Über die Möglichkeit des Kulturtransfers in der Grenzregion Provinz Posen. Überlegungen zu den Akteuren
On the Possibility of Cultural Transfer in the Border Region of the Province of Posen: Reflections on the Main Individuals and Groups Involved

Summary/Abstract: There is a long history of German-Polish migration experiences in Greater Poland. This underwent a clear revival during the time when Poland was divided, a period that saw German settlers arrive in the Grand Duchy of Posen, including a large, socially and professionally homogenous group of civil servants and teachers. For them, mobility was a necessity, and the state sent them to places where they had to gain a foothold for a period of time, sometimes against their will. The specifics of the lives of German settlers in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries will be reflected upon here, using autobiographically inspired German-language literary texts as a guide. Analysis of these sources reveals that the newcomers in many cases ignored the surrounding society that took them in, often deliberately distancing themselves and creating a microcosm of their own in a (Polish-German-Jewish) environment because of a prevailing idea that the Polish culture was not equal to their own. Thus, they made a concerted effort to “live in German” in these places, while the autochthonous Polish population was expected to integrate over time into the Prussian-German state. Although a mutual exchange between the two sides was never explicitly pursued, as some autobiographers clearly emphasize in their texts, a cultural exchange did in fact take place, even though these were neighborhoods where political opponents lived side by side.

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