Renaming of places in East Prussia in 1938

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The renaming of places in East Prussia in 1938 took place in the course of the "National Socialist Germanization Policy" since 1933. This renaming was mainly carried out by the Bund Deutscher Osten (BDO). Anything that sounded “Polish or Lithuanian” should give way to a “purely German name”. Initially, the renaming was decided individually. With an order from the Gauleiter and Oberpräsident Erich Koch on July 16, 1938, an “ethnic land consolidation prepared according to the general staff” began in East Prussia. A large number of names of old Prussian , Polish and Lithuanian origin were "Germanized". Other parts of the German Empire were also affected, in particular the Prussian province of Silesia (or the provinces of Lower and Upper Silesia ) and Lusatia ; see list of renaming of places in Lausitz 1936/37 .

Place names in Masuria had occasionally been changed before the Nazi era (e.g. Marggrabowa in Treuburg , now Olecko , in 1928). In the Lötzen district, 47% of the localities had already been renamed during the Weimar Republic , and a further 36% after 1933. In 1933, Sutzken near Goldap was renamed Hitler's height . After Koch issued a corresponding order on August 25, 1937 (regarding the Germanization of foreign-language names in East Prussia), the systematic renaming was tackled. The Reich Ministry of Science, Education and Public Education set up an expert commission headed by Ministerialrat Harmjanz , which included Messrs. Meyer (Slavist from Königsberg ), Walther Ziesemer (linguist from Königsberg), Viktor Falkenhahn (lecturer and specialist for Lithuanian and Old Prussian names) and Max Hein (Director of the Königsberg State Archives and expert on names in the Teutonic Order State ). The names of villages, lakes, wooded areas and corridors were affected. In some counties, by July 16, 1938, 70% of the geographical names had been changed. The changes ranged from simplifications and shortenings of the spelling to translations (e.g. Pillkallen in Schloßberg ) to new creations (e.g. Stallupönen became Ebenrode , Scheschuppe became Ostfluss ).

After the Second World War , the names were redefined by the Polish and Soviet authorities.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Andreas Kossert : East Prussia - History and Myth . Siedler, Berlin 2005, ISBN 3-88680-808-4 , p. 280ff.
  2. ↑ Uwe Neumärker et al: Wolfsschanze: Hitler's power center in World War II. 3. Edition. Ch. Links Verlag, 2007, ISBN 978-3-86153-433-4 , p. 202.
  3. ^ Andreas Kossert: "Grenzlandpolitik" and Ostforschung on the periphery of the empire. East Prussian Masuria 1919–1945. In: Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte . 51 (2), 2003, p. 137 ( PDF ).
  4. ^ Andreas Kossert: Masuria. East Prussia's forgotten south. Berlin 2001, p. 323.
  5. ^ A b Andreas Kossert: “Grenzlandpolitik” and Ostforschung on the periphery of the empire. 2003, p. 138.