ELITA MAJĄTKOWA ZABORU PRUSKIEGO PRZED I WOJNĄ ŚWIATOWĄ
THE FINANCIAL ELITE OF THE PRUSSIAN PARTITION BEFORE THE FIRST WORLD WAR

Summary/Abstract: Based on Rudolf Martin's list of millionaires in the provinces of the German Reich, we analyse the position of Poles within the financial elite of the Prussian partition. Our findings indicate that nearly half of the millionaires living in the Province of Posen (German: Provinz Posen; Polish: Prowincja Poznańska) were of Polish nationality. In contrast, the number of Polish millionaires in other provinces we examined was minimal. Poles were especially well represented among the "middle class" millionaires, while there were fewer Polish individuals at both the top and bottom of Martin's list. Almost all Polish millionaires were landowners. The analysis reveals that the Polish population did not fully capitalise on the opportunities presented by the Second Industrial Revolution, especially in comparison to other nations. Although Poles comprised 60% of the population in the Province of Posen, they accounted for only 20% of the millionaires in non-agricultural sectors of the economy. Our findings suggest that, despite the unfavourable policies imposed by the partitioning power, the interests of the Polish aristocracy were not threatened, for Polish landowners were part of the financial elite within the German state. They took advantage of the opportunity to export agricultural products to the thriving German market. Paradoxically, they were also indirect beneficiaries of the discriminatory policies of the partitioning powers, which bought up Polish agricultural land at inflated prices, increasing the value of Polish estates.

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