Polish Immigrants in Westphalia - A European Case Study of Integration? Dietmar Osses Integration seems to be today one of the industrial hot spot in southern Ger- the most important key words and key many, along the rivers Rhine and Main, issues of social change in Western Eu- in the Ruhr-Area and to big cities like rope and especially in Germany. In fact, Cologne, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Ber- from the middle of the 1940s on, West- lin. ern Germany was a country of immi- #VU BT SFDFOUMZ BT BGUFS NPSF gration. After the big wave of German than forty years of immigration to Ger- refugees from Eastern Europe at the end many, the German government enacted of the Second World War, bi-national the !rst immigration law, which made contracts between Germany and several clearly de!ned rules for legal immi- states of south and east Europe brought gration for the !rst time. As a conse- millions of foreigners to Germany. From quence, from this time on politicians the peak of the so called ‘economic won- have been required to face the question EFSJOVQUPUIFFDPOPNJDDSJTJT of cultural diversity and social chal- JO (FSNBOZ SFDSVJUFE BCPVU MFOHFTPOBOBUJPOBMMFWFM*OUIF million of workers from Italy, Spain, federal government made up a national Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Morocco, Tu- plan for integration to cope with obvi- OJTJB BOE :VHPTMBWJB NJMMJPO XFOU ous social problems of segregation and back to their home countries or went ethnic self-isolation. "e main concepts further to other destinations and about are now: German language courses for three million decided to stay in Ger- new and for long-term immigrants, im- many.1 proved education from the early child- "GUFS UIF FDPOPNJD DSJTJT JO hood on, and cultural education. recruitment was stopped. But as a con- Looking back in history, the Polish sequence of family reunion and ad- immigrants are often seen as a positive mittance of about !ve million political example for a successful integration. refugees and German ethnic emigrants Let’s have a closer look at their history GSPN 1PMBOE BOE 3VTTJB JO UIF T in Germany. and 1990s the number of immigrants With the increasing industrialization increased further. "e main portion of PG(FSNBOZGSPNUIFTPO BCPVU the immigrants in Germany went to half a million of Polish immigrants %*&5."3044&4 came to Germany until the beginning on their own. "is was not only to im- of the First World War. We have to prove the accommodation but also to remember that since the third division make the former peasants feel at home. PG1PMBOEJOUIFSFXBTOP1PMJTI Because of the rapid growth in in- state. "e country and populations was dustry there was an urgent need for mainly divided to the Prussian state in thousands of new workers. "e !rst ten the west, the Russian state in the east years of Polish migration to the Ruhr BOE UIF "VTUSP)VOHBSJBO ,JOHEPN CSPVHIUBCPVU1PMFTUPUIFOFX in the South. After the foundation of industrial landscape. Another ten years UIF(FSNBO&NQJSFJOUIF1PMJTI MBUFS VQ UP UIF ZFBS UIFJS OVN- people in the Prussian part were given CFS JODSFBTFE UP *O UIF ZFBS legal status as inhabitants of the Ger- BCPVU QPMJTIJNNJHSBOUT man Empire with Polish origin. Legally, were counted in the Ruhr, followed by they were not treated as foreigners but UIFQFBLPG 1PMFTJOUIF3VIS as members of the Empire, so it was easy in 1910. In the northern parts of the for them to migrate from the eastern Ruhr, where new mines were built in the provinces of the Empire to the new in- TBOET 1PMJTINJOFSTXFSFJO dustrial land in western Germany at the the majority. About the year 1910, 19 river Ruhr, mainly part of the province coal mines were so-called ‘Polish Mines’ of Westphalia and also Rhineland. XJUI NPSF UIBO QFSDFOU PG 1PMJTI %VFUPDSPQGBJMVSFT UIFJOIFSJUBODF miners, and seven of them had more law and a kind of peonage (or serf- UIBOQFSDFOUPG1PMFT4 But did they dom) which prevented many men from feel at home in the Westphalia? Were achieving economic independence, now they welcomed and integrated into their thousands of Polish men, mainly poor local communties? peasants from the rural landscapes, fol- "e colonies of the mining com- lowed the call of money and labour and panies with lots of Polish immigrants migrated to the Ruhr. "e coal mining living together in neighbourhoods like companies sent out special agents to the in small rural villages could make them eastern provinces to recruit men from feel at home. But on the other hand the the rural landscapes to the growing cit- ‘cultural chock’ of the growing cities ies of the Ruhr for to work in the coal nearby and the high number of young mines and iron works. "ey tried to men brought together without the so- attract the workers with the high loans cial control of a rural society was a chal- and !ne housing in new houses built by lenge for every one – immigrants and the mining companies. In fact all mining the other inhabitants, and consequently companies had to build up settlements, there were many problems. called ‘colonies’’ near their mines, be- "e main problem for the Polish im- cause there was insu#cient housing migrants was the question of religion before, or none at all. "e main part of and spiritual guidance in their native the housing was built as small houses for language. More than 90 percent of the four or !ve families with large gardens Polish immigrants were Catholics – only were the miners could plant vegetables the immigrants from Masuria were Prot- "&.*+063/"- estants. "e native people of Westphalia were half and half Protestant and Catho- lic. Joining in Catholic church-services was easily possible for the Polish immi- grants, but not enough for their needs. Church services, spiritual guidance and sacraments in the Polish language were extremely important to them. As an initiative of the immigrants, a !rst re- MJHJPVTBTTPDJBUJPOXBTTFUVQJO UIF +FEOPƽƥ BTTPDJBUJPO PG %PSUNVOE (Jedność means Unity), followed by sev- eral brotherhoods of Saint Barbara, the patron of the miners, in the following years. *O UIF ëSTU 1PMJTI QSJFTU +P[FG Szotowski, was sent to Westphalia. He settled in a monastery in the city of Bochum. His !rst aim was to increase the number of brotherhoods and reli- gious associations and built them up in FWFSZDJUZJOUIF3VIS6OUJMNPSF cal activities, education, music or lotter- UIBO OFX BTTPDJBUJPOT XFSF FTUBC- ies founded. Only some of them acted lished. "e brotherhoods were allowed politically like the Sokoł-movement, to bring their banners and wear their which combined physical education colours during the church services and with national Polish attitudes, or like processions – a sign of integration in the the Polish Trade Union ZZP, founded in Catholic Church and society at large. UPëHIUGPSFRVBMSJHIUTBOEMPBOT *O4[PUPXTLJXBTFYDIBOHFEXJUI for the Polish mine workers. Most of Frantizek Liss as the new Polish priest in them simply organized Polish every-day the Ruhr. Liss started to develop more life in Germany. With organisations the and other kinds of associations to organ- city of Bochum developed to the cen- ize the social life and form a self-con!- tre of the Polish cultural life - not only dent Polish community. in Westphalia, but for the whole of the He started the foundation of a Polish German Empire. newspaper, ‘Wiarus Polski’ as an im- *O 1PMJTI BTTPDJBUJPOT portant means of communication and XJUINPSFUIBO NFNCFSTXFSF initiated several meetings and events. counted in the Ruhr. "is as an indi- From this strong impulse the founda- cation of the well-developed self-con!- tion of several Polish organizations fol- dence of the Polish community in the lowed. One the one hand, there were heart of Germany. But for the author- not only religious associations but more ities and a part of the German com- and more associations for singers, physi- %*&5."3044&4 munity it was a signal for segregation With the beginning of the First World and Polish nationalism. In fact, the War, it was o#cial policy to avoid any young and fragile German Empire was social con'ict in the Empire. So step by in a state of permanent social struggle, step the situation for the Poles improved especially in the industrial areas with a bit. But with the end of the war and the controversial ideas of socialism and the re-foundation of the Polish state communism. So the government was the situation changed completely. Until afraid of the Poles in the Ruhr for two UIFNJETUPGUIFTUIFOVNCFSPG reasons: for a potential Polish and an- Polish immigrants in the Ruhr declined ti-German nationalism on the one hand from more than half a million to about and a potential socialistic or communis- 0OFUIJSEPGUIF1PMJTIQPQ- tic radicalism among the mine workers ulation, the nationalists, political activ- on the other hand. However looked at, ists and home-seeking Poles went back ‘Polishness ‘ seemed suspicious. to Poland. Another third went to the As a consequence of the development coal mines of France and Belgium. "e of the Polish associations, after a big mining companies in these countries strike of the coal miners in the Ruhr in sent out agents who recruited the highly XIJDITUBSUFEJOPOFPGUIFA1PM- quali!ed Polish miners. "ey attracted ish-Mines’ in the Ruhr, the German them with the promise of high loans and government set up a centre for obser- lack of oppression in their countries. vation of the Polish immigrants in Bo- Only one third of the Polish immigrants chum in 1900. As German policemen stayed in the Ruhr – mainly those who were not able to understand Polish, the had married a German or who had been use of the Polish language was now for- born there.