Polish faction

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The Polish parliamentary group represented the Polish minority in the German Reichstag from 1871 to 1918 . In the Prussian Landtag a consortium consisted of Polish politicians since 1849. This was known at least since the 1850s already Polish faction.

structure

A Polish club had existed in the Prussian state parliament since 1849. Since 1856 this gave itself a parliamentary group statute. The Polish parliamentary group represented the interests of the approximately three million German citizens with Polish mother tongue since 1871. The parliamentary groups in the Reichstag and the Prussian state parliament worked closely together and mostly followed one line. The principle of unanimity applied within the parliamentary groups.

The majority of the voters lived in the Prussian provinces of Posen , West Prussia and Upper Silesia . The number of mandates ranged from 13 in 1887 to 20 in 1903.

The parliamentary group turned against the anti-Polish policy and the attempts at Germanization during the German Empire.

Inside, the composition of the parliamentary group changed. At the beginning the aristocratic landowners and the Catholic clergy dominated, after 1900 bourgeois politicians with a Polish national and democratic orientation increasingly came to the fore.

Relationship to other political groups

The faction was closely associated with the Center Party . However, there were differences from the start. The Polish parliamentary group rejected the integration of the formerly Polish territories into the empire when the empire was founded. Against the cartel policy of the national liberals and conservatives, however, there was also occasional cooperation with the left-wing liberals. Since the 1890s there was a competitive situation between the Polish parliamentary group and the Center Party in Upper Silesia. Since then, MPs there have increasingly joined the Polish parliamentary group instead of the central parliamentary group. Wojciech Korfanty , initially a member of the Center Party, was the first member of the German Reichstag to become a member of the German Reichstag from 1903 to 1912 with a mandate from the Polish National Democratic Party ( Poland Party ) for the constituency of Katowice - Zabrze .

On the other hand, after the turn of the century, a “German camp” including the left-wing liberals began to form in mixed areas, which succeeded in winning mandates through electoral agreements with national liberals and conservatives.

Political development

In the early days, the faction was generally loyal to the monarchy and acted more defensively. This attitude began to recede into the background with the intensification of the Germanization policy under Otto von Bismarck, especially since 1885/86. The policy of Germanization, for example in relation to the language issue, the establishment of the settlement commission or the expulsion of numerous Poles unintentionally contributed to strengthening Polish national awareness. During the time of Chancellor Leo von Caprivi , who pursued a moderate course in Poland policy, the attitude of Polish politicians also changed. Józef Kościelski even tried to make the Polish factions support the governments in Prussia and in the empire. From 1896 the anti-Polish policy intensified again.

From 1889 to 1918 Ferdinand von Radziwill was chairman of the parliamentary group. Its overall state-loyal attitude lost in the long run its influence in favor of a national attitude.

literature

  • Kola Polskie - Polish parliamentary groups in the Prussian Landtag and in the Reichstag 1849-1918 . In: Dieter Fricke et al. (Ed.): Lexicon for the history of parties. The bourgeois and petty bourgeois parties and associations in Germany (1789-1945) , Vol. 3, Leipzig 1985, 258–267.
  • Albert S. Kotowski : Between reasons of state and love of the country: The Polish parliamentary group in the German Reichstag 1871-1918. Düsseldorf, 2007

Web links

  • Hartwin Spenkuch: Review of Albert S. Kotowski: Between reasons of state and love of the country. The Polish parliamentary group in the German Reichstag 1817–1918. Online edition
  • Eligiusz Janus: Ludwig Windthorst from a Polish perspective. An inventory. Online version