self-administration of the province, were dissolved except for the downgraded Provinzialrat, which assembled about once a year without making use of its advisory rights. The Landeshauptmann position, the Provinzialverband's head, was not abolished. From 1933, Landeshauptmann would be a Nazi who was acting in line with the Oberpräsident. The law entered into force on April 1, 1934.[59]

In 1934, many of the heads of the Pomeranian Nazi-movement were exchanged. SA leader Peter von Heydebreck was shot in Stadelheim near Munich due to his friendship to Röhm. Gauleiter Karpenstein was arrested for two years and banned from Pomerania due to conflicts with the NSDAP headquarters. His successor, Franz Schwede-Coburg, replaced most of Karpenstein's staff with Corswant's earlier staff, friends of him from Bavaria, and SS. From the 27 Kreisleiter officials, 23 were forced out of office by Schwede-Coburg, who became Gauleiter on July 21, and Oberpräsident on July 28, 1934.[14]

As in all of Nazi Germany, the Nazis established totalitarian control over the province through their policy of Gleichschaltung.

Deportation of the Pomeranian Jews edit

In 1933, about 7,800 Jews lived in Pomerania, of which a third lived in Stettin (Szczecin). The other two thirds were living all over the province, Jewish communities numbering more than 200 people were in Stettin, Kolberg (Kołobrzeg), Lauenburg in Pomerania (Lębork), and Stolp (Słupsk).[61]

When the Nazis started to terrorize Jews, many emigrated. Twenty weeks after the Nazis seized power, the number of Jewish Pomeranians had already dropped by eight percent.[61]

 
Memorial to the victims of the Kristallnacht in Löcknitz

Besides the repressions Jews had to endure in all Nazi Germany, including the destruction of the Pomeranian synagogues on November 9, 1938 (Reichskristallnacht), all male Stettin Jews were deported to Oranienburg concentration camp after this event and kept there for several weeks.[62]

On February 12 and 13, 1940, 1,000 to 1,300 Pomeranian Jews, regardless of sex, age and health, were deported from Stettin and Schneidemühl to the Lublin-Lipowa Reservation, that had been set up following the Nisko Plan in occupied Poland. Among the deported were intermarried non-Jewish women. The deportation was carried out in an inhumane manner. Despite low temperatures, the carriages were not heated. No food had been allowed to be taken along. The property left behind was liquidated. Up to 300 people perished from the deportation itself. In the Lublin area under Kurt Engel's regime, the people were subjected to inhumane treatment, starvation and outright murder. Only a few survived the war.[63][64]

Peter Simonstein Cullman in "History of the Jewish Community of Schneidemühl: 1641 to the Holocaust" and jewishgen.org say that the Jews of Schneidemühl were not "deported together with the more than 1,000 Jews of Stettin [Region] (who were subsequently sent to Piaski, near Lublin in Poland)", based on lack of evidence in the archives of Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland (cf. file 75 C Re1, No. 483, Bundesarchiv Berlin, and USHMM Archives: RG-14.003M; Acc. 1993.A.059). He concludes that "while the deportations of the Jews of Schneidemühl had indeed been planned by the Gestapo to coincide with the terrible events that occurred in Stettin – those actions were not carried out together. The deportations of all Jews from the Gau were primarily planned on orders of Franz Schwede-Coburg, the notorious Gauleiter of Pomerania, in cahoots with several Nazi authorities of Schneidemühl. The Gauleiter’s personal goal was to be the first in the Reich to declare his Gau Judenrein – cleansed of Jews". He based his statement on doc. 795 of the Trial of Adolf Eichmann.

According to Cullmann, the following events took place in Schneidemühl: "On February 15, 1940, an order had been issued by the Gestapo in Schneidemühl that the Jews of that town should get ready to be deported within a week, ostensibly to the Generalgouvernement in Eastern Poland. When Dr. Hildegard Böhme of the Reichsvereinigung had become aware of Gauleiter Schwede-Coburg's plan – and fearing a repetition of the events on the scale of the Stettin deportations – her timely and tireless intervention on behalf of the Reichsvereinigung with the RSHA in Berlin resulted in a modification of the planned deportations of Schneidemühl's Jews. The Stapo, the State police in Schneidemühl, however, played its own part in the planned round-up of the city's Jews by giving in to the local Nazi Party cadre and to the orders of the city's fanatic Mayor Friedrich Rogausch, in concert with the Gauleiter. The latter two are known to have planned a Schneidemühl-Aktion as a revenge for the earlier interference by the Reichsvereinigung in the Stettin deportations. Thus on Wednesday, February 21, 1940 – merely one week after the Stettin deportations – one hundred and sixty Jews were arrested in Schneidemühl, while mass arrests of Jews took place concurrently within an 80 km (50 mi) radius of Schneidemühl, in the surrounding administrative districts of Köslin, Stettin and the former Grenzmark Posen-Westpreussen, whereby three hundred and eighty-four Jews were seized by the Gestapo. In total 544 Jews were arrested during the entire Aktion in and around Schneidemühl. Those rounded up ranged from two-year-old children to ninety-year-old men. Surviving documents give a grim account of the subsequent Odyssey of those arrested. By then it had been decreed in Berlin that the victims of the round-up should not be sent to Poland but be kept within the so-called Altreich, i.e. within Germany's borders of 1937. Over the following eighteen months most of the arrested became ensnared in the Nazi's maw – on a journey of terminal despair. Only one young woman from Schneidemühl survived the hell of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the death marches of mid-January 1945."[65]

Repressions against Polish minority edit

 
Emblem of the pre-war Polish Consulate in Szczecin, removed from the consulate building by the Germans in September 1939 and thrown into the Oder River; now an exhibit of the National Museum in Szczecin

Grzęda (1994) says that in 1910, according to German data, 10,500 Poles lived in the Stettin (Szczecin) area, and that in his view the number was most likely reduced.[66] Fenske (1993) and Buchholz et al. (1999) say that in 1910, 7,921 Poles lived steadily in the province;[67][68] Skóra (2001) says that in 1925, according to German data, 5,914 Poles lived in the province (1,104 in the Stettin and 4,226 in the Köslin government regions), while the Polish consul "boldly assumed" that over 9000 Poles lived in the province.[69] Wynot (1996) says that during the interwar era, between 22,500 and 27,000 Poles lived "along the border of the Poznan/Pomorze region", the majority of whom were peasants, with a small number of shopkeepers and craftsmen.[70] In addition, "a colony of about 2,000 workers" existed in Stettin.[70]

To maintain contact with the Poles of the province, Poland opened a consulate in Szczecin in 1925.[71]

A number of the Poles in Szczecin (Stettin) were members of the Union of Poles in Germany, a Polish scouts team was established there as well,[72][page needed] in addition to a Polish school where the Polish language was taught.[73]

Repressions intensified after Adolf Hitler came to power and led to closing of the school.[72] Members of Polish community who took part in cultural and political activities were persecuted and even murdered. In 1938 the head of Stettin's Union of Poles unit Stanisław Borkowski was imprisoned in Oranienburg.[72] In 1939, all Polish organisations in Stettin were disbanded by the authorities. During the war, two teachers from Polish school: Golisz and Omieczyński were murdered.[72]

Resistance edit

Resistance groups formed in the economical centers, especially in Stettin, from where most arrests were reported.[60]

Resistance is also reported from members of the nationalist conservative DNVP. The monarchist Herbert von Bismarck-Lasbeck was forced out of office in 1933. The newspaper Pommersche Tagespost was banned in 1935 after printing an article of monarchist Hans Joachim von Rohr (1888–1971). In 1936, four members of the DNVP were tried for founding a monarchist organization.[74]

Other DNVP members, who had addressed their opposition already before 1933, were arrested multiple times after the Nazis had taken over. Ewald Kleist-Schmenzin, Karl Magnus von Knebel-Doberitz, and Karl von Zitzewitz were active resistants.[75]

 
Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Within the Pomeranian provincial subsection of the Evangelical Church of the old-Prussian Union, resistance was organized within the Pfarrernotbund (150 members in late 1933) and Confessing Church (Bekennende Kirche), the successor organization, headed by Reinold von Thadden-Trieglaff. In March 1935, 55 priests were arrested. The Confessing Church maintained a preachers' seminar headed by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Zingst, which moved to Finkenwalde (Zdroje) in 1935 and to Köslin and Groß Schlönwitz (Słonowice) in 1940. Within the Catholic Church, the most prominent resistance member was Greifswald priest Alfons Wachsmann, who was executed in 1944.[76]

After the failed assassination attempt of Hitler on July 20, 1944, Gestapo arrested thirteen Pomeranian nobles and one burgher, all knight estate owners. Of those, Ewald von Kleist-Schmenzin had contacted Winston Churchill in 1938 to inform about the work of the German opposition to the Nazis, and was executed in April 1945. Karl von Zitzewitz had connections to the Kreisauer Kreis group. Among the other arrested were Malte von Veltheim Fürst zu Putbus, who died in a concentration camp, as well as Alexander von Kameke and Oscar Caminecci-Zettuhn, who both were executed.[77]

World War II and aftermath edit

First war years edit

The invasion of Poland by the Nazi Germany on September 1, 1939, which marked the beginning of World War II, was in part mounted from the province's soil. General Guderian's 19th army corps attacked from the Schlochau (Człuchów) and Preußisch Friedland (Debrzno) areas, which since 1938 belonged to the province ("Grenzmark Posen-Westpreußen").[78]

The pre-war persecution of Poles in the province further intensified in September 1939 with mass arrests of Polish activists, teachers etc., who were then sent to concentration camps.[79]

 
Polish prisoners of war in Stalag II-B

According to Kozłowski & Krzywicki (1988), around 56,000 Polish POWs were located in Pomerania after the invasion, and soon Germany stripped them of their status (against international law) turning them into forced labourers; in April 1940 they were 82.417 of them in Pomerania, with the number reaching 116.330 Polish forced labourers in 1944 September[80]

Because the invasion of Poland (and later the Soviet Union) was a success and the battle front moved far more east (Blitzkrieg), the province was not the site of battles in the first years of the war.

Germany operated several prisoner-of-war camps, including Stalag II-B, Stalag II-C, Stalag II-D, Stalag II-E, Stalag Luft I, Stalag Luft II, Stalag Luft IV, Stalag Luft 7, Stalag 302, Stalag 351, Oflag II-B, Oflag II-C, Oflag II-D and Oflag 65, for Polish POWs and civilians, including women and children, and French, Belgian, Dutch, Serbian, Italian, American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealander, Czech, Soviet, Senegalese, Tunisian, Moroccan, Algerian, South African and other Allied POWs, with numerous forced labour subcamps in the region.[81][82][83]

 
Former Germanisation camp for kidnapped Polish children in Połczyn-Zdrój

There were also several subcamps of the Stutthof concentration camp[84] and several Nazi prisons with numerous forced labour subcamps in the region. Połczyn-Zdrój was the location of a Germanisation camp for kidnapped Polish children.[85] Piła, Unieszyno and Police housed camps for Sinti and Romani people (see Romani Holocaust).[86][87][88]

The Polish resistance movement was active in the region, including the Odra organization and local units of the Home Army. Activities included espionage of German military activity, infiltration of the local German industry, sabotage actions, distribution of Polish underground press,[89][90] and facilitating escapes of Polish and British prisoners of war who fled from German POW camps by the Baltic Sea to neutral Sweden.[91]

Since 1943, the province became a target of allied air raids. The first attack was launched against Stettin on April 21, 1943, and left 400 dead. On August 17/18, the British RAF launched an attack on Peenemünde, where Wernher von Braun and his staff had developed and tested the world's first ballistic missiles. In October, Anklam was a target. Throughout 1944 and early 1945, Stettin's industrial and residential areas were targets of air raids. Stralsund was a target in October 1944.[92]

Despite these raids, the province was regarded "safe" compared to other areas of the Third Reich, and thus became a shelter for evacuees primarily from hard-hit Berlin and the West German industrial centers.[92]

The Pomeranian Wall was renovated in the summer of 1944, and in the fall all men between sixteen and sixty years of age who had not yet been drafted were enrolled into Volkssturm units.[92]

In early 1945, German-perpetrated death marches of prisoners of German POW camps and concentration camps passed through the region.[93][94][95]

The province of Pomerania became a battlefield on January 26, 1945, when in the beginning of the Red Army's East Pomeranian Offensive Soviet tanks entered the province near Schneidemühl (Piła), which surrendered on February 13.[92]

East Pomeranian Offensive edit

 
The Battle of Kolberg left 80% of the town in ruins.

On February 14, the remnants of German Army Group Vistula (Heeresgruppe Weichsel) had managed to set up a frontline roughly at the province's southern frontier, and launched a counterattack (Operation Solstice, "Sonnenwende") on February 15, that however stalled already on February 18. On February 24, the Second Belorussian Front launched the East Pomeranian Offensive and despite heavy resistance primarily in the Rummelsburg (Miastko) area took eastern Farther Pomerania until March 10. On March 1, the First Belorussian Front had launched an offensive from the Stargard and Märkisch Friedland (Mirosławiec) area and succeeded in taking northwestern Farther Pomerania within five days. Cut off corps group Tettau retreated to Dziwna as a moving pocket until March 11. Thus, German-held central Farther Pomerania was cut off, and taken after the Battle of Kolberg (March 4 to 18).[96]

The fast advances of the Red Army during the East Pomeranian Offensive caught the civilian Farther Pomeranian population by surprise. The land route to the west was blocked since early March. Evacuation orders were issued not at all or much too late. The only way out of Farther Pomerania was via the ports of Stolpmünde (Ustka), from which 18,300 were evacuated, Rügenwalde (Darłowo), from which 4,300 were evacuated, and Kolberg, which had been declared fortress and from which before the end of the Battle of Kolberg some 70,000 were evacuated. Those left behind became victims of murder, war rape, and plunder. On March 6, the USAF shelled Swinemünde, where thousands of refugees were stranded, killing an estimated 25,000.[97]

Battle of Berlin edit

On March 20, the Wehrmacht abandoned the last bridgehead on the Oder rivers eastern bank, the Altdamm area. The frontline then ran along Dziwna and lower Oder, and was held by the 3rd Panzer Army commanded by general Hasso von Manteuffel. After another four days of fighting, the Red Army managed to break through and cross the Oder between Stettin and Gartz (Oder), thus starting the northern theater of the Battle of Berlin on March 24. Stettin was abandoned the next day.[97]

Throughout April, the Second Belorussian Front led by general Konstantin Rokossovsky advanced through Western Pomerania. Demmin and Greifswald surrendered on April 30.[97]

In Demmin, more than 1,000 people committed mass suicides after the Red Army had conquered the town facing only modest resistance. Coroner lists show that most drowned in the nearby River Tollense and River Peene, while others poisoned themselves. This was fueled by atrocities – rapes, pillage and executions – committed by Red Army soldiers after the Peene-bridge had been destroyed by retreating German troops. 80 percent of the town was destroyed in the first 3 days after its conquest.[98]

In the first days of May, Wehrmacht abandoned Usedom and Wollin islands, and on May 5, the last German troops departed from Sassnitz on the island of Rügen. Two days later, Wehrmacht surrendered unconditionally to the Red Army.[97]

Dissolution of the province edit

  •  
    Western part of the former province (Western Pomerania, Vorpommern, red) in modern Germany (grey)
  •  
    Post-war Polish part of the pre-1937 province of Pomernia

By the terms of the Potsdam Agreement, Western Pomerania east of the Oder–Neisse line became part of Poland. This line left the Oder river north of Gartz (Oder) and included the Szczecin and Świnoujście area into the Polish state. The remaining German population was expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement and the area was resettled with Poles. Western Pomerania west of the Oder-Neisse line was merged with Mecklenburg to constitute the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany, that in 1949 became the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Vorpommern was soon dropped from the federal state's name, and after the GDR states were abolished, the coastal Western Pomeranian Landkreis districts became part of Bezirk Rostock whereas the mainland Landkreis districts became part of Bezirk Neubrandenburg.

In 1990, after the GDR communist system was overthrown, the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was recreated, with Vorpommern being a non-administrative region. The districts Vorpommern-Rügen and Vorpommern-Greifswald constitute most of the German part of former Pomerania, but these districts also contain some former Mecklenburgian territory, and a small part of former Pomerania is now part of Brandenburg. Due to this, the old Pomeranian border disappeared from the map and today is only prevailed by the border of the Pomeranian Evangelical Church. The part of the province of Pomerania which had become Polish was re-organized as Szczecin Voivodeship after the war, from which the eastern part was split off as Koszalin Voivodeship in 1950. Słupsk Voivodeship was split off from this voivodeship in 1975, there were also territorial exchanges with neighboring voivodeships. Since 1999, the area of the former province of Pomerania is included in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship (Zachodniopomorskie, bulk) and Pomeranian Voivodeship (western part around Słupsk).

Administrative subdivisions edit

Köslin government region (Farther Pomerania) edit

Main article: Region of Köslin
See also: Farther Pomerania, Lauenburg and Bütow Land, and List of towns in Farther Pomerania
 
Province of Pomerania in 1905

The Köslin government region (Regierungsbezirk Köslin) was the administrative name for the region of Farther Pomerania (Hinterpommern) along with the smaller region of Lauenburg and Bütow Land (easternmost part).[18]

These parts of Pomerania were integrated into the Brandenburg-Prussian Province of Pomerania (1653–1815) already after the Thirty Years' War. During the war, the noble House of Pomerania (Griffins), ruling the Duchy of Pomerania since the 1120s, became extinct in the male line with the death of Bogislaw XIV in 1637. Throughout the existence of the Griffin Duchy, Brandenburg had claimed overlordship and was asserted of Pomerania inheritance in numerous treaties. Yet, Sweden had been one of the most important players in the war and as such, she was awarded some of her territorial gains in Pomerania after the war by the Peace of Westphalia, thwarting Brandenburg-Prussia's ambitions for inheritance of the whole former Duchy of Pomerania. This led to tensions between Brandenburg-Prussia and Sweden in Pomerania until Sweden lost her Western Pomeranian possessions in 1720 (Stettin government region) and 1815 (Stralsund government region).

Landkreis Lauenburg-Bütow comprised the Lauenburg and Bütow Land, a Pomerelian borderland with a somewhat different history than the rest of Pomerania. It was in 1846 dissolved into smaller administrative units. In contrast to ethnic German Pomerania, this area also had a Kashubian population.

Landkreis Fürstenthum comprised the earlier secular possessions of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kammin prince-bishops, and was ruled by administrators from the Pomeranian ducal house since the aftermath of the Reformation until 1650. Until 1872, the area kept its territorial integrity, before it was dissolved into smaller administrative units.

Subdivisions edit

  • urban districts (Stadtkreise):
    • Stolp:[18] population 27,293 (1900); 50,377 (1939)
    • Köslin:[18] split off Landkreis Köslin in 1923, population 33,479 (1939)
    • Kolberg:[18] split off Landkreis Kolberg-Körlin in 1920, population 36,617 (1939)
  • rural districts (Landkreise):
    • Landkreis Belgard (Persante):[18] population 47,097 (1900); 79,183 (1939)
    • Landkreis Dramburg:[18] population 35,863 (1900);
    • Landkreis Fürstenthum[18] (1816–1872), 1872 divided into
      • Landkreis Bublitz:[18] population 20,916 (1900); in 1932 merged into Landkreis Köslin
      • Landkreis Kolberg-Körlin:[18] population 57,871 (1900); 38,785 (1939)
      • Landkreis Köslin:[18] population 48,678 (1900); 80,287 (1939)
    • Landkreis Greifenberg i. Pom.:[18] until 1939 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stettin, population 47,891 (1939)
    • Landkreis Lauenburg-Bütow[18] (the Lauenburg and Bütow Land), 1846 divided into:
      • Landkreis Bütow:[18] population 26,021 (1900); 28,018 (1939)
      • Landkreis Lauenburg i. Pom.:[18] population 45,986 (1900); 63,985 (1939)
    • Landkreis Neustettin:[18] population 76,101 (1900); since 1938 administered by Regierungsbezirk Grenzmark Posen-Westpreußen
    • Regenwalde:[18] 49,668 (1939), until 1938 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stettin
    • Landkreis Rummelsburg i. Pom.:[18] population 33,785 (1900); 40,692 (1939)
    • Landkreis Schivelbein:[18] population 19,656 (1900); in 1932 merged into Landkreis Belgard (Persante)
    • Landkreis Schlawe i. Pom.:[18] population 73,206 (1900); 78,363 (1939)
    • Landkreis Stolp:[18] population 75,310 (1900); 83,009 (1939)

Stettin government region (Western Pomerania) edit

See also: Western Pomerania, Swedish Pomerania, List of towns in Vorpommern, and List of towns in Farther Pomerania

The Stettin government region (Regierungsbezirk Stettin) since 1932 comprised the region of Western Pomerania (Vorpommern, "Hither Pomerania"), the former Swedish Pomerania.[18] From 1815, the Stettin government region comprised only the southern parts of Western Pomerania (Old Western Pomerania, i.e. south of the Peene river).[18] This part had been Swedish only until 1720, thereafter it was merged into the Prussian Province of Pomerania (1653-1815). New Western Pomerania (north of the river) was administered as Regierungsbezirk Stralsund until it was merged into Regierungsbezirk Stettin in 1932.

Stettin, the former ducal residence, was made capital of the province and also was the administrative center of the Regierungsbezirk Stettin.[18]

Subdivisions edit

 
Pyritz (Pyrzyce)
  • urban districts (Stadtkreise):
    • Greifswald:[18] until 1932 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stralsund, population 37,051 (1939)
    • Stargard (Pommern):[18] split off Landkreis Saatzig in 1901, population 39,760 (1939)
    • Stettin:[18] population 210,702 (1900); 382,984 (1939)
    • Stralsund:[18] until 1932 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stralsund, population 52,931 (1939)
  • rural districts (Landkreise):
    • Landkreis Anklam:[18] population 32,693 (1900); 39,527 (1939)
    • Landkreis Cammin i. Pom.:[18] population 42,485 (1900); 45,694 (1939)
    • Landkreis Demmin:[18] population 48,090 (1900); 54,769 (1939)
    • Landkreis Franzburg-Barth (Capital: Barth):[18] until 1932 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stralsund, population 55,542 (1939)
    • Landkreis Greifenberg i. Pom.:[18] population 37,483 (1900); after 1939 administered by Regierungsbezirk Köslin
    • Landkreis Greifenhagen:[18] population 48,258 (1900); 69,326 (1939)
    • Landkreis Greifswald:[18] until 1932 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stralsund, population 39,207 (1939)
    • Landkreis Grimmen:[18] until 1932 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stralsund, population 42,259 (1939)
    • Landkreis Naugard:[18] population 52,777 (1900); 61,320 (1939)
    • Landkreis Pyritz:[18] population 42,686 (1900); 48,418 (1939)
    • Landkreis Randow:[18] population 94,859 (1900); partitioned in 1939 by Stadtkreis Stettin, Landkreis Greifenhagen, Landkreis Ueckermünde, and Landkreis Naugard
    • Landkreis Rügen (Capital: Bergen auf Rügen): until 1932 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stralsund, population 62,261 (1939)
    • Landkreis Regenwalde:[18] population 44,954 (1900);
    • Landkreis Saatzig (Capital: Stargard (Pommern)):[18] population 69,762 (1900); 43,258 (1939)
    • Landkreis Ueckermünde:[18] population 56,767 (1900); 79,996 (1939)
    • Landkreis Usedom-Wollin (Capital: Swinemünde):[18] population 52,193 (1900); 83,479 (1939)

Stralsund government region (Northwest) edit

Main article: Region of Stralsund
See also: Western Pomerania, Swedish Pomerania, Principality of Rügen, and List of towns in Vorpommern
 
Districts of the province of Pomerania (1913) with the Stralsund government region shown in Blue.

The Stralsund government region (Regierungsbezirk Stralsund) comprised the Western Pomeranian region of Neuvorpommern.

The reason for creating a Regierungsbezirk as small as Stralsund was that Neuvorpommern had a somewhat different history than the rest of Pomerania. This region, consisting of the island of Rügen and the adjacent mainland between the Recknitz and Peene rivers, made up the Rani and Danish Principality of Rugia in the Middle Ages. Although it was inherited by the Pomeranian dukes in 1325, the region was for some time governed as the splinter duchy of Pomerania-Barth. While a part of Swedish Pomerania, Denmark maintained her old claims and occupied the area in 1715 during the Great Northern War. Yet, the Danes were forced to return it to Sweden by the 1720 Treaty of Stockholm (Great Northern War). In the 1813 Treaty of Kiel, Denmark again gained nominal overlordship, yet was unable to pay her war reparations to Sweden and awarded her claim to Prussia in the 1815 Congress of Vienna along with her debts in exchange for the Duchy of Lauenburg.

The name New Western Pomerania (Neuvorpommern) stems from that era, to distinguish the Western Pomeranian areas south of the Peene River gained by Prussia in 1720 (Old Western Pomerania or Altvorpommern) from the northern regions gained in 1815 and to replace the outdated term Principality of Rügen.

When merged into the province in 1815, Neuvorpommern was guaranteed her constitution to be left in place. The administration was led by the former Swedish general governour, prince Malte von Putbus, until Regierungsbezirk Stralsund was officially created in 1818. Prussian law (Allgemeines Preußisches Landrecht and Preußisches Stadtrecht) was not enforced, and the Swedish jurisdiction with the court in Greifswald was left in place.[99]

Regierungsbezirk Stralsund was fused into Regierungsbezirk Stettin in 1932.

Subdivisions edit

  • urban districts (Stadtkreise):
    • Stralsund:[18] split off Landkreis Franzburg-Barth in 1874, population 31,076 (1900)
    • Greifswald:[18] split off Landkreis Greifswald in 1913
  • rural districts (Landkreise):

Posen-West Prussia government region edit

See also: Posen-West Prussia and List of towns in Farther Pomerania
 
Districts of the province of Pomerania (1939) with the Posen-West Prussia government region shown in Green.

The Posen-West Prussia government region (Regierungsbezirk Grenzmark Posen-Westpreußen) was created in 1938 from the northern part of the former Prussian province of Posen-West Prussia, known as the Schneidemühl government region.

Following World War I, most of the Prussian provinces of Posen and West Prussia became part of the Second Polish Republic. The remainders of these provinces formed the province of Posen-West Prussia, combining small German-settled regions all along the new German-Polish border (Grenzmark meaning border march). In 1938, this province was dissolved and partitioned between Pomerania, Brandenburg and Silesia. The Pomeranian share was extended by the districts of Neustettin and Dramburg, formerly administered by Regierungsbezirk Köslin.[18] The formerly Branderburgian districts of Arnswalde and Friedeberg were also incorporated into the Posen-West Prussia government region.

During World War II, it became a battlefield and was occupied by the Red Army in early 1945. Shortly thereafter, by the terms of the Potsdam Agreement, the Grenzmark, which was part of Polish Pomerania and Greater Poland before the Partitions of Poland, became again part of Poland and the remaining German population was expelled.

Subdivisions edit

Demographics edit

  • 1818: The province with an estimated area of 540 (Prussian) square miles had a population of 630,000. The Prussian state official ("Staatsminister") von Beyme stated in his report, that the province was in a "low state of population and culture".[99]
  • 1823: In 1823, Georg Hassel published the following data about the population of the province of Pomerania:[100]
Ethnic structure (Nationalverschiedenheit) of the province of Pomerania in 1817–1819[100]
Ethnic group Population (number) Population (percent)
Germans (Deutsche) 633,000 90.3%
Slavic Wends and Kashubians (Wenden und Kassuben) 65,000 9.3%
Jews (Juden) 2,976 0.4%
Total 700,765 100.0%

According to Georg Hassel, there were 65,000 Slavic-speakers in the whole Provinz Pommern in 1817–1819. Modern estimates for just eastern parts of Pommern in early 1800s range between 40,000 (Leszek Belzyt) and 25,000 (Jan Mordawski, Zygmunt Szultka). The number declined to between 35,000 and 23,000 (Zygmunt Szultka, Leszek Belzyt) in the years 1827–1831. In the 1850–1860s there were an estimated 23,000 to 17,000 Slavic-speakers left in Pommern, down to 15,000 in year 1892 according to Stefan Ramułt. The number was declining due to Germanisation. The bulk of Slavic population in 19th century Pommern was concentrated in its easternmost counties: especially Bytów (Bütow), Lębork (Lauenburg) and Słupsk (Stolp).

Until 1841, immigration to the province was higher than emigration. This trend reversed since 1850. However, the population grew further due to high birth rates.[101]

  • 1850: 1,255,900 inhabitants, predominantly Protestants, 11,100 Catholics, 9,700 Jews and 100 Mennonites.[102]
  • 1858: 1,125,000 people, 28% of whom lived in towns.[103]
  • 1871: 1,431,492 people, 68,7% of those lived in communities with less than 2,000 inhabitants.[104]
  • 1875: 1,445,852 people lived in the province, then with an area of 30,131 km2. Of those, 685,147 lived in Regierungsbezirk Stettin, and 554,201 in Regierungsbezirk Köslin.[105]
  • 1890: 1,520,889 people, 62,3% of those lived in communities with less than 2,000 inhabitants, and 7,6% in Stettin.[104] Among them were 1,476,300 Protestants, 27,476 Catholics, 4,587 persons belonging to other Christian religious groups, 200 dissidents and 12,246 Jews; 1,519,397 were citizens of the German Empire, 758 came from foreign territories attached to the empire, and 734 did not belong to any of these groups. With the exception of 10,666 persons composed of Poles, Kashubians and Masurians, all people of the Province used German as their native language.[106] According to Stefan Ramułt the number of Slavic-speakers was higher, 15,000 just in the three easternmost counties of Stolp, Lauenburg and Bütow in year 1892.

Between 1871 and 1914, the prime characteristic of the province's demography was migration from the rural areas, first to urban centers (Landflucht), then to destinations in other German provinces and overseas (Ostflucht). Despite the emigration during this time span, the population increased by 300,000 people.[107]

  • Between 1871 and 1880, 61,700 people emigrated to America.[107]
  • Between 1881 and 1890, 132,100 people emigrated to America; 95,000 of these emigrated between 1881 and 1885.[107]
  • Between 1891 and 1900, 56,700 people emigrated to America.[107]
  • Between 1871 and 1895, 242,505 people emigrated from the province, primarily from 1880 to 1885 (95,000 emigrants).[108]
  • Between 1880 and 1910, 426,000 more people emigrated than immigrated. Emigrants came primarily from rural areas, which they left for economic reasons; prime destinations were Ruhr area and Berlin (Ostflucht).[109]

Most people emigrated from Regierungsbezirk Köslin, where the population numbers of 1880 were only reached again in 1899.[107]

The Province of Pomerania was one of the three provinces (the other two were West Prussia and Province of Posen) responsible for most of the German emigrants who went overseas. Imperial Commissioners for emigration ("Reichskommissar für Auswanderung") organized emigration from Hamburg, Bremen, Stettin, and Swinemünde. Emigration to overseas ended in 1893, when in America the free availability of soil claims ended.[110]

  • 1905: Of 1,684,326 inhabitants 1,616,550 were Protestants, 50,206 Roman Catholics and 9660 Jews, (1900) 14,162 Polish speakers (at the West Prussian border) and 310 Kashubian speakers (at the Lakes Lebasee and Gardescher See).[111]
  • 1907: 440,000 people born in the province lived in other areas of Germany.[107]
  • 1910: 1,716,921 inhabitants, 55,3% of those lived in communities with less than 2,000 inhabitants, and 13,7% in Stettin.[104] Of those, the majority was Protestant (1,637,299; i.e. 95,36%), 56,298 were Roman Catholics (3,27%), less than one percent were Old Lutherans (primarily in the Cammin and Greifenberg counties), and 8862 were Jews (0,52%)[112]

Polish seasonal workers were employed in Pomeranian agriculture since the 1890s, initially to replace the emigrants.[110] In 1910, 7921 Poles lived steadily in the province. In 1912, 12,000 seasonal workers were employed in agriculture, in 1914 their number increased to 42,000.[68]

  • 1919: On October 8, 1919, the province had 1,787,179 inhabitants. This population had increased by 160,000 in 1925.[113]

On October 1, 1938, the bulk of the former Province of Posen-West Prussia was merged into the province of Pomerania, adding an area of 5,787 km2 (2,234 sq mi) with a population of 251,000.[78]

On October 15, Stettin's city limits were expanded to an area of 460 km2 (180 sq mi), housing 383,000 people.[78]

During the Soviet conquest of Farther Pomerania and the subsequent expulsions of Germans until 1950, 498,000 people from the part of the province east of the Oder-Neisse line died, making up for 26,4% of the former population. Of the 498,000 dead, 375,000 were civilians, and 123,000 were Wehrmacht soldiers. Low estimates give a million expellees from the then Polish part of the province in 1945 and the following years. Only 7,100 km2 (2,700 sq mi) remained with Germany, about a fourth of the province's size before 1938 and a fifth of the size thereafter.[17]

Modern inhabitants edit

During the Polish post-war census of December 1950, data about the pre-war places of residence of the inhabitants as of August 1939 was collected. In the case of children born between September 1939 and December 1950, their origin was reported based on the pre-war places of residence of their mothers. Thanks to this data it is possible to reconstruct the pre-war geographical origin of the post-war population. The same territory corresponding to 1939 Provinz Pommern east of the Oder-Neisse line (which became part of Poland in 1945) was inhabited as of December 1950 by:

1950 population by place of residence back in 1939:[114]
Region (within 1939 borders): Number Percent
Autochthons (1939 DE/FCD citizens) 70,209 6.7%
Polish expellees from Kresy (USSR) 250,091 24.0%
Poles from abroad except the USSR 18,607 1.8%
Resettlers from the City of Warsaw 37,285 3.6%
From Warsaw region (Masovia) 73,936 7.1%
From Białystok region and Sudovia 16,081 1.5%
From pre-war Polish Pomerania 145,854 14.0%
Resettlers from Poznań region 81,215 7.8%
Katowice region (East Upper Silesia) 11,869 1.1%
Resettlers from the City of Łódź 8,344 0.8%
Resettlers from Łódź region 76,128 7.3%
Resettlers from Kielce region 78,340 7.5%
Resettlers from Lublin region 81,167 7.8%
Resettlers from Kraków region 18,237 1.7%
Resettlers from Rzeszów region 57,965 5.6%
place of residence in 1939 unknown 17,891 1.7%
Total pop. in December 1950 1,043,219 100.0%

Over 90% of the 1950 population were newcomers to the region, with less than 10% residing in German Province of Pomerania already back in August 1939 (so-called autochthons, who had German citizenship before World War II and were granted Polish citizenship after 1945). The largest group among new inhabitants were Poles expelled from areas of Eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union. The second largest group were newcomers from pre-war Polish part of historical Pomerania. The third-largest group were Poles from pre-war Poznań Voivodeship of Poland.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Der Name Pommern (po more) ist slawischer Herkunft und bedeutet so viel wie „Land am Meer“. (German: Pommersches Landesmuseum)
  2. ^ a b c Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 366, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  3. ^ a b Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 393ff, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  4. ^ a b c Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 420ff, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  5. ^ a b Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 412, 413, 464ff, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  6. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 400ff, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  7. ^ a b c Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 472ff, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  8. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 443ff, 481ff, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  9. ^ a b Adolf Hitler: a biographical companion David Nicholls page 178 ;(November 1, 2000 The main nationalist party the German National People's Party DNVP was divided between reactionary conservative monarchists, who wished to turn the clock back to the pre-1918 Kaisereich, and more radical volkisch and anti-Semitic elements. It also inherited the support of the old Pan-German League, whose nationalists rested on the belief in the inherent superiority of the German people
  10. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 377ff, 439ff, 491ff, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  11. ^ Polonia szczecińska 1890–1939 Anna Poniatowska Bogusław Drewniak, Poznań 1961
  12. ^ HITLER'S PLANS FOR EASTERN EUROPE April 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ The Origins of the Final Solution Christopher R. Browning, Jürgen Matthäus page 64 University of Nebraska Press, 2007
  14. ^ a b c Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 500ff, 509ff ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  15. ^ Nathan Stoltzfus, Resistance of the Heart: Intermarriage and the Rosenstrasse Protest in Nazi Germany, Rutgers University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8135-2909-3, p. 130: February 11/12 from Stettin, soon thereafter from Schneidemühl, total of 1,260 Jews deported, among the deportees were intermarried non-Jewish women who had refused to divorce, eager Nazi Gauleiter Schwede-Coburg was the first to have his Gau "judenfrei", Eichmann's "RSHA" (Reich Security Main Office) ensured this was an isolated local incident to worried Eppstein of the Central Organization of Jews in Germany (Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland)
  16. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 511–515, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  17. ^ a b Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 515, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi Peter Oliver Loew, Staatsarchiv Stettin: Wegweiser durch die Bestände bis zum Jahr 1945, a translation of Radosław Gaziński, Paweł Gut, Maciej Szukała, Archiwum Państwowe w Szczecinie, Poland. Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwów Państwowych, Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, 2004, pp. 91–92, ISBN 3-486-57641-0
  19. ^ Meyers Großes Konversationslexikon, 6th edition, Vol. 16, Leipzig/Wien: Bibliographisches Institut, 1909, p. 134.
  20. ^ Der Große Brockhaus, 15th edition, Vol. 14, Leipzig: Brockhaus Verlag, 1933, p. 741.
  21. ^ a b Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 366–369, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  22. ^ Allgemeines Gesetz wegen Anordnung der Provinzialstände
  23. ^ Gesetz wegen Anordnung der Provinzialstände im Herzogtum Pommern und im Fürstentum Rügen
  24. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 375, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  25. ^ a b Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 377, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  26. ^ "Kreisordnung des Herzogtums Pommern und des Fürstentums Rügen" of 17 August 1825
  27. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 377ff, 439ff, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  28. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 447ff, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  29. ^ Gesetz über Klein- und Privatanschlußbahnen
  30. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 464, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  31. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p.462, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  32. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 413ff,447ff, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  33. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 465, 467, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  34. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p.465, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  35. ^ a b Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 457, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  36. ^ this data (ha of farmland substitute for monetary payment) is marked in the source as referring to Regierungsbezirk Stettin and Köslin only; note that the Stralsund district with its Swedish law had a somewhat different standing.
  37. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p.406, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  38. ^ (titled "Ablösung der Reallasten und die Regulierung der gutsherrlichen und bäuerlichen Verhältnisse")
  39. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 416, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  40. ^ full name: Provinzialordnung für die Provinzen Preußen, Brandenburg, Pommern, Schlesien und Sachsen
  41. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 420ff, 450–453, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  42. ^ "Landgemeindeordnung" for the eastern provinces of Prussia
  43. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 453, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  44. ^ a b c Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp.443ff, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  45. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp.468,469, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  46. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p.469, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  47. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 471, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  48. ^ Landarbeiterverordnung
  49. ^ a b c d e f g Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 472, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  50. ^ Junker Ewald von Kleist-Schmenzin after the Kaiser's abdication assembled the workers of his estate and stated in disgrace: "As long as the king of Prussia is by injustice hindered in his government, I will function as his substitute in the Schmenzin estate" (Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p.471, ISBN 3-88680-272-8)
  51. ^ Heitmann, Margret; Schoeps, Julius H.; Neubach, Helmut (1995). "Ich halte fern dem ganzen Land jedes Verderben" – Geschichte und Kultur der Juden in Pommern (in German). Hildesheim/Zürich/New York: Moses Mendelsohn Zentrum für europäisch-jüdische Studien; Salomon Ludwig Steinheim Institut für deutsch-jüdische Geschichte. pp. 345 ff. ISBN 3-487-10074-6. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  52. ^ a b Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 443ff., ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  53. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 481, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  54. ^ a b Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 485, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  55. ^ "Ansiedlungen" based on the "Reichssiedlungsgesetz" (law) of 1919
  56. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 479ff, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  57. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 446, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  58. ^ a b c Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 491ff, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  59. ^ a b c Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 509, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  60. ^ a b Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 500, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  61. ^ a b Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p.506 ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  62. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 510, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  63. ^ * Lucie Adelsberger, Arthur Joseph Slavin, Susan H. Ray, Deborah E. Lipstadt, Auschwitz: A Doctor's Story, Northeastern University Press, 1995, ISBN 1-55553-233-0, p.138: February 12/13, 1940
    • Isaiah Trunk, Jacob Robinson, Judenrat: The Jewish Councils in Eastern Europe Under Nazi Occupation, U of Nebraska Press, 1996, ISBN 0-8032-9428-X, p.133: February 14, 1940; unheated wagons, elderly and sick suffered most, inhumane treatment
    • Leni Yahil, Ina Friedman, Haya Galai, The Holocaust: The Fate of European Jewry, 1932–1945, Oxford University Press US, 1991, ISBN 0-19-504523-8, p. 138: February 12/13, 1940, 1,300 Jews of all sexes and ages, extreme cruelty, no food allowed to be taken along, cold, some died during deportation, cold and snow during resettlement, 230 dead by March 12, Lublin reservation chosen in winter, 30,000 Germans resettled before to make room [1]
    • Martin Gilbert, Eilert Herms, Alexandra Riebe, Geistliche als Retter – auch eine Lehre aus dem Holocaust: Auch eine Lehre aus dem Holocaust, Mohr Siebeck, 2003, ISBN 3-16-148229-8, pp. 14 (English) and 15 (German): February 15, 1940, 1000 Jews deported
    • Jean-Claude Favez, John Fletcher, Beryl Fletcher, The Red Cross and the Holocaust, Cambridge University Press, 1999, ISBN 0-521-41587-X, p.33: February 12/13, 1,100 Jews deported, 300 died en route [2]
  64. ^ Yad Vashem Studies, Yad ṿa-shem, rashut ha-zikaron la-Shoʼah ṿela-gevurah, Yad Vashem Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority, 1996 Notizen: v.12, p.69: 1,200 deported, 250 died during deportation
    • Nathan Stoltzfus, Resistance of the Heart: Intermarriage and the Rosenstrasse Protest in Nazi Germany, Rutgers University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8135-2909-3, p. 130: February 11/12 from Stettin, soon thereafter from Schneidemühl, total of 1,260 Jews deported, among the deportees were intermarried non-Jewish women who had refused to divorce, – eager Nazi Gauleiter Schwede-Coburg was the first to have his Gau "judenfrei", Eichmann's "RSHA" (Reich Security Main Office) assured worried Eppstein of the Central Organization of Jews in Germany ("Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland") that this was an isolated local incident.
    • John Mendelsohn, Legalizing the Holocaust, the Later Phase, 1939–1943, Garland Pub., 1982, ISBN 0-8240-4876-8, p.131: Stettin Jews' houses were sealed, belongings liquidated, funds to be held in blocked accounts
    • Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, ISBN 3-88680-272-8, p. 506: Only very few [of the Pomeranian Jews] survived the Nazi era. p. 510: Nearly all Jews from Stettin and all the province, about a thousand
    • Alicia Nitecki, Jack Terry, Jakub's World: A Boy's Story of Loss and Survival in the Holocaust, SUNY Press, 2005, ISBN 0-7914-6407-5, pp. 13ff: Stettin Jews to Belzyce in Lublin area, reservation purpose decline of Jews, terror command of Kurt Engels, shocking insights in life circumstances
  65. ^ "The deportations of the Jews of Schneidemühl – a synopsis". JewishGen ShtetlLinks. Retrieved November 15, 2009.
    Peter Simonstein Cullman, “History of the Jewish Community of Schneidemühl: 1641 to the Holocaust”, Avotaynu, Inc., 2006 ISBN 1-886223-27-0, pp. 170–183 Untergang
  66. ^ Polonia sczcecińska na przełomie dwóch epok, 1930–1935; Marian Grzęda Uniwersytet Szczeciński 1994 page 21
  67. ^ Fenske, Hans: Die Verwaltung Pommerns 1815–1945. Aufbau und Ertrag, Böhlau: Köln/Weimar 1993, p. 12, ISBN 3-412-13892-4.
  68. ^ a b Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 534, 535, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  69. ^ Skóra, Wojciech: Konsulat Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej w Szczecinie w latach 1925–1939:powstanie i działalność Wojciech Skóra page 124 Pomorska Akademia Pedagogiczna w Słupsku, 2001
  70. ^ a b The Poles in Germany, 1919–1939 East European Quarterly, Summer, 1996 by Edward D. Wynot, Jr [3], quote: "This paper attempts to fill that apparent gap in scholarship by providing an overview of the Polish minority in inter-war Germany. [...] Whatever its actual size, the German Polish population was internally differentiated in terms of both geographical dispersal and socio-economic profile. By far most lived in areas that adjoined the Polish Republic. [...] The final group in this category lived along the border of the Poznan/Pomorze region (22,500–27,000), where, for the most part, they formed Polish islands surrounded by a German sea. The majority were peasants, with a smattering of small shopkeepers and craftsmen sprinkled among their midst and a colony of about 2,000 workers living in the port of Stettin/Szczecin."
  71. ^ Ceranka, Paweł; Szczepanik, Krzysztof (2020). Urzędy konsularne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 1918–1945. Informator archiwalny (in Polish). Warszawa: Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwów Państwowych, Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych. p. 376. ISBN 978-83-65681-93-5.
  72. ^ a b c d Tadeusz Białecki, "Historia Szczecina" Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich, 1992 Wrocław.
  73. ^ Polski ruch narodowy w Niemczech w latach 1922–1939 Wojciech Wrzesiński page 200 Ossolineum, 1993
  74. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 489, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  75. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 505, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  76. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 506, 510 ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  77. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 505, 512 ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  78. ^ a b c Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 511, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  79. ^ Cygański, Mirosław (1984). "Hitlerowskie prześladowania przywódców i aktywu Związków Polaków w Niemczech w latach 1939-1945". Przegląd Zachodni (in Polish) (4): 48–49, 54.
  80. ^ Historyczna droga do polskiego Szczecina:wybór dokumentów i opracowań Kazimierz Kozłowski, Stanisław Krzywicki page 86 Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, 1988
  81. ^ Megargee, Geoffrey P.; Overmans, Rüdiger; Vogt, Wolfgang (2022). The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV. Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. pp. 221, 230–232, 284, 353, 393, 397–398, 401, 503–505, 507, 510. ISBN 978-0-253-06089-1.
  82. ^ "Les Kommandos". Stalag IIB Hammerstein, Czarne en Pologne (in French). Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  83. ^ Aniszewska, Jolanta (2011). "W obowiązku pamięci... Stalag II D i formy upamiętnienia jeńców wojennych w Stargardzie Szczecińskim". Łambinowicki rocznik muzealny (in Polish). Opole. 34: 21.
  84. ^ Gliński, Mirosław. "Podobozy i większe komanda zewnętrzne obozu Stutthof (1939–1945)". Stutthof. Zeszyty Muzeum (in Polish). 3: 160. ISSN 0137-5377.
  85. ^ "Lebensborn". Połczyn-Zdrój (in Polish). Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  86. ^ "Lager für Sinti und Roma Schneidemühl". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  87. ^ "Lager für Sinti und Roma Wunneschin". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  88. ^ "Lager für Sinti und Roma Stettin". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  89. ^ Chrzanowski, Bogdan (2022). Polskie Państwo Podziemne na Pomorzu w latach 1939–1945 (in Polish). Gdańsk: IPN. pp. 47–48, 57. ISBN 978-83-8229-411-8.
  90. ^ Encyklopedia konspiracji Wielkopolskiej 1939–1945 (in Polish). Poznań: Instytut Zachodni. 1998. p. 625. ISBN 83-85003-97-5.
  91. ^ Chrzanowski, Bogdan. "Organizacja sieci przerzutów drogą morską z Polski do Szwecji w latach okupacji hitlerowskiej (1939–1945)". Stutthof. Zeszyty Muzeum (in Polish). 5: 29–30. ISSN 0137-5377.
  92. ^ a b c d Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 512, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  93. ^ Gliński, Mirosław. "Ewakuacja i wyzwolenie obozu Stutthof (25 stycznia–9 maja 1945)". Stutthof. Zeszyty Muzeum (in Polish). 3: 189. ISSN 0137-5377.
  94. ^ Kaszuba, Sylwia (February 9, 2024). "Marsz 1945". In Grudziecka, Beata (ed.). Stalag XX B: historia nieopowiedziana (in Polish). Malbork: Muzeum Miasta Malborka. pp. 108–109. ISBN 978-83-950992-2-9.
  95. ^ "Stalag Luft IV. Marsz Śmierci". Miasto Białogard (in Polish). Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  96. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 512–515, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  97. ^ a b c d Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 514, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  98. ^ Goeschel, Christian (2009). Suicide in Nazi Germany. Oxford University Press. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-19-953256-8.
    Tief vergraben, nicht dran rühren Der Spiegel March 30, 2005 (in German)
    Kriegsende in Demmin February 28, 2009, at the Wayback Machine Norddeutscher Rundfunk (in German)
    Tragödie an der Peene Focus May 8, 1995 (in German)
    Bscheid, Andrea Karoline (2009). Das Nürnberger Bündnis gegen Depression (PDF) (in German). University of Munich. p. 19.
    Buske, Norbert (Hg.): Das Kriegsende in Demmin 1945. Berichte Erinnerungen Dokumente (Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Landeskundliche Hefte), Schwerin 1995
  99. ^ a b Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 369, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  100. ^ a b Hassel, Georg (1823). Statistischer Umriß der sämmtlichen europäischen und der vornehmsten außereuropäischen Staaten, in Hinsicht ihrer Entwickelung, Größe, Volksmenge, Finanz- und Militärverfassung, tabellarisch dargestellt; Erster Heft: Welcher die beiden großen Mächte Österreich und Preußen und den Deutschen Staatenbund darstellt. Verlag des Geographischen Instituts Weimar. p. 31.
  101. ^ Werner Buchholz: Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p.400, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  102. ^ Brockhaus' Konversations-Lexikon. 10th edition, vol. 12, Leipzig 1854, pp. 258–259.
  103. ^ Jan M Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeiten, p. 249, ISBN 83-906184-8-6 OCLC 43087092
  104. ^ a b c Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 448, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  105. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp.427,428 ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  106. ^ Brockhaus' Konversations-Lexikon. 14th edition, vol. 13, Leipzig 1895, p. 259.
  107. ^ a b c d e f Jan M Piskorski, Pommern im Wandel der Zeiten, p. 262, ISBN 83-906184-8-6 OCLC 43087092
  108. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 535, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  109. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 429, 430, 456, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  110. ^ a b Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p. 456, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  111. ^ Meyers Konversations Lexikon 1905, online at
  112. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, p.439, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  113. ^ Werner Buchholz, Pommern, Siedler, 1999, pp. 470,471, ISBN 3-88680-272-8
  114. ^ Kosiński, Leszek (1960). "Pochodzenie terytorialne ludności Ziem Zachodnich w 1950 r. [Territorial origins of inhabitants of the Western Lands in year 1950]" (PDF). Dokumentacja Geograficzna (in Polish). Warsaw: PAN (Polish Academy of Sciences), Institute of Geography. 2: Tabela 1 (data by county) – via Repozytorium Cyfrowe Instytutów Naukowych.

External links edit

  • Administrative Subdivision of the Province of Pomerania in 1900/10 (in German)

February 15, 2024
province, pomerania, 1815, 1945, other, provinces, this, name, pomerania, province, disambiguation, province, pomerania, german, provinz, pommern, polish, prowincja, pomorze, province, prussia, from, 1815, 1945, pomerania, established, province, kingdom, pruss. For other provinces of this name see Pomerania Province disambiguation The Province of Pomerania German Provinz Pommern Polish Prowincja Pomorze was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1945 Pomerania was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1815 an expansion of the older Brandenburg Prussia province of Pomerania and then became part of the German Empire in 1871 From 1918 Pomerania was a province of the Free State of Prussia until it was dissolved in 1945 following World War II and its territory divided between Poland and Allied occupied Germany The city of Stettin present day Szczecin Poland was the provincial capital Province of PomeraniaProvinz PommernProvince of Prussia1815 1945Flag Coat of armsThe Province of Pomerania green inside the German Empire light green in 1914CapitalStettin Szczecin Area Coordinates53 26 N 14 32 E 53 433 N 14 533 E 53 433 14 533 190530 120 km2 11 630 sq mi 193938 400 km2 14 800 sq mi Population 19051 684 125History Established1815 Disestablished1945Political subdivisionsKoslin Stettin Stralsund 1818 1932 Posen West Prussia 1938 1945 Preceded by Succeeded bySwedish PomeraniaProvince of Pomerania 1653 1815 State of MecklenburgDistrict of the Western PomeraniaToday part ofGermany Brandenburg Mecklenburg Vorpommern Poland Pomerania West Pomerania Lubusz Greater Poland Contents 1 Etymology 2 Overview 3 Creation and administration of the province within the Kingdom of Prussia 3 1 Infrastructure 3 2 Agricultural reform 3 3 Bismarck era administrative reforms 4 World War I 5 Province of the Free State of Prussia 5 1 German Revolution of 1918 19 5 2 Counter revolution 5 3 Constitution of 1920 5 4 Economy 6 Nazi era 6 1 Pomeranian Nazi movement before 1933 6 2 Nazi government since 1933 6 3 Deportation of the Pomeranian Jews 6 4 Repressions against Polish minority 6 5 Resistance 7 World War II and aftermath 7 1 First war years 7 2 East Pomeranian Offensive 7 3 Battle of Berlin 7 4 Dissolution of the province 8 Administrative subdivisions 8 1 Koslin government region Farther Pomerania 8 1 1 Subdivisions 8 2 Stettin government region Western Pomerania 8 2 1 Subdivisions 8 3 Stralsund government region Northwest 8 3 1 Subdivisions 8 4 Posen West Prussia government region 8 4 1 Subdivisions 9 Demographics 9 1 Modern inhabitants 10 See also 11 References 12 External linksEtymology editThe name Pomerania comes from Slavic po more which means Land at the Sea 1 Overview editThe province was created from the former Prussian Province of Pomerania which consisted of Farther Pomerania and the southern Western Pomerania and former Swedish Pomerania It resembled the territory of the former Duchy of Pomerania which after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 had been split between Brandenburg Prussia and Sweden Also the districts of Schivelbein Swidwin and Dramburg Drawsko Pomorskie formerly belonging to the Neumark were merged into the new province 2 While in the Kingdom of Prussia the province was heavily influenced by the reforms of Karl August von Hardenberg 3 and Otto von Bismarck 4 The Industrial Revolution primarily affected the Stettin area and the infrastructure while most of the province retained a rural and agricultural character 5 From 1850 the net migration rate was negative Pomeranians emigrated primarily to Berlin the West German industrial regions and overseas 6 After World War I democracy and the women s right to vote were introduced to the province After Wilhelm II s abdication it was part of the Free State of Prussia 7 The economic situation worsened due to the consequences of World War I and worldwide recession 8 As in the previous Kingdom of Prussia Pomerania was a stronghold of the national conservatives 9 who continued in the Weimar Republic 10 In 1933 the Nazis established a totalitarian regime concentrating the province s administration in the hands of their Gauleiter and implementing Gleichschaltung The German invasion of Poland in 1939 was launched in part from Pomeranian soil Jewish and Polish populations whose minorities lived in the region were classified as subhuman by the German state during the war and subjected to repressions slave work and executions 11 12 13 Opponents were arrested and executed Jews who by 1940 had not emigrated were all deported to the Lublin reservation 14 15 Besides the air raids conducted since 1943 World War II reached the province in early 1945 with the East Pomeranian Offensive and the Battle of Berlin both launched and won by the Soviet Union s Red Army Insufficient evacuation left the population subject to murder war rape and plunder by the successors 16 When the war was over the Oder Neisse line cut the province in two unequal parts The smaller western part became part of the East German State of Mecklenburg Vorpommern The larger eastern part was attached to post war Poland as Szczecin Voivodeship After the war ethnic Germans were expelled from Poland in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement and the area was re settled with Poles 17 Currently most of the territory of the province lies within the West Pomeranian Voivodeship which share the same city now Szczecin as its capital Until 1932 the province was subdivided into the government regions Regierungsbezirk Koslin eastern part Farther Pomerania Stettin southwestern part Old Western Pomerania and Stralsund northwestern part Neuvorpommern 18 The Stralsund region was merged into the Stettin region in 1932 In 1938 the Grenzmark Posen West Prussia region southeastern part created from the former Prussian Province Posen West Prussia was merged into the province 18 The provincial capital was Stettin now Szczecin the Regierungsbezirk capitals were Koslin now Koszalin Stettin Stralsund and Schneidemuhl now Pila respectively 18 In 1905 the province of Pomerania had 1 684 326 inhabitants among them 1 616 550 Protestants 50 206 Catholics and 9 660 Jews In 1900 Polish was the native language of 14 162 of the inhabitants at the border to West Prussia and there were 310 at the Lake Leba and at the Lake Garde whose native language was Kashubian The area of the province amounted to 30 120 km2 11 630 sq mi 19 In 1925 the province had an area of 30 208 km2 11 663 sq mi with a population of 1 878 780 inhabitants 20 Creation and administration of the province within the Kingdom of Prussia edit nbsp Karl August von HardenbergAlthough there had been a Prussian Province of Pomerania before the province of Pomerania was newly constituted in 1815 based on the decree concerning improved establishment of provincial offices German Verordnung wegen verbesserter Einrichtung der Provinzialbehorden issued by Karl August von Hardenberg on 30 April and the integration of Swedish Pomerania handed over to Prussia on 23 October 2 The Hardenberg decree reformed all Prussian territories which henceforth formed ten later eight provinces with similar administrations After the implementation of the reform the new province of Pomerania consisted basically of its predecessor and Swedish Pomerania but also of the Dramburg and Schivelbein counties 2 The province was headed by a governor Oberprasident literally senior president with his seat in the capital Stettin It was subdivided into government regions Regierungsbezirke headed by a president Regierungsprasident Initially two such regions were planned Regierungsbezirk Stettin comprising Western Pomerania and Regierungsbezirk Koslin comprising Farther Pomerania Hardenberg however who as the Prussian chief diplomat had settled the terms of session of Swedish Pomerania with Sweden at the Congress of Vienna had assured to leave the local constitution in place when the treaty was signed on 7 June 1815 This circumstance led to a creation of a third government region Regierungsbezirk Stralsund for the former Swedish Pomerania at the expense of the Stettin region 21 In early 1818 Governor Johann August Sack had reformed the county Kreise shapes yet adopted the former shape in most cases Koslin government region comprised nine counties Stettin government region thirteen and Stralsund government region four identical with the former Swedish Amter districts 21 The new parliament Landtag assembled first on October 3 1824 Based on two laws of June 5 22 and July 23 1823 the Landtag was constituted by 25 lords and knights 16 representatives of the towns and eight from the rural communities 24 Subordinate to the provincial Landtag were two Kommunallandtag assemblies one for former Swedish Pomerania Western Pomerania north of the Peene River and one for the former Prussian part 25 The counties each assembled a Kreisstand where the knights of the county had one vote each and towns also just one vote 25 26 Throughout its existence the province was a stronghold of the Conservative Parties 27 Infrastructure edit nbsp Narrow gauge railway Rugensche Kleinbahn operating since 1895 nbsp Binz tourist resort since the 1860sIn the 19th century the first overland routes Chaussee and railways were introduced in Pomerania In 1848 126 8 Prussian miles of new streets had been built On October 12 1840 construction of the Berlin Stettin railway began which was finished on 15 August 1843 Other railways followed Stettin Koslin 1859 Angermunde Stralsund and Zussow Wolgast 1863 Stettin Stolp 1869 and a connection with Danzig 1870 5 In rural areas many narrow gauge railways were built for faster transport of crops The first gas water and power plants were built Streets and canalisation of the towns were modernized 28 The construction of narrow gauge railways was enhanced by a special decree 29 of July 28 1892 implementing Prussian financial aid programs In 1900 the total of narrow gauge railways had passed the 1 000 kilometer 620 mi threshold 30 From 1910 to 1912 most of the province was supplied with electricity as the main lines were built Plants were built since 1898 31 The Swina and lower Oder rivers the major water route to Stettin were deepened to five meters and shortened by a canal in 1862 In Stettin heavy industry was settled making it the only industrial center of the province 32 Stettin was connected to Berlin by the Berlin Stettin waterway in 1914 after eight years of construction The other traditional waterways and ports of the province however declined Exceptions were only the port of Swinemunde Swinoujscie which was used by the navy and the port of Stolpmunde Ustka from which parts of the Farther Pomeranian exports were shipped and the port of Sassnitz which was built in 1895 for railway ferries to Scandinavia 33 With the infrastructural improvements mass tourism to the Baltic Coast started The tourist resort Ostseebad Binz had 80 visitors in 1870 10 000 in 1900 and 22 000 in 1910 The same phenomenon occurred in other tourist resorts 34 Agricultural reform edit nbsp Pomeranian Coarsewool Sheep Pomerania was the leading Prussian province in sheep breeding 35 Already in 1807 Prussia issued a decree Steinsches Oktoberedikt abolishing serfdom Hardenberg issued a decree on September 14 1811 defining the terms by which serfs were to be released Hardenbergsches Regulierungsedikt This could either be done by monetary payment or by releasing title to the land to the former lord These reforms were applied during the early years of the province s existence The so called regulation was applied to 10 744 peasants until 1838 who paid their former lords 724 954 taler and handed over 255 952 hectares 2 559 52 km2 988 24 sq mi 36 of farmland to bail themselves out 3 Tumults arose in 1847 in the towns of Stettin and Koslin due to food shortages as a result prices for some foods were fixed 37 On March 2 1850 a law was passed 38 settling the conditions on which peasants and farmers could capitalize their property rights and feudal service duties and thus get a long term credit 41 to 56 years to pay back This law made way for the establishment of Rentenbank credit houses and Rentengut farms Subsequently the previous rural structure changed dramatically as farmers who used this credit to bail out their feudal duties were now able to self determine how to use their land so called regulated peasants and farmers regulierte Bauern This was not possible before when the jurisdiction had sanctioned the use of farmland and feudal services according not to property rights but to social status within rural communities and estates 39 From 1891 to 1910 4 731 Rentengut farms were set up most 2 690 with a size of 10 to 25 hectares 0 10 to 0 25 km2 0 039 to 0 097 sq mi 35 Bismarck era administrative reforms edit nbsp Otto von Bismarck in 1873Otto von Bismarck inherited from his father the Farther Pomeranian estates Kulz Kulice Jarchlin Jarchlino and Kniephof Konarzewo Aiming at a farming career he studied agriculture at the academy in Greifswald Eldena From 1867 to 1874 he bought and expanded the Varzin Warcino estates 4 In 1869 Friedrich Albrecht Graf zu Eulenburg drafted a county reform Kreisreform that was promoted by Bismarck The reform passed the House of Lords on December 7 1872 Most importantly the reform cut the linkage between noble status and the right to vote the latter now depended on property one had to be above a certain tax threshold and not on status aiming against the overrepresentation of the knights compared to burghers 4 On June 29 1875 a new constitution for the province was passed Provinzialordnung 40 which entered into force in 1876 It redefined the responsibilities of the provincial administration headed by the Oberprasident and the self administrative institutions Provinzialverband comprising the provincial parliament Provinziallandtag a Landeshauptmann head and a Landesausschuss commission The Provinzialverband was financed directly from the Prussian state budget The Landtag was responsible for streets welfare education and culture Landownership was no longer a criterion to become elected The provincial Landtag Provinziallandtag was elected by the county representative assemblies Kreistag for counties Stadtverordnetenversammlung for town districts for a six years term A subordinate Kommunallandtag only existed for Regierungsbezirk Stralsund until it was abolished in 1881 41 In 1891 a county reform was passed 42 allowing more communal self government Municipalities hence elected a Gemeindevorstand head and a Gemeindevertretung communal parliament Gutsbezirk districts i e estates not included in counties could be merged or dissolved 43 World War I edit nbsp Memorial at the War Cemetery in StargardDuring the First World War no battles took place in the province 44 Nevertheless the war affected society economy and administration During the war the provincial administrative institutions were subordinate to the military and headed by military officials Mobilization resulted in work force shortage affecting all non war related industry construction and agriculture Women minors and POWs partially replaced the drafted men Import and fishing declined when the ports were blocked With the war going on food shortages occurred especially in the winter of 1916 17 Also coal gas and electricity were at times unavailable 45 When the Treaty of Versailles entered into force on January 10 1920 the province s eastern frontier became the border to the newly created Second Polish Republic comprising most of Pomerelia in the so called Polish Corridor Minor border adjustments followed where 9 5 km2 of the province became Polish and 74 km2 of former West Prussia parts of the former counties of Neustadt in Westpreussen and Karthaus 46 were merged into the province 44 Province of the Free State of Prussia editAfter the Kaiser was forced to abdicate the province became part of the Free State of Prussia within the Weimar Republic 44 German Revolution of 1918 19 edit During the German Revolution of 1918 19 revolutionary councils of soldiers and workers took over the Pomeranian towns Stralsund on November 9 Stettin Greifswald Pasewalk Stargard and Swinemunde on November 10 Barth Butow Neustettin Koslin and Stolp on November 11 On January 5 1919 Workers and Soldiers Councils Arbeiter und Soldatenrate were in charge of most of the province 231 towns and rural municipalities The revolution was peaceful no riots are reported The councils were led by Social Democrats who cooperated with the provincial administration Of the 21 Landrat officials only five were replaced while of the three heads of the government regions Regierungsprasident two were replaced in Stralsund and Koslin in 1919 47 On November 12 1918 a decree 48 was issued allowing farmworkers unions to negotiate with farmers Junkers The decree further regulated work time and wages for farmworkers 49 On May 15 1919 street fights and plunder occurred following Communist assemblies in Stettin The revolt was put down by the military In late August strikes of farmworkers occurred in the counties of Neustettin Szczecinek and Belgard Bialogard The power of the councils however declined only a few were left in the larger towns in 1920 49 Counter revolution edit Conservative and right wing groups evolved in opposition to the revolutions achievements 50 Landowners formed the Pommerscher Landbund in February 1919 which by 1921 had 120 000 members and from the beginning was supplied with arms by the 2nd army corps in Stettin Paramilitias Einwohnerwehr formed throughout the spring of 1919 49 Pommerscher Landbund units participated in the nationalist Kapp Putsch in Berlin 1920 49 Members of the Iron Division Eiserne Division a dissolved Freikorps in the Baltic reorganized in Pomerania where the Junkers hosted them on their estates as a private army 49 Also counter revolutionary Pomeranians formed Freikorps participating in fights in the Ruhr area 49 Constitution of 1920 edit In 1920 changed in 1921 and 1924 the Free State of Prussia adopted a democratic constitution for her provinces The constitution granted a number of civil rights to the Prussian population and enhanced the self government of the provinces 49 The provincial and county parliaments Landtag and Kreistag were hence elected directly by the population including women in free and secret votes 7 The Provinzialverband which included all self governmental institutions of the province such as the provincial parliament Provinziallandtag gained influence on the formerly Berlin led provincial government The Provinzialverband would hence elect the Oberprasident head of the administration and appoint representatives for the Reichsrat assembly in Berlin Furthermore the Provinzialverband officials could hence self determine how to spend the money they received from Berlin 7 From 1919 to 1930 Julius Lippmann served as governor of the province 51 Economy edit The border changes however caused a severe decline in the province s economy Farther Pomerania was cut off from Danzig Gdansk by the so called corridor Former markets and supplies in the now Polish territories became unavailable 52 Farther Pomeranian farmers had sold their products primarily to the eastern provinces that were now part of the Second Polish Republic Due to high transport costs the markets in the West were unavailable too The farmers reacted by modernizing their equipment improving the quality of their products and applying new technical methods As a consequence more than half of the farmers were severely indebted in 1927 The government reacted with the Osthilfe program and granted credits to favourable conditions 53 Stettin particularly suffered from a post war change in trade routes Before the territorial changes it had been on the export route from the Katowice industrial region in now Polish Upper Silesia Poland changed this export route to a new inner Polish railway connecting Katowice with the new build port of Gdynia within the corridor 52 As a counter measure Prussia invested in the Stettin port since 1923 While initially successful a new economical recession led to the closure of one of Stettin s major shipyard AG Vulcan Stettin in 1927 54 The province also reacted to the availability of new traffic vehicles Roads were developed due to the upcoming cars and buses four towns got electric street cars and an international airport was built in Altdamm Dabie near Stettin 54 The Pomeranian agriculture underwent a crisis Programs were started to regain soil that had turned into swamps during the wartime and even to establish new settlements by setting up settlement societies The results were mixed On the one hand 130 858 hectares 1 308 58 km2 505 25 sq mi of farmland were settled with 8 734 new build settlements 55 until 1933 The settlers originated in Pomerania itself Saxony and Thuringia also refugees from the former Province of Posen settled in the province On the other hand people left the rural communities en masse and turned to Pomeranian and other urban centers Landflucht In 1925 50 7 of the Pomeranians worked in agricultural professions this percentage dropped to 38 2 in 1933 56 With the economic recession unemployment rates reached 12 in 1933 compared to an overall 19 in the empire 57 Nazi era editPomeranian Nazi movement before 1933 edit Throughout the existence of the Weimar Republic politics in the province was dominated by the nationalist conservative DNVP Deutschnationale Volkspartei German National People s Party an entity composed of nationalists monarchists radical volkisch and anti semitic elements and supported by Pan German League an old organisation believing in superiority of German people over others 9 The Nazi party NSDAP did not have any significant success at elections nor did it have a substantial number of members The Pomeranian Nazi party was founded by students of the University of Greifswald in 1922 when the NSDAP was officially forbidden The university s rector Theodor Vahlen became Gauleiter head of the provincial party in 1924 Soon afterwards he was fired by the university and went bankrupt In 1924 the party had 330 members and in December 1925 297 members The party was not present in all of the province The members were concentrated mainly in Western Pomerania and internally divided Vahlen retired from the Gauleiter position in 1927 and was replaced by Walther von Corswant a Pomeranian knight estate holder 58 Corswant led the party from his estate in Kuntzow In the 1928 Reichstag elections the Nazis got 1 5 of the votes in Pomerania Party property was partially pawned In 1929 the party gained 4 1 of the votes Corswant was fired after conflicts with the party s leadership and replaced with Wilhelm Karpenstein one of the former students who formed the Pomeranian Nazi party in 1922 and since 1929 a lawyer in Greifswald He moved the headquarters to Stettin and replaced many of the party officials predominantly with young radicals In the Reichstag elections of September 14 1930 the party gained a significant 24 3 of the Pomeranian votes and thus became the second strongest party the strongest still being the DNVP which however was internally divided in the early 1930s 58 In the elections of July 1932 the Nazis gained 48 of the Pomeranian votes while the DNVP dropped to 15 8 In March 1933 the NSDAP gained 56 3 58 Nazi government since 1933 edit Immediately after their gain of power the Nazis began arresting their opponents In March 1933 200 people 59 were arrested this number rose to 600 60 during the following months In Stettin Bredow Szczecin Drzetowo at the site of the bankrupt Vulcan shipyards the Nazis set up a short lived wild concentration camp from October 1933 to March 1934 where SA maltreated their victims The Pomeranian SA in 1933 had grown to 100 000 members 14 Oberprasident Carl von Halfern retired in 1933 and with him one third of the Landrat and Oberburgermeister mayor officials 59 Also in 1933 an election was held for a new provincial parliament which then had a Nazi majority Decrees were issued that shifted all issues formerly in responsibility of the parliament to the Provinzialausschuss commission and furthermore shifted the power to decide on these issues from the Provinzialausschuss to the Oberprasident official although he had to hear the Provinzialrat commission before Once the power was shifted to the Oberprasident with the Provinzialrat as an advisor all organs of the Provinzialverband Provinziallandtag parliament Provinzialausschuss and all other commissions the former self administration of the province were dissolved except for the downgraded Provinzialrat which assembled about once a year without making use of its advisory rights The Landeshauptmann position the Provinzialverband s head was not abolished From 1933 Landeshauptmann would be a Nazi who was acting in line with the Oberprasident The law entered into force on April 1 1934 59 In 1934 many of the heads of the Pomeranian Nazi movement were exchanged SA leader Peter von Heydebreck was shot in Stadelheim near Munich due to his friendship to Rohm Gauleiter Karpenstein was arrested for two years and banned from Pomerania due to conflicts with the NSDAP headquarters His successor Franz Schwede Coburg replaced most of Karpenstein s staff with Corswant s earlier staff friends of him from Bavaria and SS From the 27 Kreisleiter officials 23 were forced out of office by Schwede Coburg who became Gauleiter on July 21 and Oberprasident on July 28 1934 14 As in all of Nazi Germany the Nazis established totalitarian control over the province through their policy of Gleichschaltung Deportation of the Pomeranian Jews edit In 1933 about 7 800 Jews lived in Pomerania of which a third lived in Stettin Szczecin The other two thirds were living all over the province Jewish communities numbering more than 200 people were in Stettin Kolberg Kolobrzeg Lauenburg in Pomerania Lebork and Stolp Slupsk 61 When the Nazis started to terrorize Jews many emigrated Twenty weeks after the Nazis seized power the number of Jewish Pomeranians had already dropped by eight percent 61 nbsp Memorial to the victims of the Kristallnacht in LocknitzBesides the repressions Jews had to endure in all Nazi Germany including the destruction of the Pomeranian synagogues on November 9 1938 Reichskristallnacht all male Stettin Jews were deported to Oranienburg concentration camp after this event and kept there for several weeks 62 On February 12 and 13 1940 1 000 to 1 300 Pomeranian Jews regardless of sex age and health were deported from Stettin and Schneidemuhl to the Lublin Lipowa Reservation that had been set up following the Nisko Plan in occupied Poland Among the deported were intermarried non Jewish women The deportation was carried out in an inhumane manner Despite low temperatures the carriages were not heated No food had been allowed to be taken along The property left behind was liquidated Up to 300 people perished from the deportation itself In the Lublin area under Kurt Engel s regime the people were subjected to inhumane treatment starvation and outright murder Only a few survived the war 63 64 Peter Simonstein Cullman in History of the Jewish Community of Schneidemuhl 1641 to the Holocaust and jewishgen org say that the Jews of Schneidemuhl were not deported together with the more than 1 000 Jews of Stettin Region who were subsequently sent to Piaski near Lublin in Poland based on lack of evidence in the archives of Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland cf file 75 C Re1 No 483 Bundesarchiv Berlin and USHMM Archives RG 14 003M Acc 1993 A 059 He concludes that while the deportations of the Jews of Schneidemuhl had indeed been planned by the Gestapo to coincide with the terrible events that occurred in Stettin those actions were not carried out together The deportations of all Jews from the Gau were primarily planned on orders of Franz Schwede Coburg the notorious Gauleiter of Pomerania in cahoots with several Nazi authorities of Schneidemuhl The Gauleiter s personal goal was to be the first in the Reich to declare his Gau Judenrein cleansed of Jews He based his statement on doc 795 of the Trial of Adolf Eichmann According to Cullmann the following events took place in Schneidemuhl On February 15 1940 an order had been issued by the Gestapo in Schneidemuhl that the Jews of that town should get ready to be deported within a week ostensibly to the Generalgouvernement in Eastern Poland When Dr Hildegard Bohme of the Reichsvereinigung had become aware of Gauleiter Schwede Coburg s plan and fearing a repetition of the events on the scale of the Stettin deportations her timely and tireless intervention on behalf of the Reichsvereinigung with the RSHA in Berlin resulted in a modification of the planned deportations of Schneidemuhl s Jews The Stapo the State police in Schneidemuhl however played its own part in the planned round up of the city s Jews by giving in to the local Nazi Party cadre and to the orders of the city s fanatic Mayor Friedrich Rogausch in concert with the Gauleiter The latter two are known to have planned a Schneidemuhl Aktion as a revenge for the earlier interference by the Reichsvereinigung in the Stettin deportations Thus on Wednesday February 21 1940 merely one week after the Stettin deportations one hundred and sixty Jews were arrested in Schneidemuhl while mass arrests of Jews took place concurrently within an 80 km 50 mi radius of Schneidemuhl in the surrounding administrative districts of Koslin Stettin and the former Grenzmark Posen Westpreussen whereby three hundred and eighty four Jews were seized by the Gestapo In total 544 Jews were arrested during the entire Aktion in and around Schneidemuhl Those rounded up ranged from two year old children to ninety year old men Surviving documents give a grim account of the subsequent Odyssey of those arrested By then it had been decreed in Berlin that the victims of the round up should not be sent to Poland but be kept within the so called Altreich i e within Germany s borders of 1937 Over the following eighteen months most of the arrested became ensnared in the Nazi s maw on a journey of terminal despair Only one young woman from Schneidemuhl survived the hell of Auschwitz Birkenau and the death marches of mid January 1945 65 Repressions against Polish minority edit nbsp Emblem of the pre war Polish Consulate in Szczecin removed from the consulate building by the Germans in September 1939 and thrown into the Oder River now an exhibit of the National Museum in SzczecinGrzeda 1994 says that in 1910 according to German data 10 500 Poles lived in the Stettin Szczecin area and that in his view the number was most likely reduced 66 Fenske 1993 and Buchholz et al 1999 say that in 1910 7 921 Poles lived steadily in the province 67 68 Skora 2001 says that in 1925 according to German data 5 914 Poles lived in the province 1 104 in the Stettin and 4 226 in the Koslin government regions while the Polish consul boldly assumed that over 9000 Poles lived in the province 69 Wynot 1996 says that during the interwar era between 22 500 and 27 000 Poles lived along the border of the Poznan Pomorze region the majority of whom were peasants with a small number of shopkeepers and craftsmen 70 In addition a colony of about 2 000 workers existed in Stettin 70 To maintain contact with the Poles of the province Poland opened a consulate in Szczecin in 1925 71 A number of the Poles in Szczecin Stettin were members of the Union of Poles in Germany a Polish scouts team was established there as well 72 page needed in addition to a Polish school where the Polish language was taught 73 Repressions intensified after Adolf Hitler came to power and led to closing of the school 72 Members of Polish community who took part in cultural and political activities were persecuted and even murdered In 1938 the head of Stettin s Union of Poles unit Stanislaw Borkowski was imprisoned in Oranienburg 72 In 1939 all Polish organisations in Stettin were disbanded by the authorities During the war two teachers from Polish school Golisz and Omieczynski were murdered 72 Resistance edit Resistance groups formed in the economical centers especially in Stettin from where most arrests were reported 60 Resistance is also reported from members of the nationalist conservative DNVP The monarchist Herbert von Bismarck Lasbeck was forced out of office in 1933 The newspaper Pommersche Tagespost was banned in 1935 after printing an article of monarchist Hans Joachim von Rohr 1888 1971 In 1936 four members of the DNVP were tried for founding a monarchist organization 74 Other DNVP members who had addressed their opposition already before 1933 were arrested multiple times after the Nazis had taken over Ewald Kleist Schmenzin Karl Magnus von Knebel Doberitz and Karl von Zitzewitz were active resistants 75 nbsp Dietrich BonhoefferWithin the Pomeranian provincial subsection of the Evangelical Church of the old Prussian Union resistance was organized within the Pfarrernotbund 150 members in late 1933 and Confessing Church Bekennende Kirche the successor organization headed by Reinold von Thadden Trieglaff In March 1935 55 priests were arrested The Confessing Church maintained a preachers seminar headed by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Zingst which moved to Finkenwalde Zdroje in 1935 and to Koslin and Gross Schlonwitz Slonowice in 1940 Within the Catholic Church the most prominent resistance member was Greifswald priest Alfons Wachsmann who was executed in 1944 76 After the failed assassination attempt of Hitler on July 20 1944 Gestapo arrested thirteen Pomeranian nobles and one burgher all knight estate owners Of those Ewald von Kleist Schmenzin had contacted Winston Churchill in 1938 to inform about the work of the German opposition to the Nazis and was executed in April 1945 Karl von Zitzewitz had connections to the Kreisauer Kreis group Among the other arrested were Malte von Veltheim Furst zu Putbus who died in a concentration camp as well as Alexander von Kameke and Oscar Caminecci Zettuhn who both were executed 77 World War II and aftermath editFirst war years edit The invasion of Poland by the Nazi Germany on September 1 1939 which marked the beginning of World War II was in part mounted from the province s soil General Guderian s 19th army corps attacked from the Schlochau Czluchow and Preussisch Friedland Debrzno areas which since 1938 belonged to the province Grenzmark Posen Westpreussen 78 The pre war persecution of Poles in the province further intensified in September 1939 with mass arrests of Polish activists teachers etc who were then sent to concentration camps 79 nbsp Polish prisoners of war in Stalag II BAccording to Kozlowski amp Krzywicki 1988 around 56 000 Polish POWs were located in Pomerania after the invasion and soon Germany stripped them of their status against international law turning them into forced labourers in April 1940 they were 82 417 of them in Pomerania with the number reaching 116 330 Polish forced labourers in 1944 September 80 Because the invasion of Poland and later the Soviet Union was a success and the battle front moved far more east Blitzkrieg the province was not the site of battles in the first years of the war Germany operated several prisoner of war camps including Stalag II B Stalag II C Stalag II D Stalag II E Stalag Luft I Stalag Luft II Stalag Luft IV Stalag Luft 7 Stalag 302 Stalag 351 Oflag II B Oflag II C Oflag II D and Oflag 65 for Polish POWs and civilians including women and children and French Belgian Dutch Serbian Italian American Canadian Australian New Zealander Czech Soviet Senegalese Tunisian Moroccan Algerian South African and other Allied POWs with numerous forced labour subcamps in the region 81 82 83 nbsp Former Germanisation camp for kidnapped Polish children in Polczyn ZdrojThere were also several subcamps of the Stutthof concentration camp 84 and several Nazi prisons with numerous forced labour subcamps in the region Polczyn Zdroj was the location of a Germanisation camp for kidnapped Polish children 85 Pila Unieszyno and Police housed camps for Sinti and Romani people see Romani Holocaust 86 87 88 The Polish resistance movement was active in the region including the Odra organization and local units of the Home Army Activities included espionage of German military activity infiltration of the local German industry sabotage actions distribution of Polish underground press 89 90 and facilitating escapes of Polish and British prisoners of war who fled from German POW camps by the Baltic Sea to neutral Sweden 91 Since 1943 the province became a target of allied air raids The first attack was launched against Stettin on April 21 1943 and left 400 dead On August 17 18 the British RAF launched an attack on Peenemunde where Wernher von Braun and his staff had developed and tested the world s first ballistic missiles In October Anklam was a target Throughout 1944 and early 1945 Stettin s industrial and residential areas were targets of air raids Stralsund was a target in October 1944 92 Despite these raids the province was regarded safe compared to other areas of the Third Reich and thus became a shelter for evacuees primarily from hard hit Berlin and the West German industrial centers 92 The Pomeranian Wall was renovated in the summer of 1944 and in the fall all men between sixteen and sixty years of age who had not yet been drafted were enrolled into Volkssturm units 92 In early 1945 German perpetrated death marches of prisoners of German POW camps and concentration camps passed through the region 93 94 95 The province of Pomerania became a battlefield on January 26 1945 when in the beginning of the Red Army s East Pomeranian Offensive Soviet tanks entered the province near Schneidemuhl Pila which surrendered on February 13 92 East Pomeranian Offensive edit nbsp The Battle of Kolberg left 80 of the town in ruins On February 14 the remnants of German Army Group Vistula Heeresgruppe Weichsel had managed to set up a frontline roughly at the province s southern frontier and launched a counterattack Operation Solstice Sonnenwende on February 15 that however stalled already on February 18 On February 24 the Second Belorussian Front launched the East Pomeranian Offensive and despite heavy resistance primarily in the Rummelsburg Miastko area took eastern Farther Pomerania until March 10 On March 1 the First Belorussian Front had launched an offensive from the Stargard and Markisch Friedland Miroslawiec area and succeeded in taking northwestern Farther Pomerania within five days Cut off corps group Tettau retreated to Dziwna as a moving pocket until March 11 Thus German held central Farther Pomerania was cut off and taken after the Battle of Kolberg March 4 to 18 96 The fast advances of the Red Army during the East Pomeranian Offensive caught the civilian Farther Pomeranian population by surprise The land route to the west was blocked since early March Evacuation orders were issued not at all or much too late The only way out of Farther Pomerania was via the ports of Stolpmunde Ustka from which 18 300 were evacuated Rugenwalde Darlowo from which 4 300 were evacuated and Kolberg which had been declared fortress and from which before the end of the Battle of Kolberg some 70 000 were evacuated Those left behind became victims of murder war rape and plunder On March 6 the USAF shelled Swinemunde where thousands of refugees were stranded killing an estimated 25 000 97 Battle of Berlin edit On March 20 the Wehrmacht abandoned the last bridgehead on the Oder rivers eastern bank the Altdamm area The frontline then ran along Dziwna and lower Oder and was held by the 3rd Panzer Army commanded by general Hasso von Manteuffel After another four days of fighting the Red Army managed to break through and cross the Oder between Stettin and Gartz Oder thus starting the northern theater of the Battle of Berlin on March 24 Stettin was abandoned the next day 97 Throughout April the Second Belorussian Front led by general Konstantin Rokossovsky advanced through Western Pomerania Demmin and Greifswald surrendered on April 30 97 In Demmin more than 1 000 people committed mass suicides after the Red Army had conquered the town facing only modest resistance Coroner lists show that most drowned in the nearby River Tollense and River Peene while others poisoned themselves This was fueled by atrocities rapes pillage and executions committed by Red Army soldiers after the Peene bridge had been destroyed by retreating German troops 80 percent of the town was destroyed in the first 3 days after its conquest 98 In the first days of May Wehrmacht abandoned Usedom and Wollin islands and on May 5 the last German troops departed from Sassnitz on the island of Rugen Two days later Wehrmacht surrendered unconditionally to the Red Army 97 Dissolution of the province edit nbsp Western part of the former province Western Pomerania Vorpommern red in modern Germany grey nbsp Post war Polish part of the pre 1937 province of PomerniaBy the terms of the Potsdam Agreement Western Pomerania east of the Oder Neisse line became part of Poland This line left the Oder river north of Gartz Oder and included the Szczecin and Swinoujscie area into the Polish state The remaining German population was expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement and the area was resettled with Poles Western Pomerania west of the Oder Neisse line was merged with Mecklenburg to constitute the state of Mecklenburg Vorpommern in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany that in 1949 became the German Democratic Republic GDR Vorpommern was soon dropped from the federal state s name and after the GDR states were abolished the coastal Western Pomeranian Landkreis districts became part of Bezirk Rostock whereas the mainland Landkreis districts became part of Bezirk Neubrandenburg In 1990 after the GDR communist system was overthrown the state of Mecklenburg Vorpommern was recreated with Vorpommern being a non administrative region The districts Vorpommern Rugen and Vorpommern Greifswald constitute most of the German part of former Pomerania but these districts also contain some former Mecklenburgian territory and a small part of former Pomerania is now part of Brandenburg Due to this the old Pomeranian border disappeared from the map and today is only prevailed by the border of the Pomeranian Evangelical Church The part of the province of Pomerania which had become Polish was re organized as Szczecin Voivodeship after the war from which the eastern part was split off as Koszalin Voivodeship in 1950 Slupsk Voivodeship was split off from this voivodeship in 1975 there were also territorial exchanges with neighboring voivodeships Since 1999 the area of the former province of Pomerania is included in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship Zachodniopomorskie bulk and Pomeranian Voivodeship western part around Slupsk Administrative subdivisions editKoslin government region Farther Pomerania edit Main article Region of Koslin See also Farther Pomerania Lauenburg and Butow Land and List of towns in Farther Pomerania nbsp Province of Pomerania in 1905The Koslin government region Regierungsbezirk Koslin was the administrative name for the region of Farther Pomerania Hinterpommern along with the smaller region of Lauenburg and Butow Land easternmost part 18 These parts of Pomerania were integrated into the Brandenburg Prussian Province of Pomerania 1653 1815 already after the Thirty Years War During the war the noble House of Pomerania Griffins ruling the Duchy of Pomerania since the 1120s became extinct in the male line with the death of Bogislaw XIV in 1637 Throughout the existence of the Griffin Duchy Brandenburg had claimed overlordship and was asserted of Pomerania inheritance in numerous treaties Yet Sweden had been one of the most important players in the war and as such she was awarded some of her territorial gains in Pomerania after the war by the Peace of Westphalia thwarting Brandenburg Prussia s ambitions for inheritance of the whole former Duchy of Pomerania This led to tensions between Brandenburg Prussia and Sweden in Pomerania until Sweden lost her Western Pomeranian possessions in 1720 Stettin government region and 1815 Stralsund government region Landkreis Lauenburg Butow comprised the Lauenburg and Butow Land a Pomerelian borderland with a somewhat different history than the rest of Pomerania It was in 1846 dissolved into smaller administrative units In contrast to ethnic German Pomerania this area also had a Kashubian population Landkreis Furstenthum comprised the earlier secular possessions of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kammin prince bishops and was ruled by administrators from the Pomeranian ducal house since the aftermath of the Reformation until 1650 Until 1872 the area kept its territorial integrity before it was dissolved into smaller administrative units Subdivisions edit urban districts Stadtkreise Stolp 18 population 27 293 1900 50 377 1939 Koslin 18 split off Landkreis Koslin in 1923 population 33 479 1939 Kolberg 18 split off Landkreis Kolberg Korlin in 1920 population 36 617 1939 rural districts Landkreise Landkreis Belgard Persante 18 population 47 097 1900 79 183 1939 Landkreis Dramburg 18 population 35 863 1900 Landkreis Furstenthum 18 1816 1872 1872 divided into Landkreis Bublitz 18 population 20 916 1900 in 1932 merged into Landkreis Koslin Landkreis Kolberg Korlin 18 population 57 871 1900 38 785 1939 Landkreis Koslin 18 population 48 678 1900 80 287 1939 Landkreis Greifenberg i Pom 18 until 1939 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stettin population 47 891 1939 Landkreis Lauenburg Butow 18 the Lauenburg and Butow Land 1846 divided into Landkreis Butow 18 population 26 021 1900 28 018 1939 Landkreis Lauenburg i Pom 18 population 45 986 1900 63 985 1939 Landkreis Neustettin 18 population 76 101 1900 since 1938 administered by Regierungsbezirk Grenzmark Posen Westpreussen Regenwalde 18 49 668 1939 until 1938 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stettin Landkreis Rummelsburg i Pom 18 population 33 785 1900 40 692 1939 Landkreis Schivelbein 18 population 19 656 1900 in 1932 merged into Landkreis Belgard Persante Landkreis Schlawe i Pom 18 population 73 206 1900 78 363 1939 Landkreis Stolp 18 population 75 310 1900 83 009 1939 Stettin government region Western Pomerania edit See also Western Pomerania Swedish Pomerania List of towns in Vorpommern and List of towns in Farther Pomerania The Stettin government region Regierungsbezirk Stettin since 1932 comprised the region of Western Pomerania Vorpommern Hither Pomerania the former Swedish Pomerania 18 From 1815 the Stettin government region comprised only the southern parts of Western Pomerania Old Western Pomerania i e south of the Peene river 18 This part had been Swedish only until 1720 thereafter it was merged into the Prussian Province of Pomerania 1653 1815 New Western Pomerania north of the river was administered as Regierungsbezirk Stralsund until it was merged into Regierungsbezirk Stettin in 1932 Stettin the former ducal residence was made capital of the province and also was the administrative center of the Regierungsbezirk Stettin 18 Subdivisions edit nbsp Pyritz Pyrzyce urban districts Stadtkreise Greifswald 18 until 1932 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stralsund population 37 051 1939 Stargard Pommern 18 split off Landkreis Saatzig in 1901 population 39 760 1939 Stettin 18 population 210 702 1900 382 984 1939 Stralsund 18 until 1932 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stralsund population 52 931 1939 rural districts Landkreise Landkreis Anklam 18 population 32 693 1900 39 527 1939 Landkreis Cammin i Pom 18 population 42 485 1900 45 694 1939 Landkreis Demmin 18 population 48 090 1900 54 769 1939 Landkreis Franzburg Barth Capital Barth 18 until 1932 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stralsund population 55 542 1939 Landkreis Greifenberg i Pom 18 population 37 483 1900 after 1939 administered by Regierungsbezirk Koslin Landkreis Greifenhagen 18 population 48 258 1900 69 326 1939 Landkreis Greifswald 18 until 1932 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stralsund population 39 207 1939 Landkreis Grimmen 18 until 1932 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stralsund population 42 259 1939 Landkreis Naugard 18 population 52 777 1900 61 320 1939 Landkreis Pyritz 18 population 42 686 1900 48 418 1939 Landkreis Randow 18 population 94 859 1900 partitioned in 1939 by Stadtkreis Stettin Landkreis Greifenhagen Landkreis Ueckermunde and Landkreis Naugard Landkreis Rugen Capital Bergen auf Rugen until 1932 administered by Regierungsbezirk Stralsund population 62 261 1939 Landkreis Regenwalde 18 population 44 954 1900 Landkreis Saatzig Capital Stargard Pommern 18 population 69 762 1900 43 258 1939 Landkreis Ueckermunde 18 population 56 767 1900 79 996 1939 Landkreis Usedom Wollin Capital Swinemunde 18 population 52 193 1900 83 479 1939 Stralsund government region Northwest edit Main article Region of Stralsund See also Western Pomerania Swedish Pomerania Principality of Rugen and List of towns in Vorpommern nbsp Districts of the province of Pomerania 1913 with the Stralsund government region shown in Blue The Stralsund government region Regierungsbezirk Stralsund comprised the Western Pomeranian region of Neuvorpommern The reason for creating a Regierungsbezirk as small as Stralsund was that Neuvorpommern had a somewhat different history than the rest of Pomerania This region consisting of the island of Rugen and the adjacent mainland between the Recknitz and Peene rivers made up the Rani and Danish Principality of Rugia in the Middle Ages Although it was inherited by the Pomeranian dukes in 1325 the region was for some time governed as the splinter duchy of Pomerania Barth While a part of Swedish Pomerania Denmark maintained her old claims and occupied the area in 1715 during the Great Northern War Yet the Danes were forced to return it to Sweden by the 1720 Treaty of Stockholm Great Northern War In the 1813 Treaty of Kiel Denmark again gained nominal overlordship yet was unable to pay her war reparations to Sweden and awarded her claim to Prussia in the 1815 Congress of Vienna along with her debts in exchange for the Duchy of Lauenburg The name New Western Pomerania Neuvorpommern stems from that era to distinguish the Western Pomeranian areas south of the Peene River gained by Prussia in 1720 Old Western Pomerania or Altvorpommern from the northern regions gained in 1815 and to replace the outdated term Principality of Rugen When merged into the province in 1815 Neuvorpommern was guaranteed her constitution to be left in place The administration was led by the former Swedish general governour prince Malte von Putbus until Regierungsbezirk Stralsund was officially created in 1818 Prussian law Allgemeines Preussisches Landrecht and Preussisches Stadtrecht was not enforced and the Swedish jurisdiction with the court in Greifswald was left in place 99 Regierungsbezirk Stralsund was fused into Regierungsbezirk Stettin in 1932 Subdivisions edit urban districts Stadtkreise Stralsund 18 split off Landkreis Franzburg Barth in 1874 population 31 076 1900 Greifswald 18 split off Landkreis Greifswald in 1913 rural districts Landkreise Landkreis Franzburg Barth 18 population 41 704 1900 Landkreis Greifswald 18 population 61 840 1900 Landkreis Grimmen 18 population 35 540 1900 Landkreis Rugen capital Bergen auf Rugen 18 population 46 270 1900 Posen West Prussia government region edit See also Posen West Prussia and List of towns in Farther Pomerania nbsp Districts of the province of Pomerania 1939 with the Posen West Prussia government region shown in Green The Posen West Prussia government region Regierungsbezirk Grenzmark Posen Westpreussen was created in 1938 from the northern part of the former Prussian province of Posen West Prussia known as the Schneidemuhl government region Following World War I most of the Prussian provinces of Posen and West Prussia became part of the Second Polish Republic The remainders of these provinces formed the province of Posen West Prussia combining small German settled regions all along the new German Polish border Grenzmark meaning border march In 1938 this province was dissolved and partitioned between Pomerania Brandenburg and Silesia The Pomeranian share was extended by the districts of Neustettin and Dramburg formerly administered by Regierungsbezirk Koslin 18 The formerly Branderburgian districts of Arnswalde and Friedeberg were also incorporated into the Posen West Prussia government region During World War II it became a battlefield and was occupied by the Red Army in early 1945 Shortly thereafter by the terms of the Potsdam Agreement the Grenzmark which was part of Polish Pomerania and Greater Poland before the Partitions of Poland became again part of Poland and the remaining German population was expelled Subdivisions edit urban districts Stadtkreise Schneidemuhl 18 rural districts Landkreise Landkreis Arnswalde 18 Landkreis Deutsch Krone 18 Landkreis Dramburg 18 Landkreis Flatow 18 Landkreis Friedeberg Nm 18 Netzekreis capital Schonlanke 18 Landkreis Neustettin 18 Landkreis Schlochau 18 Demographics edit1818 The province with an estimated area of 540 Prussian square miles had a population of 630 000 The Prussian state official Staatsminister von Beyme stated in his report that the province was in a low state of population and culture 99 1823 In 1823 Georg Hassel published the following data about the population of the province of Pomerania 100 Ethnic structure Nationalverschiedenheit of the province of Pomerania in 1817 1819 100 Ethnic group Population number Population percent Germans Deutsche 633 000 90 3 Slavic Wends and Kashubians Wenden und Kassuben 65 000 9 3 Jews Juden 2 976 0 4 Total 700 765 100 0 According to Georg Hassel there were 65 000 Slavic speakers in the whole Provinz Pommern in 1817 1819 Modern estimates for just eastern parts of Pommern in early 1800s range between 40 000 Leszek Belzyt and 25 000 Jan Mordawski Zygmunt Szultka The number declined to between 35 000 and 23 000 Zygmunt Szultka Leszek Belzyt in the years 1827 1831 In the 1850 1860s there were an estimated 23 000 to 17 000 Slavic speakers left in Pommern down to 15 000 in year 1892 according to Stefan Ramult The number was declining due to Germanisation The bulk of Slavic population in 19th century Pommern was concentrated in its easternmost counties especially Bytow Butow Lebork Lauenburg and Slupsk Stolp Until 1841 immigration to the province was higher than emigration This trend reversed since 1850 However the population grew further due to high birth rates 101 1850 1 255 900 inhabitants predominantly Protestants 11 100 Catholics 9 700 Jews and 100 Mennonites 102 1858 1 125 000 people 28 of whom lived in towns 103 1871 1 431 492 people 68 7 of those lived in communities with less than 2 000 inhabitants 104 1875 1 445 852 people lived in the province then with an area of 30 131 km2 Of those 685 147 lived in Regierungsbezirk Stettin and 554 201 in Regierungsbezirk Koslin 105 1890 1 520 889 people 62 3 of those lived in communities with less than 2 000 inhabitants and 7 6 in Stettin 104 Among them were 1 476 300 Protestants 27 476 Catholics 4 587 persons belonging to other Christian religious groups 200 dissidents and 12 246 Jews 1 519 397 were citizens of the German Empire 758 came from foreign territories attached to the empire and 734 did not belong to any of these groups With the exception of 10 666 persons composed of Poles Kashubians and Masurians all people of the Province used German as their native language 106 According to Stefan Ramult the number of Slavic speakers was higher 15 000 just in the three easternmost counties of Stolp Lauenburg and Butow in year 1892 Between 1871 and 1914 the prime characteristic of the province s demography was migration from the rural areas first to urban centers Landflucht then to destinations in other German provinces and overseas Ostflucht Despite the emigration during this time span the population increased by 300 000 people 107 Between 1871 and 1880 61 700 people emigrated to America 107 Between 1881 and 1890 132 100 people emigrated to America 95 000 of these emigrated between 1881 and 1885 107 Between 1891 and 1900 56 700 people emigrated to America 107 Between 1871 and 1895 242 505 people emigrated from the province primarily from 1880 to 1885 95 000 emigrants 108 Between 1880 and 1910 426 000 more people emigrated than immigrated Emigrants came primarily from rural areas which they left for economic reasons prime destinations were Ruhr area and Berlin Ostflucht 109 Most people emigrated from Regierungsbezirk Koslin where the population numbers of 1880 were only reached again in 1899 107 The Province of Pomerania was one of the three provinces the other two were West Prussia and Province of Posen responsible for most of the German emigrants who went overseas Imperial Commissioners for emigration Reichskommissar fur Auswanderung organized emigration from Hamburg Bremen Stettin and Swinemunde Emigration to overseas ended in 1893 when in America the free availability of soil claims ended 110 1905 Of 1 684 326 inhabitants 1 616 550 were Protestants 50 206 Roman Catholics and 9660 Jews 1900 14 162 Polish speakers at the West Prussian border and 310 Kashubian speakers at the Lakes Lebasee and Gardescher See 111 1907 440 000 people born in the province lived in other areas of Germany 107 1910 1 716 921 inhabitants 55 3 of those lived in communities with less than 2 000 inhabitants and 13 7 in Stettin 104 Of those the majority was Protestant 1 637 299 i e 95 36 56 298 were Roman Catholics 3 27 less than one percent were Old Lutherans primarily in the Cammin and Greifenberg counties and 8862 were Jews 0 52 112 Polish seasonal workers were employed in Pomeranian agriculture since the 1890s initially to replace the emigrants 110 In 1910 7921 Poles lived steadily in the province In 1912 12 000 seasonal workers were employed in agriculture in 1914 their number increased to 42 000 68 1919 On October 8 1919 the province had 1 787 179 inhabitants This population had increased by 160 000 in 1925 113 On October 1 1938 the bulk of the former Province of Posen West Prussia was merged into the province of Pomerania adding an area of 5 787 km2 2 234 sq mi with a population of 251 000 78 On October 15 Stettin s city limits were expanded to an area of 460 km2 180 sq mi housing 383 000 people 78 During the Soviet conquest of Farther Pomerania and the subsequent expulsions of Germans until 1950 498 000 people from the part of the province east of the Oder Neisse line died making up for 26 4 of the former population Of the 498 000 dead 375 000 were civilians and 123 000 were Wehrmacht soldiers Low estimates give a million expellees from the then Polish part of the province in 1945 and the following years Only 7 100 km2 2 700 sq mi remained with Germany about a fourth of the province s size before 1938 and a fifth of the size thereafter 17 Modern inhabitants edit During the Polish post war census of December 1950 data about the pre war places of residence of the inhabitants as of August 1939 was collected In the case of children born between September 1939 and December 1950 their origin was reported based on the pre war places of residence of their mothers Thanks to this data it is possible to reconstruct the pre war geographical origin of the post war population The same territory corresponding to 1939 Provinz Pommern east of the Oder Neisse line which became part of Poland in 1945 was inhabited as of December 1950 by 1950 population by place of residence back in 1939 114 Region within 1939 borders Number PercentAutochthons 1939 DE FCD citizens 70 209 6 7 Polish expellees from Kresy USSR 250 091 24 0 Poles from abroad except the USSR 18 607 1 8 Resettlers from the City of Warsaw 37 285 3 6 From Warsaw region Masovia 73 936 7 1 From Bialystok region and Sudovia 16 081 1 5 From pre war Polish Pomerania 145 854 14 0 Resettlers from Poznan region 81 215 7 8 Katowice region East Upper Silesia 11 869 1 1 Resettlers from the City of Lodz 8 344 0 8 Resettlers from Lodz region 76 128 7 3 Resettlers from Kielce region 78 340 7 5 Resettlers from Lublin region 81 167 7 8 Resettlers from Krakow region 18 237 1 7 Resettlers from Rzeszow region 57 965 5 6 place of residence in 1939 unknown 17 891 1 7 Total pop in December 1950 1 043 219 100 0 Over 90 of the 1950 population were newcomers to the region with less than 10 residing in German Province of Pomerania already back in August 1939 so called autochthons who had German citizenship before World War II and were granted Polish citizenship after 1945 The largest group among new inhabitants were Poles expelled from areas of Eastern Poland annexed by the Soviet Union The second largest group were newcomers from pre war Polish part of historical Pomerania The third largest group were Poles from pre war Poznan Voivodeship of Poland See also editList of towns in Western Pomerania List of towns in Farther PomeraniaReferences edit Der Name Pommern po more ist slawischer Herkunft und bedeutet so viel wie Land am Meer German Pommersches Landesmuseum a b c Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 366 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 a b Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 393ff ISBN 3 88680 272 8 a b c Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 420ff ISBN 3 88680 272 8 a b Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 412 413 464ff ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 400ff ISBN 3 88680 272 8 a b c Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 472ff ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 443ff 481ff ISBN 3 88680 272 8 a b Adolf Hitler a biographical companion David Nicholls page 178 November 1 2000 The main nationalist party the German National People s Party DNVP was divided between reactionary conservative monarchists who wished to turn the clock back to the pre 1918 Kaisereich and more radicalvolkischand anti Semitic elements It also inherited the support of the old Pan German League whose nationalists rested on the belief in the inherent superiority of the German people Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 377ff 439ff 491ff ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Polonia szczecinska 1890 1939 Anna Poniatowska Boguslaw Drewniak Poznan 1961 HITLER S PLANS FOR EASTERN EUROPE Archived April 13 2012 at the Wayback Machine The Origins of the Final Solution Christopher R Browning Jurgen Matthaus page 64 University of Nebraska Press 2007 a b c Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 500ff 509ff ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Nathan Stoltzfus Resistance of the Heart Intermarriage and the Rosenstrasse Protest in Nazi Germany Rutgers University Press 2001 ISBN 0 8135 2909 3 p 130 February 11 12 from Stettin soon thereafter from Schneidemuhl total of 1 260 Jews deported among the deportees were intermarried non Jewish women who had refused to divorce eager Nazi Gauleiter Schwede Coburg was the first to have his Gau judenfrei Eichmann s RSHA Reich Security Main Office ensured this was an isolated local incident to worried Eppstein of the Central Organization of Jews in Germany Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 511 515 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 a b Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 515 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi Peter Oliver Loew Staatsarchiv Stettin Wegweiser durch die Bestande bis zum Jahr 1945 a translation of Radoslaw Gazinski Pawel Gut Maciej Szukala Archiwum Panstwowe w Szczecinie Poland Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwow Panstwowych Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag 2004 pp 91 92 ISBN 3 486 57641 0 Meyers Grosses Konversationslexikon 6th edition Vol 16 Leipzig Wien Bibliographisches Institut 1909 p 134 Der Grosse Brockhaus 15th edition Vol 14 Leipzig Brockhaus Verlag 1933 p 741 a b Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 366 369 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Allgemeines Gesetz wegen Anordnung der Provinzialstande Gesetz wegen Anordnung der Provinzialstande im Herzogtum Pommern und im Furstentum Rugen Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 375 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 a b Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 377 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Kreisordnung des Herzogtums Pommern und des Furstentums Rugen of 17 August 1825 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 377ff 439ff ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 447ff ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Gesetz uber Klein und Privatanschlussbahnen Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 464 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 462 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 413ff 447ff ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 465 467 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 465 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 a b Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 457 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 this data ha of farmland substitute for monetary payment is marked in the source as referring to Regierungsbezirk Stettin and Koslin only note that the Stralsund district with its Swedish law had a somewhat different standing Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 406 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 titled Ablosung der Reallasten und die Regulierung der gutsherrlichen und bauerlichen Verhaltnisse Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 416 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 full name Provinzialordnung fur die Provinzen Preussen Brandenburg Pommern Schlesien und Sachsen Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 420ff 450 453 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Landgemeindeordnung for the eastern provinces of Prussia Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 453 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 a b c Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 443ff ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 468 469 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 469 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 471 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Landarbeiterverordnung a b c d e f g Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 472 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Junker Ewald von Kleist Schmenzin after the Kaiser s abdication assembled the workers of his estate and stated in disgrace As long as the king of Prussia is by injustice hindered in his government I will function as his substitute in the Schmenzin estate Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 471 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Heitmann Margret Schoeps Julius H Neubach Helmut 1995 Ich halte fern dem ganzen Land jedes Verderben Geschichte und Kultur der Juden in Pommern in German Hildesheim Zurich New York Moses Mendelsohn Zentrum fur europaisch judische Studien Salomon Ludwig Steinheim Institut fur deutsch judische Geschichte pp 345 ff ISBN 3 487 10074 6 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a work ignored help a b Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 443ff ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 481 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 a b Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 485 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Ansiedlungen based on the Reichssiedlungsgesetz law of 1919 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 479ff ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 446 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 a b c Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 491ff ISBN 3 88680 272 8 a b c Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 509 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 a b Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 500 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 a b Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 506 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 510 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Lucie Adelsberger Arthur Joseph Slavin Susan H Ray Deborah E Lipstadt Auschwitz A Doctor s Story Northeastern University Press 1995 ISBN 1 55553 233 0 p 138 February 12 13 1940 Isaiah Trunk Jacob Robinson Judenrat The Jewish Councils in Eastern Europe Under Nazi Occupation U of Nebraska Press 1996 ISBN 0 8032 9428 X p 133 February 14 1940 unheated wagons elderly and sick suffered most inhumane treatment Leni Yahil Ina Friedman Haya Galai The Holocaust The Fate of European Jewry 1932 1945 Oxford University Press US 1991 ISBN 0 19 504523 8 p 138 February 12 13 1940 1 300 Jews of all sexes and ages extreme cruelty no food allowed to be taken along cold some died during deportation cold and snow during resettlement 230 dead by March 12 Lublin reservation chosen in winter 30 000 Germans resettled before to make room 1 Martin Gilbert Eilert Herms Alexandra Riebe Geistliche als Retter auch eine Lehre aus dem Holocaust Auch eine Lehre aus dem Holocaust Mohr Siebeck 2003 ISBN 3 16 148229 8 pp 14 English and 15 German February 15 1940 1000 Jews deported Jean Claude Favez John Fletcher Beryl Fletcher The Red Cross and the Holocaust Cambridge University Press 1999 ISBN 0 521 41587 X p 33 February 12 13 1 100 Jews deported 300 died en route 2 Yad Vashem Studies Yad ṿa shem rashut ha zikaron la Shoʼah ṿela gevurah Yad Vashem Martyrs and Heroes Remembrance Authority 1996 Notizen v 12 p 69 1 200 deported 250 died during deportation Nathan Stoltzfus Resistance of the Heart Intermarriage and the Rosenstrasse Protest in Nazi Germany Rutgers University Press 2001 ISBN 0 8135 2909 3 p 130 February 11 12 from Stettin soon thereafter from Schneidemuhl total of 1 260 Jews deported among the deportees were intermarried non Jewish women who had refused to divorce eager Nazi Gauleiter Schwede Coburg was the first to have his Gau judenfrei Eichmann s RSHA Reich Security Main Office assured worried Eppstein of the Central Organization of Jews in Germany Reichsvereinigung der Juden in Deutschland that this was an isolated local incident John Mendelsohn Legalizing the Holocaust the Later Phase 1939 1943 Garland Pub 1982 ISBN 0 8240 4876 8 p 131 Stettin Jews houses were sealed belongings liquidated funds to be held in blocked accounts Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 p 506 Only very few of the Pomeranian Jews survived the Nazi era p 510 Nearly all Jews from Stettin and all the province about a thousand Alicia Nitecki Jack Terry Jakub s World A Boy s Story of Loss and Survival in the Holocaust SUNY Press 2005 ISBN 0 7914 6407 5 pp 13ff Stettin Jews to Belzyce in Lublin area reservation purpose decline of Jews terror command of Kurt Engels shocking insights in life circumstances The deportations of the Jews of Schneidemuhl a synopsis JewishGen ShtetlLinks Retrieved November 15 2009 Peter Simonstein Cullman History of the Jewish Community of Schneidemuhl 1641 to the Holocaust Avotaynu Inc 2006 ISBN 1 886223 27 0 pp 170 183 Untergang Polonia sczcecinska na przelomie dwoch epok 1930 1935 Marian Grzeda Uniwersytet Szczecinski 1994 page 21 Fenske Hans Die Verwaltung Pommerns 1815 1945 Aufbau und Ertrag Bohlau Koln Weimar 1993 p 12 ISBN 3 412 13892 4 a b Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 534 535 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Skora Wojciech Konsulat Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej w Szczecinie w latach 1925 1939 powstanie i dzialalnosc Wojciech Skora page 124 Pomorska Akademia Pedagogiczna w Slupsku 2001 a b The Poles in Germany 1919 1939 East European Quarterly Summer 1996 by Edward D Wynot Jr 3 quote This paper attempts to fill that apparent gap in scholarship by providing an overview of the Polish minority in inter war Germany Whatever its actual size the German Polish population was internally differentiated in terms of both geographical dispersal and socio economic profile By far most lived in areas that adjoined the Polish Republic The final group in this category lived along the border of the Poznan Pomorze region 22 500 27 000 where for the most part they formed Polish islands surrounded by a German sea The majority were peasants with a smattering of small shopkeepers and craftsmen sprinkled among their midst and a colony of about 2 000 workers living in the port of Stettin Szczecin Ceranka Pawel Szczepanik Krzysztof 2020 Urzedy konsularne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 1918 1945 Informator archiwalny in Polish Warszawa Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwow Panstwowych Ministerstwo Spraw Zagranicznych p 376 ISBN 978 83 65681 93 5 a b c d Tadeusz Bialecki Historia Szczecina Zaklad Narodowy im Ossolinskich 1992 Wroclaw Polski ruch narodowy w Niemczech w latach 1922 1939 Wojciech Wrzesinski page 200 Ossolineum 1993 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 489 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 505 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 506 510 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 505 512 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 a b c Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 511 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Cyganski Miroslaw 1984 Hitlerowskie przesladowania przywodcow i aktywu Zwiazkow Polakow w Niemczech w latach 1939 1945 Przeglad Zachodni in Polish 4 48 49 54 Historyczna droga do polskiego Szczecina wybor dokumentow i opracowan Kazimierz Kozlowski Stanislaw Krzywicki page 86 Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza 1988 Megargee Geoffrey P Overmans Rudiger Vogt Wolfgang 2022 The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933 1945 Volume IV Indiana University Press United States Holocaust Memorial Museum pp 221 230 232 284 353 393 397 398 401 503 505 507 510 ISBN 978 0 253 06089 1 Les Kommandos Stalag IIB Hammerstein Czarne en Pologne in French Retrieved December 12 2023 Aniszewska Jolanta 2011 W obowiazku pamieci Stalag II D i formy upamietnienia jencow wojennych w Stargardzie Szczecinskim Lambinowicki rocznik muzealny in Polish Opole 34 21 Glinski Miroslaw Podobozy i wieksze komanda zewnetrzne obozu Stutthof 1939 1945 Stutthof Zeszyty Muzeum in Polish 3 160 ISSN 0137 5377 Lebensborn Polczyn Zdroj in Polish Retrieved December 12 2023 Lager fur Sinti und Roma Schneidemuhl Bundesarchiv de in German Retrieved December 12 2023 Lager fur Sinti und Roma Wunneschin Bundesarchiv de in German Retrieved December 12 2023 Lager fur Sinti und Roma Stettin Bundesarchiv de in German Retrieved December 12 2023 Chrzanowski Bogdan 2022 Polskie Panstwo Podziemne na Pomorzu w latach 1939 1945 in Polish Gdansk IPN pp 47 48 57 ISBN 978 83 8229 411 8 Encyklopedia konspiracji Wielkopolskiej 1939 1945 in Polish Poznan Instytut Zachodni 1998 p 625 ISBN 83 85003 97 5 Chrzanowski Bogdan Organizacja sieci przerzutow droga morska z Polski do Szwecji w latach okupacji hitlerowskiej 1939 1945 Stutthof Zeszyty Muzeum in Polish 5 29 30 ISSN 0137 5377 a b c d Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 512 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Glinski Miroslaw Ewakuacja i wyzwolenie obozu Stutthof 25 stycznia 9 maja 1945 Stutthof Zeszyty Muzeum in Polish 3 189 ISSN 0137 5377 Kaszuba Sylwia February 9 2024 Marsz 1945 In Grudziecka Beata ed Stalag XX B historia nieopowiedziana in Polish Malbork Muzeum Miasta Malborka pp 108 109 ISBN 978 83 950992 2 9 Stalag Luft IV Marsz Smierci Miasto Bialogard in Polish Retrieved December 12 2023 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 512 515 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 a b c d Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 514 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Goeschel Christian 2009 Suicide in Nazi Germany Oxford University Press p 162 ISBN 978 0 19 953256 8 Tief vergraben nicht dran ruhren Der Spiegel March 30 2005 in German Kriegsende in Demmin Archived February 28 2009 at the Wayback Machine Norddeutscher Rundfunk in German Tragodie an der Peene Focus May 8 1995 in German Bscheid Andrea Karoline 2009 Das Nurnberger Bundnis gegen Depression PDF in German University of Munich p 19 Buske Norbert Hg Das Kriegsende in Demmin 1945 Berichte Erinnerungen Dokumente Landeszentrale fur politische Bildung Mecklenburg Vorpommern Landeskundliche Hefte Schwerin 1995 a b Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 369 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 a b Hassel Georg 1823 Statistischer Umriss der sammtlichen europaischen und der vornehmsten aussereuropaischen Staaten in Hinsicht ihrer Entwickelung Grosse Volksmenge Finanz und Militarverfassung tabellarisch dargestellt Erster Heft Welcher die beiden grossen Machte Osterreich und Preussen und den Deutschen Staatenbund darstellt Verlag des Geographischen Instituts Weimar p 31 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 400 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Brockhaus Konversations Lexikon 10th edition vol 12 Leipzig 1854 pp 258 259 Jan M Piskorski Pommern im Wandel der Zeiten p 249 ISBN 83 906184 8 6 OCLC 43087092 a b c Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 448 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 427 428 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Brockhaus Konversations Lexikon 14th edition vol 13 Leipzig 1895 p 259 a b c d e f Jan M Piskorski Pommern im Wandel der Zeiten p 262 ISBN 83 906184 8 6 OCLC 43087092 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 535 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 429 430 456 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 a b Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 456 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Meyers Konversations Lexikon 1905 online at Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 p 439 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Werner Buchholz Pommern Siedler 1999 pp 470 471 ISBN 3 88680 272 8 Kosinski Leszek 1960 Pochodzenie terytorialne ludnosci Ziem Zachodnich w 1950 r Territorial origins of inhabitants of the Western Lands in year 1950 PDF Dokumentacja Geograficzna in Polish Warsaw PAN Polish Academy of Sciences Institute of Geography 2 Tabela 1 data by county via Repozytorium Cyfrowe Instytutow Naukowych External links editAdministrative Subdivision of the Province of Pomerania in 1900 10 in German Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Province of Pomerania 1815 1945 amp oldid 1205329788, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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