Anti-Polonism: Encyclopedia II - Anti-Polonism - Historical anti-Polonism Polakożerstwo

Anti-Polonism - Historical anti-Polonism Polakożerstwo

The ideologists of the modern anti-Polonist conspiracy often link authentic manifestations of historical prejudice or persecution against Poles (usually in a fabricated way) to support nationalistic views. Not to be confused with anti-Polonism, these historical facts have existed for many years throughout different countries, although unrelated between each other.

Anti-Polonism - Persecution of ethnic Poles to 1918

Persecution of Poles and their culture made its appearance in the 18th century, in Prussia, a rival of Poland in the European political arena. For instance Johann Georg Forster in his private letters dismissed the idea that the Poles were part of European culture, comparing them to primitive tribes and portraying Poland as an underdeveloped, uncivilized land awaiting the importation of Kultur from truly civilized countries. This planted the seeds for German ideas of Lebensraum and created stereotypes which Nazism would later exploit[23]. Prussian officials encouraged the view that the Poles were culturally inferior and in need of Prussian tutelage.

Frederick the Great nourished a particular hatred and contempt for Poles. He spoke of the Poles as "slovenly Polish trash," "the Iroquois of Europe" and "a barbarous people sunk in ignorance and stupidity." The consequences were that nobility of Polish origin were obliged to pay higher taxes than that of German heritage, the Polish language was persecuted in Prussia, and Polish monasteries were viewed as "lairs of idleness" and their property often seized by Prussian authorities. The prevalent Catholicism among Poles was stigmatized.

When the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth lost the last vestiges of its independence in 1795 and remained partitioned for 123 years, ethnic Poles were subjected to Germanization under Prussian and later under German rule, and to Russification in the areas that had been annexed by Imperial Russia.

In Russia, being a Pole was in itself culpable, and authorities sometimes employed antipolish riots as a matter of policy. Polish culture and religion was seen as a threat to Russian imperial ambitions, and officials often acted to disrupt Polish culture. Later, with the emergance of Panslavist ideology, Russian writers saw the Poles as betraying their "Slavic family" because of Polish efforts to regain independence from the Russian Empire (the latter being viewed by Russian Panslavists as the natural leader of the Slavic nations). Prejudice and hostility toward Poles are present in many of Russia's cultural works of the time. Russia used deportations, mass murder, and confiscation of Polish nobles' property to undermine Polish culture and society. The fact that Poles were overwhelmingly of Catholic and not Orthodox faith, likewise gave impetus to persecution.

In Prussia, and later in Germany, Poles were forbidden to build homes, and their properties were targeted for forced buy-outs, financed by the Prussian and German governments. Otto von Bismarck described Poles, as animals (wolves), that "one shoots if one can" and implemented several harsh laws aiming at discrimination of Poles. The Polish language was banned from use, and Polish children were tortured at school for speaking Polish (Września). Poles were also subject to forced deportations (Rugi Pruskie), and German government encouraged and financed settlement of ethnic Germans into Polish areas aiming at their Germanisation.

Anti-Polonism - Persecution of ethnic Poles 1918-1939

After Poland regained its independence following the First World War as the Second Republic of Poland, the question of its borders was not settled. Poles were persecuted in the disputed territories, especially in Silesia, where this led to the Silesian Uprisings.

The aftermath of the Polish-Ukrainian War (1918-19), the Polish-Soviet War (1919-21) and the Treaty of Riga (1921), coupled with Soviet propaganda, led to growing tensions between Poles and Ukrainians in eastern Poland.

Anti-Polonism - Second World War 1939-1945

Hostility toward Poles reached a particular peak during World War II, when Poles became objects of German genocidal policies. Poland lost approximately a third of its population. Millions of Poles died in German concentration camps such as Auschwitz (in Poland), where Poles were the second most numerous victims after the Jews.

The Soviet occupation of Polish territories during World War II was also extremely brutal. Polish prisoners of war were executed in the Katyn Massacre and at other sites, and thousands of Polish intelligentsia, including academics and priests, were sent to forced-labor camps, GuLags.

With the conclusion of the Second World War, Nazi atrocities per force ended. Soviet ones, however, continued. Soldiers of Poland's Home Army (Armia Krajowa) and returned veterans of the Polish Armed Forces that had served with the Western Allies were persecuted, imprisoned and often executed following staged trials (as in the case of Witold Pilecki, organizer of Auschwitz resistance).

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Historical anti-Polonism Polakożerstwo", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki