Mennonites in Poland
Introduction
|
I. Poland Today [1] |
II. Areas of Mennonite Settlement
DanzigFirst Area of Mennonite Settlement |
|
Schwetzer Niederung
Second Area of Mennonite Settlement |
|
Mazovia
Third Area of Mennonite Settlement |
III. Mennonite Settlement
The Mennonite presence in Poland focused on the banks of the Vistula River. Their settlements took place in roughly three phases, in roughly three areas. First, in and around Danzig, second, in an area called Schwetzer Niederung, meaning the lowlands around the town of Schwetz, and third, in the province of Mazovia, of which Warsaw is the seat, as well as the capitol of Poland. The essays for these three areas describe when and where the Mennonites settled there.
A fourth essay talks about the village in Mazovia, Deutsch-Wymyschle, that was the most imporant to the Foote, Block, Unruh, and Penner families. Members of these families were born in villages around Deutsch-Wymyschle. These villages were the residence for the single congretation in Deutsch-Wymyschle.
The last essay in this general history attempts to describe what life was like along the Vistula River.
IV. "Prussia" Explained
In popular usage, the term "Prussia" brings into mind the idea of Empire, the associations with a certain time period, some defined geographical area, or a certain type of person who is extremely militaristic, methodical, or nationalistic (See photo on right). [3] But in genealogy and history, references to the country of Prussia do not always refer to the exact same geographical area and can also be referred to by various other names.
The Old Prussians and Their Language
Originally, Prussia was the area inhabited by the Prussian ethnic group which was Baltic like the Latvians and Lithuanians. These original Prussians had their own language, referred to now as Old Prussian, which was more closely related to Curonian and Sudovian, two other other extinct Western Baltic languages. Old Prussian is only distantly related to Lithuanian and Latvian, East Baltic languages. Old Prussian became extinct in the late 1700s or early 1800s.
To make the Prussian Puzzle even more complex, there are two other languages or dialects identified by the word "Prussian", yet are not Baltic but Germanic.
Low Prussian, a dialect of East Low German, developed, "on a Baltic substrate through the influx of Dutch and Low German speaking immigrants," in East Prussia and was spoken in East and West Prussiaest and Danzig up to 1945. Some linguists include Plautdietsch, a Low German variety, as a variety within Low Prussian. But I don't buy it. Low Prussian borrowed many words from Old Prussian and Lithuanian. If Plautdietsch is considered separate, then Low Prussian is now extinct.
High Prussian is a dialect of East Central German that developed in the region of East Prussia from High German, was influenced by the Baltic Old Prussian language.This dialect also died out after World War II.
"Prussian" States
The Prussian ethnic group lost most of its independance and identity when the Teutonic Knights, a monastic order of knights, conquered the area in the 1200s. Soon after, the area was Germanized by the eastern expansion (Ostsiedlung) of the German kingdoms. The actual existence of a nation, country, or state by the name of Prussia began in 1525. The various versions of Prussia can be seen in this table:
| Northern March pre-12th century |
Old Prussians pre-13th century |
||
| Margraviate of Brandenburg 1157–1618 (1806) |
Ordensstaat 1224–1525 |
||
| Duchy of Prussia 1525–1618 |
Royal (Polish) Prussia 1466–1772 |
||
| Brandenburg-Prussia 1618–1701 |
|||
| Kingdom in Prussia 1701–1772 |
|||
| Kingdom of Prussia 1772–1918 |
|||
The Duchy and Kingdom of Prussia had always been ethnically German. Royal Prussia, however, was Polish and designated a province of the Kingdom of Poland, beginning in 1466, and then of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 until 1772, the year of the First Partition of Poland. The Vistula River, the focal point of Mennonite settlement, runs exclusively through Polish lands, particularly right through the middle of Royal Prussia.
V. The Commonwealth of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
As if the term "Prussia" wasn't confusing enough for Mennonite history, more confusion sets in after 1772.
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth existed from 1569 until 1791, although its size was periodically decreased due to partitioning by foreign neighbors. It was formed by the union of The Crown of the Polish Kingdom and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, at times covering not only current-day Poland and Lithuania, but also Belarus, Latvia, and parts of Ukraine, Estonia, and western Russia. The Commonwealth had a government comprised of a sovereign whose power was limited by a legislature, a system that has been called "a precursor to the modern concepts of broader democracy and constitutional monarchy as well as federalism."
The Prussia that the Mennonites knew was Polish and Catholic. But that would change for some. Because the legislature required unanimous decisions, the Commonwealth was vulnerable to single vetoes that could easily come under foreign influences. Indeed, Russian tsars were frequently choosing the Polish kings. Finally, in 1730, Russia, Austria, and Prussia signed a treaty in which they would all try to keep the Commonwealth the way it was: confined and vulnerable.
VI. The Partitions of Poland
First Partition
Through her influence over the Polish nobles, Empress Catherine the Great forced a constitution onto the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1767. It was enforced by Prince Nicholas Repnin, the Russian Minister to Warsaw, who also tried to establish religious freedom for the Protestants and Orthodox Christians. The reaction of the Catholic majority of the Polish people combined with anger at Russian interference led to the War of the Confederation of Bar with Russia from 1768 to 1772.
In order to control, or punish, the Commonwealth, Russia, Prussia, and Austria claimed their partitions in August of 1772. Russia took the rest of Livonia that the Commonwealth still controlled and parts of Belarus.
Austria gained the area of Galicia plus other pieces.
Prussia took Warmia, areas of northern Poland, parts of an area lower on the Vistula called Kuyavia, and Royal Prussia, minus Danzig. Royal Prussia became the Prussian province of West Prussia in 1773.
The Commonwealth lost about 1/3 of their lands and Prussia controlled over 80% of the Commonwealth's foreign trade.
Second Partition
By 1790 the Polish government had withered to the point of signing the Polish-Prussian Pact of 1790. Yet the Commonwealth tried to fix the situation by adopting the world's second national codified constitution, and Europe's first, with the May Constitution of 1791. Unfortunately, this would only last for about a year. The Constitution reversed the abuses of Repnin's time, established a separation of powers, and "enfranchised the bourgeoisie" (i.e., put the lowest classes on a more equal footing with the rest of the country).
This did not sit well with the Empress, and Russian forces again invaded in 1792. Only Prussia and Russia were involved this time, and agreed that the Polish reforms would be reversed and that each would get more pieces of the Commonwealth. Now, in 1793, only 1/3 of the Commonwealth that existed before 1772 was left.
Third Partition
Yet the Polish reformers gained popular support, which coalesced in the Kościuszko Uprising of 1794. Tadeusz Kościuszko was a hero of the American Revolution and a Brigidier General in the U.S. Army.[6] However, the Russians again were victorious. Thus, Russia, Prussia, and Austria divided up the rest of the Commonwealth in 1795.
Summary
The initial settlements of Mennonites in "Prussia" occurred in what were then called
- Duchy of Prussia - Included parts of the Danzigwerder and Marienwerder
- Danzig area - Danzigerwerder, Marienwerder
- Royal (Polish) Prussia - Schwetzer Niederung, Mazovia
Sources
[1]. "Poland." Britannica.com.
[2]. "West Prussia." Mennonite Encyclopedia. 921; "West Prussia." GAMEO.org, <http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/W4752.html>.
[3]. "prussian," Dictionary.com; "Prussianism," Oxford English Dictionary.
[4]. "Otto von Bismark." <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Bismarck_pickelhaube.jpg>.
[5]. "Prussia." Wikipedia.com. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussia>.
[6]. Cole. "Polish Constitutionalism." Michigan Law Review.2082
Return To Histories Page
Return To Home Page
© 2019 Daniel Foote. Based on Template Designed by Andreas Viklund.