The German Migration to the East by Jerry Frank While We May Not Be Able to Understand Exactly What (With Permission from the Author & FEEFHS
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The German Migration to the East by Jerry Frank While we may not be able to understand exactly what (with permission from the author & FEEFHS. previously motivated an answer to migrate, we can at least observe migration trends that can help us in tracing our genealogy. This published in the Spring/Summer 1999 FEEFHS Journal Vol. 7, article consists of an overview of German migrations to Eastern #1 & 2). Europe. You still may not discover why your ancestor moved, Jerry Frank is an amateur genealogist specializing in but hopefully you will have a better general understanding of the Germans from Russian Poland and Volhynia. His family migration trends. research has broadened to include general history of their migration. He has spoken at several international conferences Early German-Slav Conflict as well at local genealogical society meetings. His current When we talk about the migration of the Germans to project is a book on the migration of Lutheran Germans through the east, we are talking about their movement from Russian Poland and Volhynia (northwestern Ukraine). The historically German territory to historically Slavic book will be an historical,geographical, and genealogical territory. The border between these two territories has not resource. Included will be 32 pages of maps of Russian Poland changed much over the centuries. It has been the same for and about 24 pages covering Volhynia, both sets at 1:300,000 most of recorded history. It is true that political scale. The maps will be fully indexed showing over 2000 boundaries have moved in both easterly and westerly villages of Germanic residence in Russian Poland and another directions. At times Germans controlled Slavic lands, 1000 or so in Volhynia. The book will be available in spring of while at other times the “Slavs controlled German lands; 2000. Watch for an announcement at the website of the Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe, but overall, the boundary between the two is aligned with http://www.sggee.org the old eastern boundary of the Holy Roman Empire of 1250 AD. Introduction I am writing this as an amateur genealogist, not a Poland for centuries was one of the most powerful of professional historian. I have taken the time in my genealogical the Slavic nations. It was Poland that requested the study to re-search the movements of the German people to the assistance of the Germanic Teutonic Knights in protecting east, and from there to North and South America. My ancestors portions of its land holdings along the Baltic coast. These did not leave any verbal or written history behind them, so I knights brought with them significant German settlement undertook this research to gain a better understanding, in a general sense, of their movements. Use of a good historical atlas to areas that later became Prussian territory. This early in conjunction with this written text will assist the reader in move east-ward (after 1100) was motivated by military following the migration pat-terns recorded. action. Before we talk specifically about the German migration, I Along with this early migration of Germans came the would like to spend a few minutes on migration in a general inevitable intermarriage with other ethnic groups like the sense. I spend a lot of my genealogical research time on the Slavs and Magyars. In the process, some tribes, like the Internet. Over and over again, I see people posting questions Prus (from which Prussia gets it name), were eventually like, “What happened in 1850 in Prussia that would have caused wiped out. Others like the Kashubians from the region my great grandparents to move to Canada?” or, “What disaster could have occurred in 1810 that would have caused my German southwest of Gdansk, assimilated into both German and ancestor to move from Congress Poland to Bessarabia?” Polish cultures. There are very few people left today who can still speak the ancient Kashubian language. Because What causes people to move? We can all think of answers to of the assimilation, it is important to be aware that this question because all of us are immigrants! We might have speaking the German language and practicing German been a solitary migrant or we might have been part of a general customs does not mean that our ethnic origins are purely movement, but regardless of the circumstance, we are all immi- German. This is especially true for those of you with grants. Our reasons for moving might include: Germanic origins in Prussia and Silesian regions (modern north and southwest Poland), and to a lesser extent - some military reason (war, displacement because of war, draft) Hungarian regions. On the other hand, if your surname is - climate or possible physical danger (too cold, too many something like Novak, Lewandowski, Berkowski, earthquakes). Girschewski, etc., it is quite possible that you might have - political oppression (lack of freedom) strong Germanic connections. - a friend or relative encouraging you to follow them - religious persecution or oppression More peaceful migration took place because the tech- - promise of jobs or improved economic situation nical skills of the Germans proved to be beneficial to the more medieval nations like Poland-Lithuania, Bohemia- All of us who have moved understand our own motivation for Moravia, and Hungary-Croatia. These countries invited doing so. But will your great, great granddaughter understand why you migrated, when she studies her genealogy? Will she Germans in to develop agriculture and mining in their ask, “What happened in North Dakota in 1985 that caused my regions and later to further their industrial causes. great grandparents to move to California?” Unless you specifically write down your reasons, the probable answer is “No.” Development of German Law Cities guarantee a certain amount of settlers in exchange for As Germans developed colonies to the east of the Holy rights to double the amount of land that a settler would Roman Empire between the 13th and 16th centuries, they normally receive. This person would also generally gain brought with them not only models of urban layout, but the right to own the flour mill, brewery, and other perks. also models for governmental control of their cities and towns. The distinctive characteristic of German law is The Mennonites who came to Poland in the early that it has allowed residents to direct their economic 1500s rejected this form of village government. They activity and government through the election of local city insisted, and were granted the right, to establish their own councils. These city councils acted independently of village laws with freedom of the individuals within the political rules and religious leaders. They often had their village. This form of village government, similar in nature own court system, which controlled criminal and some to the German city law, was known as a Hollandry. civil matters. Sometimes, they even had their own militia. With ongoing settlement in Poland, other religious This system of government was known as German city groups also adopted this form of village government. law, and it was comprised of three basic types with many variants: Luebeck Law, Magdeburg Law, and Nüremberg- The Danube Swabians Vienna Law. Up until about 1700, German migration was gradual and somewhat evenly spread out. It was also mostly As Germans, primarily tradesmen, migrated to new limited to the western edge of the Slavic lands. It is only areas in the east, they brought this law and associated after the demise of the Ottoman Empire that we begin to privileges with them. The spread of this law into Slavic see waves of migration spreading into pockets of land lands began in the early 13th century in three areas. The further to the east. One of the first migration waves first was in territory along the Vistula River controlled by comes with the movement of the Danube Swabbians to the Teutonic Knights. The second area was in the upper the frontier regions of the Banat (a part of Hungary), Oder River valley where a weakened Polish State granted Backa, and Slavonia. them the privileges. The third area was to the southeast – Bohemia, Moravia, and Hungary/Croatia where the Swabia is a region with its own dialect in northern respective kings had initiated significant immigration. Wuerttemberg, centering around Stuttgart. While this region gives its name to this migration movement, it is By the 14th century, German migration to the eastern important to note that most of these immigrants actually cities had spread throughout Poland, Galicia, Volhynia, came from other southern German and Austrian and south into Transylvania. Use of Germanic law provinces. Three waves of settlers moved into this area of continued to spread eastward in the 15th century, though it central Hungary in the years 1718-37, 1744-72, and 1782- was the government of Poland Lithuania that was 87. introducing it, rather than the Germans. Even Russia favored it, granting the privileges of Magdeburg Law to The Austrian Hapsburgs, who gained control of this cities like Kiev, Smolensk, Orsha, and others. This law region through the Treaty of Passarovitz in 1718, wanted remained in effect in different parts of Russian controlled to achieve 3 goals: fortify the land against invasion, territory as late as 1830. develop the farm land, and solidify the hold of the Roman Catholic Church on those areas. To encourage settlement While the spread of Germanic city law through the by Catholic Germans, they were offered free agricultural migrations of German city dwellers did not result in large land and home sites, construction material and livestock, numbers of migrants, it was a very important factor in the and exemption from taxes for a limited period of time.