Prussian Partition

The Prussian Partition refers to the lands that were once part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth but were taken over by the Kingdom of Prussia during the Partitions of Poland in the late 1700s. This happened in three stages, with the first in 1772, the second in 1793, and the third in 1795. By the end of these partitions, Poland no longer existed as a country for over 100 years.

The Prussian Partition covered an area of about 141,400 square kilometers, which was the western part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. This land was added to Prussia, changing the borders and lives of many people living there. For more information about the other areas taken during this time, you can read about the Russian Partition and the Austrian Partition.

History

Main article: First Partition of Poland

Main article: Second Partition of Poland

Main article: Third Partition of Poland

The Kingdom of Prussia took land from Poland in three different times called partitions.

In 1772, Prussia took land called Polish Prussia. The leader of Prussia, Frederick II, brought many German families to live there. He wanted to make Prussia richer and stronger.

In 1793, Prussia took two more cities, Gdańsk and Toruń. This caused people in Poland to fight back, but they were not successful.

In 1795, Prussia took even more land, including parts near Podlasie and Masovia, and the city of Warsaw. Later, there were more uprisings by people trying to free Poland, but they faced strong Prussian forces.

Ethnicity

The Prussian Partition was home to many different groups of people besides ethnic Germans and Poles. You could find Kashubs in West Prussia, Czechs and Moravians in Silesia, Jews, and other minority groups as well.

During the early 1800s, large parts of these areas had very high percentages of Polish-speaking people. In some places, almost everyone spoke Polish, while in others, it was a smaller but still significant part of the population.

Society

In the late 1800s, people who were not German in the area taken by Prussia were forced to adopt German culture and language. The king of Prussia even brought many new German settlers to the area to make this change happen faster.

But instead of losing their own culture, the Polish people living there became more united and proud of who they were. Schools in this area were better than in other parts, but they were not allowed to use the Polish language. This led to a big protest by children in 1901, who were punished for standing up for their language and traditions. Later, the leader of Prussia gave a speech saying he respected Polish traditions, but many people still felt uneasy about the changes happening around them.

Economy

The areas taken from Poland by Prussia were well-developed because of good government policies. The German leaders helped farming, industry, banks, and transportation to grow strong and efficient.

Administrative division

In the first partition, Prussia gained 38,000 km² of land and about 600,000 people. In the second, it gained 58,000 km² and about 1 million people. In the third, it gained 55,000 km² and 1 million people. Altogether, Prussia took about 20 percent of the old Polish-Lithuanian land (149,000 km²) and about 23 percent of its people (2.6 million). Most of these lands became part of the area known as Greater Poland.

Prussia divided these lands into several areas, such as Netze District, New Silesia, New East Prussia, South Prussia, West Prussia, and others. Some of these areas, like East Prussia with its capital Königsberg (now Kaliningrad), were already part of Prussia before the partitions. Later, important areas set up from Polish lands included the Grand Duchy of Posen from 1815 to 1848, and the Province of Posen from 1848 to 1919.