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

6 Challenging State and Society

6 l l l challenging state and society The “Polish Question” and the Rise of Polish Ethnic Associations when poles began arriving in the ruhr and northeastern Pennsylvania during the 1870s and 1880s, state authorities took little notice of their presence, and anti-Polish sentiment within native society was limited.1 as Polish migration increased from the 1890s onward, attitudes quickly changed; many within government and the general public grew concerned about the danger this “foreign” element posed to the demographic and moral health of society. The view that Poles were a threatening and undesirable element undermining social cohesion and the national interest became widespread, raising the question: What should be done about the Poles? Fears surrounding Polish migration emerged in large part as a legacy of the imperfect nation-state building process in Germany and the United states. The expansion of industry from the 1850s onward together with the wars of (re)unification of the 1860s brought about a growing state centralization , albeit to different degrees, and the rise for the first time of tangible “German” and “american” identities. yet deep social and cultural divisions remained, divides exacerbated by late nineteenth- and early twentiethcentury migration. defining what is meant to be German or american— and who could become a German or an american—grew critical. debates and investigations abounded regarding the costs and benefits of migration, analyses that often led to different migrant population groups being accorded an “insider” or “outsider” status. as one of the largest immigrant groups in both Germany and the United states, Poles were subject to particular scrutiny and, given their irreconcilably “foreign” ways, became the target of measures intended to exclude them from the imagined national community. This chapter explores the ways in which Poles were cast as an 122 l Challenging State and Society internal “other” by examining government policies and public discourses on the Polish question as well as how Poles utilized ethnic associations to defend their interests and promote their greater inclusion within German and american society. Government Policies Toward Poles in the ruhr and northeastern Pennsylvania Government animosity toward the Polish presence in the ruhr was stimulated , first and foremost, by the appointment of heinrich Konrad von studt as Oberpräsident (minister-president) of the Province of Westphalia in 1889. When von studt became Oberpräsident, he already had extensive experience with the ongoing nationality conflict in the Prussian east, serving previously as a landrat (county manager) in the Province of Posen, a regierungspräsident (district president) in Königsberg, and in Interior ministry posts in Berlin. Based on his experience, von studt argued that it was unacceptable to allow a sizable Polish community to settle in the ruhr without enacting stronger measures to prevent the rise of an irredentist Polish nationalism. In an 1896 report to the Prussian Interior ministry he claimed that “it is in the fundamental interest of the state that the [Polish] element be Germanized and melted into native population as quickly as possible.” In explaining why Poles had yet to become German, von studt blamed the growth of ethnic Polish associations and the sorrowful indifference to national concerns exhibited by both ruhr employers and the center Party, who in their narrow economic and political self-interest were undermining state minority policies.2 In order to more effectively combat the danger posed by Poles and promote their Germanization, von studt implemented a series of directives, based on policies already in place in eastern Prussia, though tailored to local conditions. These measures included requiring police to closely watch Polish associations; preventing ethnic Polish priests from entering the ruhr; limiting the use of the Polish language in public meetings; and requiring that all school instruction, including religious education, be conducted in German. Poles were additionally prohibited from openly displaying certain symbols, club flags, pictures, and clothing. specific Polish songs, books, and foreign newspapers deemed national in character were also banned. Finally , von studt placed pressure on the catholic church hierarchy to rein in the activities of church-sponsored Polish ethnic associations and limit the availability of Polish-language spiritual care.3 The “Polish Question” l 123 after von studt was appointed Prussian minister of culture in 1899, his successors and their subordinates held firm to this hard line. In subsequent years, almost all Polish associations were declared by authorities to be political organizations. This was an important designation because it required Poles to obtain police permission...