The Greater Poland uprising of 1848 or Poznań Uprising (Polish: powstanie wielkopolskie 1848 roku / powstanie poznańskie) was an unsuccessful military insurrection of Poles against forces of the Kingdom of Prussia during the Revolutions of 1848. The main fighting in the Prussian Partition of Poland was concentrated in the Greater Poland region but some fighting also occurred in Pomerelia. Protests were also held in Polish-inhabited regions of Silesia.
Background
1772–1806
While the Kingdom of Prussia already possessed a large Polish population in Upper Silesia, it gained additional Polish citizens during the partitions of Poland. From the beginnings of Prussian rule, Poles were subject to a series of measures aimed against them and their culture; the Polish language was replaced by German as the official language, and most administration was made German as well; the Prussian ruler Frederick the Great despised Poles and hoped to replace them with Germans. Poles were portrayed as 'backward Slavs' by Prussian officials who wanted to spread German language and culture. The land of Polish nobility was confiscated and given to German nobles.
Frederick the Great settled around 300,000 colonists in the newly acquired provinces of Prussia and aimed at a removal of the Polish nobility by increasing the German population and trying to reduce Polish owned land.
1806-1815
The Poles were freed from the Prussians with the victory of Napoleon in the War of the Fourth Coalition, and started a successful uprising against the Prussian forces in 1806. The Prussian hold on Polish areas was somewhat weakened after 1807 where parts of its partition were given to the Duchy of Warsaw.
1815–1830
The power status of Prussia was dependent on hindering any form of Polish statehood, due to crucial position of Greater Poland and Pomerelia, areas inhabited by a Polish majority; it didn't support Polish attempts at restoration of Poland during the Congress of Vienna, where Prussia tried to gain the Duchy of Warsaw, but received only its western provinces. In 1815 the Prussian king made several guarantees in his speech to Poles in the newly formed Grand Duchy of Posen (created out of territories of Duchy of Warsaw) in regards to rights of Polish language and cultural institutions. In order to ensure loyalty of the newly re-conquered territories the Prussians engaged in several propaganda gestures hoping they would be enough to gain land-owners and aristocratic support. At the same time, the Lauenburg and Bütow Land and the former Starostwo of Draheim became the first territories of partitioned Poland to be quietly absorbed into the new German Confederation.
The base support of Prussian rule was from an influx of German colonists, officials and tradesmen, whose immigration started in 1772 due to Partitions of Poland and while it was halted in 1806, it soon was reinstated after 1815 as planned systemic action of Prussian government. After the Duchy of Warsaw was abolished in 1815, Prussia engaged in German colonization of Polish territories it acquired at the Congress of Vienna, continuing previous efforts started with the Partitions The Prussians knew exactly that the Polish aspiration was independence, however they were considering at the time two different methods to subdue Polish resistance. One advocated ruthless Germanization of the Polish provinces, the other pursued by Minister President Karl August von Hardenberg wanted to gain support of the Polish aristocracy, while turning them away from the (partially) pro-Polish Alexander I of Russia. Initially Hardenberg's position prevailed. At the same time the Prussians and Russians through secret police worked together against Polish movements that would seek independence either from Russia or Prussia, and the Prussian representative in Warsaw helped to create political climate that would abolish constitutional freedoms in Congress Poland. The situation in Polish areas of Prussia was calmed down after series of proclamations and assuring the Polish right to their education, religion and traditions. In the end, the Polish rights were defined very narrowly, and Prussia started to abolish the Polish language in administration, schooling, and courts. In 1819 the gradual elimination of Polish language in schools began, with German being introduced in its place. This procedure was briefly stopped in 1822 but restarted in 1824.
In 1825 August Jacob, a politician hostile to Poles, gained power over newly created Provincial Educational Collegium in Poznan. Across the Polish territories Polish teachers were being removed from work, German educational programs were being introduced, and primary schooling was being replaced by German one that aimed at creation of loyal Prussian citizens. Already in 1816 the Polish gymnasium in Bydgoszcz was turned into a German school and Polish language removed from classes.
In 1825 the Teacher's Seminary in Bydgoszcz was Germanized as well
While in 1824 a Provincial Parliament was invoked in the Grand Duchy of Posen, the representation was based on wealth census, meaning that the result gave most of the power to German minority in the area. Even when Poles managed to issue calls asking for enforcing of the guarantees formulated in treaties of Congress of Vienna and proclamations of Prussian King in 1815 they were rejected by Prussia. Thus neither the attempt to create Polish University in Poznań or Polish Society of Friends of Agriculture, Industry and Education were accepted by authorities. Nevertheless, Poles continued to ask for Polish representation in administration of the area, representing the separate character of the Duchy, keeping the Polish character of schools.
From 1825 the increase of anti-Polish policies became more visible and intense. Prussian political circles demanded end to tolerance of Polishness. Among the Poles two groups emerged, one still hoping for respect of separate status of the Duchy and insisting on working with Prussian authorities hoping that in time they would grant some freedoms. The other faction still hoped for independence of Poland. As consequence many Polish activists were imprisoned.
A joint operation of Russian and Prussian secret police managed to discover Polish organizations working in Breslau and Berlin, whose members were arrested and detained in Prussian jails.
1830–1848
Intensification of anti-Polish policies began in 1830. As the November Uprising in Russian-held Congress Poland began, the Prussians closely worked with Russia in regards to stopping any Polish independence drive. A state of emergency was introduced in the Duchy; police surveillance started on a large scale; 80,000 soldiers were moved into the area. The Prussian Foreign Minister openly declared that Prussia would oppose the independence of Poland as it would mean territories taken in the Partitions of Poland could be claimed by it. Russians soldiers fighting Poles received food supplies, equipment, and intelligence from Prussia. Prussian generals wanted to march into Congress Poland, but the threat of French intervention stopped those plans.
In 1830 Eduard Heinrich von Flotwell, a self-declared enemy of Poles, who openly called for Germanization and superiority of German culture over Polish people, became the administrator of the region. Supported by Karl von Grolman, a Prussian general, a program was presented that envisioned removing Poles from all offices, courts, judiciary system, and local administration, controlling the clergy, and making peasants loyal through enforced military service. Schools were to be Germanized as well. Those plans were supported by such prominent public figures such as Carl von Clausewitz, August Neidhardt von Gneisenau, Theodor von Schön, and Wilhelm von Humboldt. By 1830 the right to use Polish in courts and institutions was no longer respected. While the Poles constituted the majority of population in the area, they held only 4 out of 21 official posts of higher level.
From 1832 they could no longer hold higher posts at the local administrative level(Landrat). At the same time the Prussian government and Prussian king pursued Germanization of administration and judicial system, local officials enforced Germanization of educational system and tried to eradicate the economic position of Polish nobility. In Bydgoszcz the mayors were all Germans. In Poznań, out of 700 officials, only 30 were Poles.
Another colonization attempt aimed at Germanization was pursued by Prussia after 1831, and while Poles constituted 73% of population in 1815, they were reduced to 60% in 1848. In the same time period, the German presence grew from 25% to 30%. Flotwell initiated programs of German colonization and tried to reduce Polish landownership in favor of Germans. As Encyclopædia Britannica writes "At the end of 1830, however, a new policy was inaugurated with the presidency of E. H. von Flottwell: the experiment of settling subsidized German colonists on Polish soil (started by Frederick the Great after the first partition of Poland) was resumed". Settlement of German colonists were supported especially under the rule of Eduard Flottwell in the years 1831–1840 In the period 1832-1842 the number of Polish holdings was reduced from 1020 to 950 and the German ones increased from 280 to 400. The Jewish minority in the province was exploited by Prussians to gain support for its policies. By granting Jews rights and abolishing old limitations, the Prussians hoped they could integrate the Jewish population into German society, and gain a counterweight to the Polish presence. As a result, many Jews saw in Prussia a free, liberal state, and were opposed to Polish independence movement.
When Frederick William IV's ascended to the throne in 1840, certain concessions were again granted. The German colonization was halted; some schools were able to teach the Polish language again; promises were made to create departments of Polish language in universities in Breslau and Berlin. There were also vague promises about creation of a university in Poznań. This was all that Poles were granted. In reality only the methods changed, while the overall goal of Germanization remained the same, only this time with lighter methods, and by concessions Prussians hoped to assure identification of Poles with the Prussian state and an eventual change of their identity. The concession also were connected to freezing of relations between Prussia and the Russian Empire, with Prussian politicians hoping that Poles could be used to fight Russia on Prussia's behalf.
At this time, the majority of Poles were not yet engaged in political activity. Mostly the landowners, the intelligentsia, and the upper urban classes possessed a developed national consciousness. The peasantry and the working class had yet to experience their own "Polish national awakening." Through military service and school education, and in the case of "regulated" peasants in the wake of the benefits wrought by the final emancipation decree introduced in 1823, some segments of these social groups had begun to identify with the Prussian state. However, as German colonization grew in strength and policies against Polish religion and traditions were introduced the local population begun to feel hostility towards Prussia and the German presence. Economic factors also began to influence Polish-German relations. Colonization policies in particular created a fear of German competition among Poles. The greatest difference remained the religious segregation. The local Germans displayed rather politically apathy and refrained from creating an organized form of social life. Prior to 1848, the provincial Diet remained the only forum of German political activity. In general, relations of the local Germans with the Polish population were good.
In the end of the 1840s about 60 percent of the population of the Duchy were Polish, 34 percent German and 6 percent Jewish. Out of the administrative districts, Poles had a majority in 18, while Germans had a majority in 6, out which 4 were in the western part and 2 in the northern part.