The Borders of Integration: Polish Migrants in Germany and the United States, 1870-1924

7 War and Polish Communities Transformed, 1914–24

7 l l l War and Polish communities Transformed, 1914–24 by the eve of World War I, stable and vibrant Polish communities were firmly established in the ruhr and northeastern Pennsylvania. although Poles continued to suffer discrimination at the hands of the state and the middle class, they were increasingly accepted as an integral part of workingclass society in both regions, and Polish organizational activities promoted a strong degree of structural integration. World War I and its aftermath challenged this state of affairs, most notably in Germany, where defeat in the war fundamentally altered state and society, but also in the United states, where victory abroad gave new stimulus to defining who belonged to the american nation. This chapter examines how Polish attitudes, ethnic community cohesion, and the stability of prewar adaptation patterns were transformed during wartime and in the postwar period. Polish communities during World War I Poles in both the ruhr and northeastern Pennsylvania were loyal to the war efforts of their adopted societies. In the ruhr, Polish organizations such as the ZZP declared their support for the Burgfrieden, the declared wartime civil truce between capital, labor, and the state, while thousands of ruhr Poles joined the Prussian army. The first two years of the war were marked by a general decline in Polish activity. many Poles previously active in Polish ethnic associations were called to serve and the Burgfrieden severely restricted the extent to which organizations such as the ZZP could be politically engaged. a telling example of the severe wartime political climate occurred in the matter of russian-Polish forced labor in the mines. The ZZP, along with the alter verband, protested the use of wartime prisoners beginning in 1915, but were forced to retreat on the matter by early 1914–24 l 147 1916 after the government threatened those who continued to raise the issue with fines, imprisonment, and charges of treason.1 at the end of 1916, the Polish political position vis-à-vis the state improved after the German government declared that a nominally independent Poland would be established under the auspices of the central Powers on successful conclusion of the war. The support the government gave for a postwar Polish state, made partly in reaction to russian promises to Poles, led to the easing of most of the Prussian government’s anti-Polish measures. Prohibitions that had been in place for decades, such as bans on the celebration of national holidays, the wearing of national symbols, and various language ordinances were rescinded by early 1917. Official police surveillance and harassment of Polish activities stopped.2 The increased freedom of action brought little relief to Poles suffering under the material, physical, and emotional hardships of war. Food shortages , a scarcity in consumer goods, and a decline in real wages made life in the ruhr during the final two years of the war difficult, and by 1917 sporadic wildcat strikes by German and Polish miners occurred.3 The fedup , militant attitude of many Poles in the coalfields driven by economic deprivation led to the founding of the narodowe stronnictwo robotników (national Party of Workers—nsr) at the end of the year. The nsr had its roots in the ZZP and was organized to channel dissatisfaction in a christiansocialist direction and thus avert the danger that Polish workers would be attracted to radical socialist and communist organizations. The nsr officially disavowed class struggle, yet simultaneously called for far-reaching social reforms in German society.4 Because the end of World War I radically altered the geopolitical landscape, the nsr had little chance to implement its political program in the ruhr. nevertheless, in postwar Poland, the nsr would achieve electoral success. after merging with other, smaller, working-class parties in Poland, the nsr renamed itself the narodowa Partia robotnicza (national Workers’ Party—nPr) and captured twenty-eight seats in the first Polish parliament.5 In northeastern Pennsylvania, the late entry of the United states into the war meant that Poles there were never exposed to the same level of social dislocation and deprivation experienced by their ethnic brethren in the ruhr. during the first three years of the war, rising demand for coal brought significant wage increases to Polish miners, and by the end of 1917, wages were 25 to 50 percent above their prewar levels. For the first time, the industry also managed to guarantee nearly full-time, year-round employment. 148...