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110-686: The first settlement in the vicinity, known as Sasinowie in Polish and Sassen in German, was established by the Old Prussians , a Lithuanian Baltic tribe. The Teutonic Knights conquered the region and built a castle, a wing of which still remains. The new settlement near the castle founded by Mikołaj z Karbowa and named Soldov was granted town privileges on 14 August 1344 by the Grand Master Ludolf König . The name Dzialdoff

220-622: A Polish banner at the local consulate of Poland was defaced. The Poles expressed gratitude for Allied protection of Polish rights and underlined their desire for peaceful co-existence with the Germans. In April 1920, during a Polish theatrical performance in Deuthen (Dajtki), near Allenstein, Poles were attacked by pro-German activists. As demanded by the Allied Commission, the German police escorted Polish actors, but they then ignored

330-636: A Prussian tribe) to the east and south-east, the Skalvians to the north, and the Lithuanians to the northeast. The smallest social unit in Baltic lands was the laūks , a word attested in Old Prussian as "field", which were small family oriented settlements, households and the surrounding fields, only separated from one another by uninhabited areas of forest, swamp and marsh. The word appears as

440-798: A collection of 144,447 signatures to the Allies to protest the planned cession. Pro-German campaigners collected several regional associations under the Ostdeutscher Heimatdienst (East German Homeland Service), which collected over 220,000 members. The Heimatdienst in the region was led by Max Worgitzki  [ de ] , an author and publisher of the Ostdeutsche Nachrichten . The Heimatdienst exerted strong psychological pressure on Masurians to vote for Germany and threatened Polish forces with physical violence. They appealed to Prussian history and loyalty to

550-716: A decision of the Allied Council of Ambassadors in Paris to make representations to the Polish government regarding the violations of the frontiers of the Marienwerder Plebiscite Area towards Germans by Polish soldiers. Beaumont reported from Marienwerder at the end of March that "no change has been made in the methods of Polish propaganda. Occasional meetings are held, but they are attended only by Poles in small numbers". He continued to note that "acts and articles violently abusive of everything German in

660-733: A delegate and sent Reichskommissar Wilhelm von Gayl , who had been in the service of the Interior Ministry before he was on the Inner Colonisation Committee. The local police forces were placed under the control of two British officers: Lieutenant-Colonel Bennet and Major David Deevis. Bennet reported that he regarded them as "well-disciplined and reliable". There was also a battalion from the Royal Irish Regiment and an Italian regiment stationed at Lyck (Ełk). According to Jerzy Minakowski,

770-534: A dozen or so laukses. Because the Baltic tribes inhabiting Prussia never formed a common political and territorial organisation, they had no reason to adopt a common ethnic or national name. Instead they used the name of the region from which they came – Galindians , Sambians , Bartians , Nadruvians , Natangians , Scalovians , Sudovians , etc. It is not known when and how the first general names came into being. This lack of unity weakened them severely, similar to

880-685: A geographical basis. These were: The Voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan (in Anglo-Saxon ) ( English translation ) describes a ninth century voyage by traveller and trader Wulfstan of Hedeby to the land of the Old Prussians. He observed their funeral customs. Characterized as a humble people, who dressed plainly, the Old Prussians were distinguished for their valor and great bodily strength . They generally rejected luxury, yet were very hospitable, and enjoyed celebrating and drinking excessively, usually mead . Wulfstan of Hedeby , who visited

990-576: A household was the buttataws (literally, the house father , from buttan , meaning home , and taws , meaning father ). Larger political and territorial organisations, called terrula in Latin (a small land), existed in the early 13th century in the territories which later comprised Prussia, Latvia and Lithuania and centred on strongholds or hill forts. Such a political territorial unit covered up to 300 km (120 sq mi) and could have up to 2,000 inhabitants. They were known as pulka , comprising

1100-405: A lack of confirmation about their original location and context, all subsequent questions on their age, the chronology of the objects, an exact definition of their function, their provenance, pointing to which cultural influence have not been addressed until the late 19th century. A majority of past and present researchers agree the babas were created between the 8th and 13th centuries as a "result of

1210-421: A long cultural process among the population of early Iron Age area of the south-eastern Baltic coast, which was affected by both the early traditions of the local craft and inspirations from countries already under Christian influence." Because they did not know God, therefore, in their error, they worshipped every creature as divine, namely the sun, moon and stars, thunder, birds, even four-legged animals, even

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1320-655: A major rebellion in 1286, were defeated by the Teutonic Knights. In 1283, according to the chronicler of the Teutonic Knights, Peter of Dusburg, the conquest of the Prussians ended and the war with the Lithuanians began. In 1243, papal legate William of Modena divided Prussia into four bishoprics – Culm , Pomesania , Ermland , and Samland – under the Bishopric of Riga . Prussians were baptised at

1430-443: A male head of the family and centred on strongholds or hill forts. The supreme power resided in general gatherings of all adult males, who discussed important matters concerning the community and elected the leader and chief; the leader was responsible for the supervision of the everyday matters, while the chief (the rikīs ) was in charge of the road and watchtower building, and border defense, undertaken by Vidivarii . The head of

1540-407: A native Masurian member of the Polish delegation to Versailles, who supported voting for Poland. His death described as "bestial murder" after he had been beaten to death by pro-German militias armed with crowbars, metal rods, and shovels. His ribs were punctured by shovel, and he was taken to hospital, where he died after he had been barely alive and bled from the neck and the head. After his burial,

1650-664: A number of demands in relation to areas that had been part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1772. Despite their protests (supported by the French), US President Woodrow Wilson and the other Allies agreed that plebiscites according to self-determination should be held. In the former German Province of Posen and parts of West Prussia , an armed revolt had already removed the German authorities in 1919. The plebiscite areas (German: Abstimmungsgebiete ; French: zones du plébiscite ) were placed under

1760-575: A segment in Baltic settlement names, especially in Curonian , and is found in Old Prussian placenames such as in Stablack , from stabs (stone) + laūks (field, thus stone field ). The plural is not attested in Old Prussian, but the Lithuanian plural of laukas ("field") is laukai . A laūks was also formed by a group of farms, that shared economic interests and a desire for safety, ruled by

1870-516: A shop in Poznań (Posen). Rennie described Lewandowski as having "little experience of official life" and that Lewandowski had begun to send complaints to the Commission immediately after his arrival in which he declared that the district's entire Polish population had been terrorised for years and so was unable to express their sentiments. Rennie reported an incident as Lewandowski repeatedly hoisted

1980-468: A soul and an afterlife, and practiced ancestor worship . Some authors, by contrast, have argued for a well developed, sophisticated Old Prussian polytheism with a clearly defined pantheon of gods. The highest priest Kriwe-Kriwajto was to be in permanent connection with the spirits of the dead ancestors. He lived in a sacred grove, the Romove , a place off limit for anyone but elite clergy. Each district

2090-672: Is also a train station. Działdowo is twinned with: Old Prussians Old Prussians , Baltic Prussians or simply Prussians were a Baltic people that inhabited the region of Prussia , on the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea between the Vistula Lagoon to the west and the Curonian Lagoon to the east. As Balts, they spoke an Indo-European language of the Baltic branch now known as Old Prussian and worshipped pre-Christian deities . Their ethnonym

2200-570: Is found in the Bavarian Geographer . In Tacitus' Germania , the Lugii Buri are mentioned living within the eastern range of the Germans. Lugi may descend from Pokorny's *leug- (2), "black, swamp" (Page 686), while Buri is perhaps the root on which the toponym "Prussia" is based. The name of Pameddi , the ( Pomesania ) tribe, is derived from the words pa ("by" or "near") and median ("forest"), which can be traced to

2310-719: Is scarcely calculated to gain them votes". Sir Horace Rumbold , the British minister in Warsaw, also wrote to Curzon on 5 March 1920 that the Plebiscite Commissions at Allenstein and Marienwerder "felt that they were isolated both from Poland and from Germany" and that the Polish authorities were holding up supplies of coal and petrol to those districts. Rumbold had a meeting with the Polish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Stanisław Patek , who declared that he

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2420-699: The Allenstein and Marienwerder plebiscite or Warmia, Masuria and Powiśle plebiscite ( Polish : Plebiscyt na Warmii, Mazurach i Powiślu ), was a plebiscite for the self-determination of the regions of southern Warmia (Ermland), Masuria (Mazury, Masuren) and Powiśle, which had been in parts of the East Prussian Government Region of Allenstein and of the West Prussian Government Region of Marienwerder in accordance with Articles 94 to 97 of

2530-597: The Archbishopric of Magdeburg , while Germans and Dutch settlers colonized the lands of the native Prussians; Poles and Lithuanians also settled in southern and eastern Prussia, respectively. Significant pockets of Old Prussians were left in a matrix of Germans throughout Prussia and in what is now the Kaliningrad Oblast . The monks and scholars of the Teutonic Order took an interest in

2640-447: The Bavarian Geographer in the ninth century. More extensive mention of the Old Prussians in historical sources is in connection with Adalbert of Prague , who was sent by Bolesław I of Poland . Adalbert was slain in 997 during a missionary effort to Christianize the Prussians. As soon as the first Polish dukes had been established with Mieszko I in 966, they undertook a number of conquests and crusades not only against Prussians and

2750-687: The Free State of Prussia , and therefore, in Germany . The area concerned had changed hands at various times over the centuries between the Old Prussians , the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights , the Duchy of Prussia , Germany and Poland. The area of Warmia had been part of the Kingdom of Prussia since the first Partition of Poland in 1772, and the region of Masuria was ruled by

2860-575: The Polish flag at the consular office, which caused popular protests. Rennie "pointed out to Dr. Lewandowski that he ought to realise that his position here was a delicate one... and I added it was highly desirable that his office should not be situated in a building with the Bureau of Polish propaganda." Undercover and illicit activities also started as early as 11 March 1920, when the Earl of Derby reported

2970-681: The Pomeranian Voivodeship and Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in Poland , the Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia and the southern Klaipėda Region in Lithuania . The territory was also inhabited by Scalovians , a tribe related to the Prussians, Curonians and Eastern Balts. "Prussians" is an exonym for these peoples, i.e., they did not refer to themselves with this word. The words "Prussians/Prussia" may originate from toponymy , as

3080-701: The Proto-Indo-European adjective *médʰyos 'middle'. Nadruvia may be a compound of the words na ("by" or "on") and drawē ("wood"). The name of the Bartians , a Prussian tribe, and the name of the Bārta river in Latvia are possibly cognates . In the second century AD, the geographer Claudius Ptolemy listed some Borusci living in European Sarmatia (in his Eighth Map of Europe ), which

3190-545: The Prussian state , disqualified Polish culture and warned of the Catholic religion and Poland's alleged economical backwardness. The pro-Germans presented the probability that all men would be drafted into the Polish military to fight Soviet Russia if they would vote for the annexation by Poland. A Soviet invasion was then being attempted in the alleged eastern parts of Poland. Those were no new standpoints but had been

3300-667: The Sicherheitswehr and demanded for the official welcoming committee of German officials to show the representatives of the Allies the plight of ethnic Poles. On 18 February 1919, the Allenstein-based commission decreed that the Polish language would gain equal rights to the German language in the region. The commission eventually had to remove both the mayor of Allenstein, Georg Zülch  [ de ] , and an officer of Sicherheitswehr , Major Oldenburg, after

3410-646: The Sirgune River and the Prussians suffered a decisive defeat. The Prussians took the Christian bishop and imprisoned him for several years. Numerous knights from throughout Catholic Europe joined in the Prussian Crusades , which lasted sixty years. Many of the native Prussians from Sudovia who survived were resettled in Samland ; Sudauer Winkel was named after them. Frequent revolts , including

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3520-566: The Soldau concentration camp , at which 10,000–13,000 prisoners out of 30,000 were murdered. The first mass transport of Polish prisoners came to the camp from the nearby Ciechanów County in December 1939, and those were the victims of the first mass execution in the camp. The Germans also operated two forced labour camps in the town. In 1943 in Warsaw , activists from Działdowo established

3630-524: The Teutonic Order . The remaining Old Prussians were assimilated during the following two centuries. The Old Prussian language , documented only in a limited way, was effectively extinct by the 18th century. The original territory of the Old Prussians prior to the first clashes with the Polans consisted of central and southern West and East Prussia , equivalent to parts of the modern areas of

3740-531: The Treaty of Versailles . Prepared in early 1920, the plebiscite took place on 11 July 1920 and was conducted by German authorities under Inter-Allied control . The plebiscite reported that most voters had selected East Prussia over Poland (over 97% in the Allenstein Plebiscite Area and 92% in the Marienwerder Plebiscite Area ). As a result, most of the territories in question remained in

3850-918: The Vistula ), Stuhm (based in Stuhm, now Sztum ), Rosenberg (based in Rosenberg in West Prussia, now Susz ) as well as parts of Marienburg in West Prussia  [ de ] (based in Marienburg in West Prussia, Malbork , part of the Danzig Government Region ) east of the Nogat . The treaty defined the Allenstein Plebiscite Area as "The western and northern boundary of Allenstein Government Region to its junction with

3960-676: The British Foreign Office on 18 February 1920, that the Poles, who had taken control of the Polish Corridor to the Baltic Sea , had "entirely disrupted the railway, telegraphic and telephone system, and the greatest difficulty is being experienced". Rennie reported on 11 March 1920 the arrival of the Polish Consul-General, Zenon Lewandowski  [ pl ] , a 60-year-old former chemist who kept

4070-583: The Duchy of Prussia and unofficially in the Polish province of Royal Prussia , while Catholicism survived in the Prince-Bishopric of Warmia , the territory of secular rule comprising a third of the then Diocese of Warmia . With Protestantism came the use of the vernacular in church services instead of Latin , so Albert had the Catechisms translated into Old Prussian. Because of the conquest of

4180-727: The German Hohenzollern family since the Prussian Tribute of 1525, as a Polish fief until 1660. Many inhabitants of that region had Polish roots and were influenced by Polish culture . The last official German census in 1910 classified them as ethnic Poles or Masurians . During the German Empire , harsh Germanisation measures were enacted in the region. The Polish delegation at the Paris Peace Conference , led by Roman Dmowski , made

4290-417: The German inhabitants left, including not only German-speakers, but, at roughly the same percentage, Polish-speakers, despite Polish campaigns to win them over as Polish nationals. The candidate of the German Party, Ernst Barczewski, was elected to the Sejm with 74.6% of votes in 1920, and to the Polish Senate with 34.6% of votes for the Bloc of National Minorities in 1928. In 1921, the Polish census gave

4400-400: The Iron Age (5th century BC – 1st century AD), the western Baltic kurgan and barrow culture was widespread among the Old Prussians. It was then that cremation in urns appeared. Grave mounds were raised over stone cells for up to 30 urns, or stone boxes for the urns were buried in Bronze Age style barrows. During the early phase of imperial Rome, shallow graves appeared in which the corpse

4510-408: The Just invaded Prussia, this time along the river Drewenz ( Drwęca ). He forced some of the Prussian tribes to pay tribute and then withdrew. Several attacks by Konrad of Masovia in the early 13th century were also successfully repelled by the Prussians. In 1209 Pope Innocent III commissioned the Cistercian monk Christian of Oliva with the conversion of the pagan Prussians. In 1215, Christian

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4620-538: The Old Prussians by Germans, the Old Prussian language probably became extinct in the beginning of the 18th century with the devastation of the rural population by plagues and the assimilation of the nobility and the larger population with Germans or Lithuanians. However, translations of the Bible, Old Prussian poems, and some other texts survived and have enabled scholars to reconstruct the language. East Prussian plebiscite The East Prussian plebiscite ( German : Volksabstimmung in Ostpreußen ), also known as

4730-416: The Paris Conference. The president and British commissioner of the Inter-Allied Administrative and Plebiscite Commission for Allenstein was Ernest Rennie  [ de ] ; the French commissioner was Couget  [ de ] ; the Italian commissioner was Marquis Fracassi, a senator ; and the Japanese commissioner was Marumo. The German government, under the Protocol's terms, was allowed to attach

4840-482: The Poles after a pogrom had occurred on 17 April. In May, several attacks on Poles were reported in Osterode (Ostróda) and included attacks on coworkers of the Masurian Committee. Parts of the Marienwerder Government Region were confined as the Marienwerder Plebiscite Area. The commission for the plebiscite area reached Marienwerder (Kwidzyn) on 17 February 1920. Upon its arrival, it found an Italian battalion of Bersaglieri on guard that afterwards marched past at

4950-439: The Poles questioned the impartiality of the Inter-Allied Commissions and indicated that the Polish government might refuse to recognise the results of the plebiscites. Infiltration attempts of Polish irregulars into the Marienwerder area were checked by Italian troops. Both sides started a propaganda campaign. In March 1919 Paul Hensel , the Lutheran Superintendent of Johannisburg , had travelled to Versailles to hand over

5060-419: The Poles, are growing to such an extent that it is impossible to believe the present settlement (borders) can have any chance of being permanent...". The Poles began to harden their position, and Rumbold reported to Curzon on 22 March 1920 that Count Stefan Przeździecki  [ pl ] , an official of the Polish Foreign Office, had told Sir Percy Loraine (first secretary at the legation at Warsaw) that

5170-453: The Polish delegation claimed that it was a German condition. According to Richard K. Debo, both the German and the Polish governments believed that the outcome of the plebiscite had been decided by the ongoing Polish-Bolshevik War , which threatened the very existence of the newly-formed Polish state itself and so many Poles in the region voted for Germany for fear that if the area joined Poland, it would soon fall under Soviet rule. During

5280-511: The Polish frontier a vigorous German propaganda is in progress" and that "the Commission is doing all it can to prevent German officials in the district from taking part in national propaganda in connection with the Plebiscite. Ordinances and instructions in this sense have been issued". A delegation of Masurians petitioned the Allies in March 1919 to join their region with Poland. The Poles established an unofficial Masurian Plebiscite Committee ( Mazurski Komitet Plebiscytowy ) on 6 June 1919 that

5390-414: The Popes, but also under the control of the empire, took control of much of the Baltic, establishing their own monastic state in Prussia. In 1230, following the Golden Bull of Rimini , Grand Master Hermann von Salza and Duke Konrad I of Masovia launched the Prussian Crusade , a joint invasion of Prussia to Christianise the Baltic Old Prussians. The Order then created the independent Monastic State of

5500-476: The Prussian authorities were hostile to the local population due to its Polish pro-independence activity during the November and January Uprisings in Congress Poland . During the January Uprising of 1863 an ammunition depot and contact point was secretly established by local people trying to help their fellow Poles in the struggle against the Russian Empire ; it was located at the house of Doctor Russendorf. Prussian authorities arrested several locals and harassed

5610-419: The Prussians. In 1224, Emperor Frederick II proclaimed that he himself and the Empire took the population of Prussia and the neighboring provinces under their direct protection; the inhabitants were declared to be Reichsfreie , to be subordinated directly to the Church and the Empire only, and exempted from service to and the jurisdiction of other dukes. The Teutonic Order , officially subject directly to

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5720-415: The Teutonic Knights and received help from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the 13th century in their quest to free themselves of the military order. In 1525 Grand Master Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach secularized the Order's Prussian territories into the Protestant Duchy of Prussia , a vassal of the crown of Poland. During the Reformation , Lutheranism spread throughout the territories, officially in

5830-504: The Teutonic Knights in the conquered territory and subsequently conquered Courland, Livonia, and Estonia. The Dukes of Poland accused the Order of holding lands illegally. During an attack on Prussia in 1233, over 21,000 crusaders took part, of which the burggrave of Magdeburg brought 5,000 warriors, Duke Henry of Silesia 3,000, Duke Konrad of Masovia 4,000, Duke Casimir of Kuyavia 2,000, Duke Wladyslaw of Greater Poland 2,200 and Dukes of Pomerania 5,000 warriors. The main battle took place at

5940-427: The Versailles Treaty stipulation was that it enabled those to return to vote if they were born in the plebiscite areas but no longer living there. Most of them were supposed to have been influenced by German national sentiments. For that reason, German nationalist societies and political parties wanted to assist them by facilitating their travel to the plebiscite area. Approximately 152,000 such individuals participated in

6050-416: The Vistula  [ pl ] at Dirschau was barred by sentries, in French uniforms, "who refuse to understand any language but Polish". As a result, Beaumont wrote that area to have been "cut off from its shopping centre and chief port almost completely". After the plebiscite, the bridge was removed. To Beaumont it would be "desirable to convey a hint to the Warsaw Government that their present policy

6160-402: The area around the lagoon had links with the Aesti . The original settlers tended to name their assets after surrounding localities (streams, lakes, seas, forests, etc.). The clan or tribal entity into which their descendants later were organized continued to use the names. This source is perhaps the one used in the very name of Prusa (Prussia), for which an earlier Latin-language word Bruzi

6270-481: The area of the plebiscite had 720,000 people, who were German citizens, and 440,000 of them were considered Polish by him by their Mazurian dialect of Polish. The official Prussian census of 1910 showed 245,000 Polish- and Mazurian-speakers and 289,000 German-speakers in the Allenstein Government Region and 23,000 and 136,000 in the Marienwerder Government Region. The Allied forces had to intervene here in 1919 to release imprisoned Masurians, who had tried to reach

6380-472: The attackers. In Bischofsburg (Biskupiec), a pogrom against Poles was organised, which prompted the creation of a special commission to find the perpetrators. The Allensteiner Zeitung newspaper called on its readers to remain calm and to cease pogroms against Poles and pointing out that they could lead to postponing the plebiscite, which would go against German interests. Italian forces were sent to Lötzen (Giżycko), according to Jerzy Minakowski, to protect

6490-412: The authority of two Inter-Allied Commissions of five members, who were appointed by the Principal Allied and Associated Powers representing the League of Nations . British and Italian troops, under the command of the Commissions, arrived on and soon after 12 February 1920 after the regular German Reichswehr had previously left the plebiscite areas. The civil and municipal administration was continued by

6600-449: The boundary between the districts of Oletzko  [ de ] (based in Marggrabowa, now Olecko ) and of Angerburg  [ de ] (based in Angerburg, now Węgorzewo ). The northern boundary of the Oletzko District to its junction with the old frontier of East Prussia." Thus, the Allenstein precinct comprised all the Allenstein Region plus the Oletzko District ( Gumbinnen Government Region ). According to Jerzy Minakowski,

6710-441: The closely related Sudovians , but against the Pomeranians and Wends as well. Beginning in 1147, the Polish duke Bolesław IV the Curly (securing the help of Ruthenian troops) tried to subdue Prussia, supposedly as punishment for the close cooperation of Prussians with Władysław II the Exile . The only source is unclear about the results of his attempts, vaguely only mentioning that the Prussians were defeated. Whatever were

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6820-406: The condition of Germany during the Middle Ages . According to Jan Długosz , the Prussians, Samogitians , and Lithuanians were the same tribe. The Prussian tribal structure is well attested in the Chronicon terrae Prussiae of contemporary author Peter of Dusburg , a chronicler of the Teutonic Order . The work is dated to 1326. He lists eleven lands and ten tribes, which were named on

6930-462: The context of the Reformation . Cassiodorus ' Variae , published in 537, contains a letter written by Cassiodorus in the name of Theodoric the Great , addressed to the Aesti : It is gratifying to us to know that you have heard of our fame, and have sent ambassadors who have passed through so many strange nations to seek our friendship. We have received the amber which you have sent us. You say that you gather this lightest of all substances from

7040-412: The double. The commission had about 1,400 uniformed German police under its authority. Beaumont was accused by Poles of having a cold and ironic attitude toward them. Beaumont said that with the exception of the Kreis Stuhm  [ de ] , where Poles admittedly numbered 15,500 out of a population of 36,500 (42%), they had Polish sympathies since they were Catholics. In the other districts, with

7150-401: The eastern Balts, was much larger than in historical times. The archaeological documentation and associated finds confirm uninterrupted presence from the Iron Age (fifth century BC) to the successive conquest by Slavic tribes, beginning in the Migration Period . Permanent recorded Baltic history begins in the 10th century with the failed Christianisation by Adalbert of Prague (997 AD),

7260-489: The exception of Allenstein, Poles depicting themselves as Mazurians were Lutherans and German in a national conviction. On the eve of the plebiscite, Beaumont reported Poles strictly guarding the new frontier between East Prussia and Poland to prevent people from passing to East Prussia without vexatious formalities. They held up trains for hours and constantly interrupted or even completely suppressed postal, telegraphic and telephonic communication service. The great bridge over

7370-433: The execution of these provisions may give rise. The Commission will make such arrangements as may be necessary for assistance in the exercise of its functions by officials chosen by itself from the local population. Its decisions will be taken by a majority". The commission was welcomed by the Poles in the region, who hoped that its presence would improve their situation, but petitions were made to remove German officials and

7480-405: The existing German authorities, which were responsible to the Commissions for their duration. In accordance with Articles 94 to 97 of the Treaty of Versailles (section entitled "East Prussia" ), the Marienwerder Plebiscite Area was formed of northeastern Marienwerder Government Region , based in Marienwerder in West Prussia, now Kwidzyn , which encompassed the districts of Marienwerder (east of

7590-432: The first conquest attempts at the expense of the Old Prussians by the duchy of the Polans under Mieszko I and the Duchy of Greater Poland under his son Bolesław , as a number of border areas were eventually lost. Around the year 1,000 AD, the Kashubians and Pomeranians lived to the west of the Old Prussians, the Poles to the south, the Sudovians (sometimes considered a separate people, other times regarded as

7700-444: The following data regarding the ethnic composition of the whole district: Poles, 15,496; Germans, 8,187; others, 44. During the Polish-Soviet War Działdowo was briefly occupied by the Red Army which was cheered as a liberator by the local populace, and the town hoisted the German flag again but it was soon recovered by the Polish Army . During the German Nazi - Russian Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939 that began World War II ,

7810-498: The grave of Linka was defiled. Masurians who supported voting for Poland were singled out and subjected to terror and repressions. Names of Masurians supporting the Polish side were published in pro-German newspapers, and their photographs were presented in shops of pro-German owners. Later, regular hunts were organised after them. In the pursuit of Polish supporters, the local Poles were terrorized by pro-German militias. The " Gazeta Olsztyńska " wrote, "Unspeakable terror lasted till

7920-414: The husband's table. Commercial marriage was widespread and after the husband's death, the widow fell to the son, like other inheritance. Polygyny, up to three wives, was widespread. Adultery was a serious crime, punishable with death. After the submission, commercial marriage and polygyny were forbidden. According to archaeological evidence, pre-Christian burial customs changed over the centuries. During

8030-488: The language spoken by the Prussians and tried to record it. In addition, missionaries needed to communicate with the Prussians in order to convert them. Records of the Old Prussian language therefore survive; along with little-known Galindian and better-known Sudovian , these records are all that remain of the West Baltic language group. As might be expected, it is a very archaic Baltic language. Old Prussians resisted

8140-445: The last days [of the plebiscite]". At least 3,000 Warmian and Masurian activists engaged for Poland had to flee the region out of fear for their lives. The German police engaged in active surveillance of the Polish minority and attacks against pro-Polish activists. It may be concluded that propaganda and manipulation caused the German side to be put in favour in many respects above the Polish one, but it must also be disputed if that

8250-552: The local Polish activists were caught by the Germans, as most fled and hid under assumed names in the General Government (German-occupied central Poland). In 1939, the occupiers established a prisoner-of-war camp for captured Polish soldiers at the pre-war Polish military barracks. In December 1939 it was converted into a camp for Polish civilians arrested during the Intelligenzaktion , which later became

8360-414: The local population which tried to form military units to aid the uprising. The area remained Polish despite attempts at Germanisation . In 1815 79% of the local population were Poles, and only 21% Germans. In 1837 74% were Poles and 26% Germans. In the second half of the 19th century 87% of the district's population were Poles. With the increase of Germanisation efforts in 1910, the whole district population

8470-481: The margin of sea, and further purified by the rolling of the tides, it is at length transported to your shores to be cast upon them. We have thought it better to point this out to you, lest you should imagine that your supposed secrets have escaped our knowledge . We sent you some presents by our ambassadors, and shall be glad to receive further visits from you by the road which you have thus opened up , and to show you future favors. The Old Prussians are called Brus by

8580-473: The newly founded Polish newspaper appear to be the only (peaceful) methods adopted to persuade the inhabitants of the Plebiscite areas to vote for Poland". The Germans tried to sway the voters in the area before the plebiscite by using violence, with Polish organisations and activists being harassed by pro-German militias. Actions included murder, the most notable example being the killing of Bogumił Linka

8690-404: The old paganism lived on cannot be inferred from the sources. Pagan customs are said to have lasted the longest with the remote Sudauers . In the 16th century, the so-called Sudovian Book ( Sudauerbüchlein ) was created, which described a list of gods, "pagan" festivals and goat sanctification. However, researchers argue that this little book misinterpreted traditional folk customs as 'pagan' in

8800-638: The pagan Aesti who lived somewhere by the Baltic Sea coast and east of the Vistula estuary. It has been suggested that the name Aesti could be etymologically related to the modern toponym Estonia . On the other hand, the Old Prussian and modern Lithuanian names for localities, such as the Vistula Lagoon , Aīstinmari and Aistmarės , respectively, also appear to derive from Aesti and mari (" lagoon " or "fresh-water bay"), which suggests that

8910-497: The plebiscite areas older than 20 or those who were born in the area before 1 January 1905 were entitled to return to vote. According to Jerzy Minakowski, pro-Polish activists decided to boycott the preparations for electoral commissions before the plebiscite to protest the unequal treatment of the Polish and German side and pro-German terror, which allowed German officials to falsify lists with eligible voters by adding names of dead people or people who were ineligible to vote. During

9020-550: The plebiscite, Germans transported pro-German voters to numerous locations, which allowed them to cast multiple votes. In Allenstein (Olsztyn), cards with pro-Polish votes were simply taken away by a German official who declared that they were "invalid" and presented voters with pro-German cards. Voters were observed by the German police in polling stations . Pro-Polish voting cards were often hidden or taken away, and Polish controllers were removed from polling stations. A large number of Poles feared reprisals and did not turn out for

9130-635: The plebiscite, the Red Army came closer to Warsaw every day and committed crimes against the civilian population. According to several Polish sources, the Germans engaged in a massive persecution of Polish activists and their Masurian supporters and went as far as engaging in regular hunts and murder to influence the vote. The organisation of the plebiscite was also influenced by Britain, which then supported Germany out of fear of an increased power for France in postwar Europe. According to Jerzy Minakowski, terror and their unequal status made Poles boycott

9240-424: The plebiscite. However, debate went on whether it was a Polish or German condition at Versailles as it might have been expected that also many Ruhr Area Poles would vote for Poland. Therefore, it is also reported that the Polish delegation planned to bring Polish émigrés not only from other parts of Germany but also from America to the plebiscite area to strengthen their position, but those plans were not executed

9350-493: The plebiscite. The plebiscite took place on 11 July 1920 when Poland appeared on the verge of defeat in the Polish-Soviet War (see Miracle at the Vistula ). The pro-German side was able to organise a very successful propaganda campaign by building on the long campaign of Germanisation; notably the plebiscite asking the electorate to vote for Poland or East Prussia is said to have masked the pro-German choice under

9460-606: The prevailing common sense in Mazurian public mind for decades. The German nationalist feelings were recently strengthened even more by the massive rebuilding programme of the devastated towns, which had been destroyed during the Russian invasion in the autumn of 1914 and were then financially adopted by large German cities. Rennie, the British commissioner in Allenstein, reported on 11 March 1920, that "in those parts which touch

9570-609: The province. The town was fought over in the early stages of World War I . It was briefly occupied by Russian troops, and won back by the Germans during the Battle of Tannenberg . The occupation of Soldau is described in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn 's novel August 1914 . Despite the attempts of the local German populace and authorities and the German Government, the town together with neighboring settlements

9680-489: The provincial name of East Prussia. However, the weight of that argument can not have been strong because East Prussia was just a German province, not a sovereign party, as an alternative for the German state, and the voters were aware of that. The activity of pro-German organisations and the Allied support for the participation of those who were born in the plebiscite area but did not live there any longer were supposed to further

9790-543: The results, in 1157 some Prussian troops supported the Polish army in their fight against Emperor Frederick Barbarossa . In 1166, two Polish dukes, Bolesław IV and his younger brother Henry , came into Prussia, again over the Ossa River. The prepared Prussians led the Polish army, under the leadership of Henry, into an area of marshy morass. Whoever did not drown was felled by an arrow or by throwing clubs, and nearly all Polish troops perished. From 1191 to 1193 Casimir II

9900-638: The secret Masurian Research Institute ( Mazurski Instytut Badawczy ), which was part of the Polish Secret Teaching Organization . The town was heavily damaged during the fighting on the Eastern Front . It was assigned to Poland after the war under border changes promulgated at the 1945 Potsdam Conference , and became Działdowo. The town is located at the intersection of the Voivodeship roads 542, 544, 545. There

10010-460: The shores of ocean, but how it comes thither you know not. But as an author named Cornelius (Tacitus) informs us, it is gathered in the innermost islands of the ocean, being formed originally of the juice of a tree (whence its name succinum), and gradually hardened by the heat of the sun. Thus it becomes an exuded metal, a transparent softness, sometimes blushing with the color of saffron, sometimes glowing with flame-like clearness. Then, gliding down to

10120-430: The small forces had proven themselves inadequate to protect pro-Polish voters in the precincts from pro-German repressions. The Commission had general powers of administration and was particularly "charged with the duty of arranging for the vote and of taking such measures as it may deem necessary to ensure its freedom, fairness, and secrecy. The Commission will have all necessary authority to decide any questions to which

10230-448: The toad. They also had forests, fields and bodies of water, which they held so sacred that they neither chopped wood nor dared to cultivate fields or fish in them. Baltic paganism has been described as a form of polydoxy , a belief in the sacredness of all natural forces and phenomena, not personified but possessing their own spirits and magical powers. They thought the world inhabited by a limitless number of spirits and demons, believed in

10340-455: The town became part of the Kingdom of Prussia , from 1773 on within the newly formed province of East Prussia . Within the Kingdom of Prussia and the later German Empire , the settlement developed into an important Prussian Eastern Railway junction in the second half of the 19th century. The town had Polish majority in 1825 with 1496 Poles and 386 Germans living within it. At the same time

10450-820: The town was briefly captured by the Teutonic Knights in 1455. After the peace treaty signed in Toruń in 1466, it became a part of Poland as a fief held by the State of the Teutonic Knights . Within the Duchy of Prussia (a Polish fiefdom until 1657) the settlement converted to Lutheranism during the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. The following communes belonged to the Protestant parish of Soldau: Amalienhof, Borowo, Bursch, Cämmersdorf, Gajowken, Hohendorf, Kyschienen, Königshagen, Kurkau, Niederhof, Pierlawken, Pruschinowo, and Rudolfsfelde. In 1701

10560-616: The town was invaded by Germany, and then the Einsatzgruppe V entered to commit crimes against the Polish population . Under German occupation , the town was annexed back into the Neidenburg District by Nazi Germany . The German minority in the town formed the Selbstschutz death squad that captured and tortured Polish leaders and members of the political and cultural elites before murdering them. Only some of

10670-483: The trading town of Truso at the Vistula Lagoon , observed that wealthy people drank fermented mare's milk kumis instead of mead . According to Adam of Bremen, the Sambians are said to have consumed horse blood as well as horse milk. He also mentions that horse meat was eaten. Women held no powerful positions among the Old Prussians and, according to Peter von Dusburg, were treated like servants, forbidden to share

10780-456: The vote toward Germany. In the end, the weight of the evidently substantial number of pro-German emigration voters can be ignored in the light of the 96% pro-German overall total. Anyway, the plebiscite resulted in a vast majority for East Prussia. Only a small part of the territory affected by the plebiscite was awarded to Poland, and most remained in Germany. Poland's supposed disadvantage by

10890-565: The word Prūsas (a Prussian) can be derived from the term for a body of water, an understandable convention in a coastal region dotted with thousands of lakes, streams and swamps ( Masuria ). To the south, the terrain runs into the vast wetlands of the Pripet Marshes at the headwaters of the Dnieper River , which has been an effective natural barrier throughout the millennia. Writing in 98 CE, Roman historian Tacitus described

11000-553: Was buried in tree coffins. Cremation with urns spread from the third century onwards. Except for the Samians and Sudauers, where shallow grave fields existed until Christianization, cremation pits without urns increasingly became the only form of burials among the Prussians. However, different forms of burial could occur side by side at the same time. The Stone babas , found all over Old Prussia, have for centuries caused considerable speculation and dissent among scholars. Beginning with

11110-627: Was chaired by a Polish citizen Juliusz Bursche , later Bishop of the Evangelical-Augsburg Church in Poland . There was also an unofficial Warmian Plebiscite Committee  [ pl ] . They tried to convince the Masurians of Warmia (Ermland) and Masuria that they were victims of a long period of Germanisation but that Poles now had the opportunity to liberate themselves from Prussian rule. Rennie reported to Curzon at

11220-591: Was disappointed with his people's behaviour and "spoke strongly about the tactlessness and rigidity of the Polish Military authorities". On 10 March 1920 Beaumont wrote of numerous continuing difficulties being made by Polish officials and stressed the "ill-will between Polish and German nationalities and the irritation due to Polish intolerance towards the German inhabitants in the Corridor (now under their rule), far worse than any former German intolerance of

11330-541: Was divided among 57% Poles, 42% Germans and 1% Jews according to official German statistics. In 1910 the town itself had 4,728 inhabitants, 3,589 of them Germans. In 1912 the Germans introduced the terms "Masurs" and "Masurian language" instead of "Pole" and "Polish language" in the census in the area. It was part of the Landkreis Neidenburg district in East Prussia , and it was the southernmost town in

11440-563: Was first written on a 1409 map during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War . In 1444, the town joined the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation , at the request of which King Casimir IV Jagiellon signed the act of incorporation of the region to the Kingdom of Poland in 1454, and then the townspeople expelled the Teutonic Knights and recognized the Polish King as rightful ruler. During the subsequent Thirteen Years’ War ,

11550-481: Was headed by its Kriwe , who also served as lawgiver and judge. The Kriwe-Kriwajto's next in rank, the Siggonen were expected to maintain the healthy spiritual connection with natural sacred sites, like springs and trees. The Wurskaiten – priests of lower rank – were supposed to superintend rites and ceremonies. With the submission to the Teutonic Order in 1231, the Old Prussians were Christianised . How long

11660-479: Was influential for the final result. The plebiscites asked voters whether they wanted their homeland to remain in East Prussia or to become a part of it, as to the Marienwerder Plebiscite Area, which was part of Weimar Germany , or to become part of Poland (the alternatives for the voters were not Poland or Germany but Poland or East Prussia, the latter of which was not a sovereign nation). All inhabitants of

11770-502: Was installed as the first bishop of Prussia. The Duchy of Masovia, and especially the region of Culmerland , become the object of constant Prussian counter-raids. In response, Konrad I of Masovia called on the Pope for aid several times, and founded a military order (the Order of Dobrzyń ) before calling on the Teutonic Order . The results were edicts calling for Northern Crusades against

11880-405: Was later adopted by predominantly Low German -speaking inhabitants of the region. The duchy of the Polans under Mieszko I , which was the predecessor of the Kingdom of Poland , first attempted to conquer and baptize the Baltic tribes during the 10th century, but repeatedly encountered strong resistance. Not until the 13th century were the Old Prussians subjugated and their lands conquered by

11990-665: Was separated from Germania by the Vistula Flumen . His map is very confusing in that region, but the Borusci seem further east than the Prussians, which would have been under the Gythones ( Goths ) at the mouth of the Vistula. The Aesti recorded by Tacitus , were 450 years later recorded by Jordanes as part of the Gothic Empire. The original Old Prussian settlement area in the western Baltics, as well as that of

12100-478: Was transferred to reborn Poland on 17 January 1920 by the Treaty of Versailles for geostrategic reasons without participating in the East Prussian plebiscite . The Prussian Eastern Railway connection to German Prussia such as Deutsch Eylau (Iława), Osterode (Ostróda), and Neidenburg (Nidzica) in East Prussia were severed after the border changes. After the town was ceded to Poland, a large number of

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