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The Ruhr Poles

Associations of Polish Youth (Towarzystwa Modzieży Polskiej) in Herne-Horsthausen, 1916–1919

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Media library
  • The church cross to the right of the main entrance of St. Mary Magdalene´s Church - The church cross to the right of the main entrance of St. Mary Magdalene´s Church in Radlin II (Wodzisław Śląski)
  • The church cross to the right of the main entrance of St. Mary Magdalene´s Church - The church cross to the right of the main entrance of St. Mary Magdalene´s Church in Radlin II (Wodzisław Śląski), donated by emigrants
  • Call for the recruitment of miners in Masuria - Call of an agent from 1887 for the recruitment of miners in Masuria
  • Flag of the Polish-Catholic miners´ association of Eving, front - Flag of the Polish-Catholic miners´ association of Eving (Dortmund) from 1898, with a cross, mallets and iron on the front and the inscription: "Tow. Katolickie polskich Górników pod opieką św. Barbary w Eving"
  • Flag of the Polish-Catholic miners´ association of Eving, reverse - Flag of the Polish-Catholic miners´ association of Eving (Dortmund) from 1898, with a cross, mallets and iron on the front and the inscription: "Tow. Katolickie polskich Górników pod opieką św. Barbary w Eving"
  • Flag of the Brotherhood of the Holy Rosary of Women in Suderwich, front - Flag of the Brotherhood of the Holy Rosary of Women in Suderwich, founded on August 1, 1906, Patron Saint: Saint Joseph - Motto: Pray for us
  • Flag of the brotherhood of the Holy Rosary of Women in Suderwich, back - Flag of the Brotherhood of the Holy Rosary of Women in Suderwich, founded on August 1, 1906, Patron Saint: Saint Joseph - Motto: Pray for us
  • Flag of the Mickiewicz Choral Society from Oberhausen 1898, front - Flag of the choral society "Mickiewicz" from Oberhausen, founded on 30 May 1898, inscription on the back: "Cześć Pieśni" [honour to the song]
  • Flag of the Mickiewicz Choral Society from Oberhausen 1898, reverse - Flag of the choral society "Mickiewicz" from Oberhausen, founded on 30 May 1898, inscription on the back: "Cześć Pieśni" [honour to the song]
  • Membership card of Sokół by Ludwik Najdecki - Membership card of the gymnastics organisation Sokół (Falcon) by Ludwik Najdecki from Herne, department Eickel II and Holsterhausen, taken on 3.4.1921 with stamp
  • Membership card of the Union of Poles in Germany by Josef Najdecki - Membership card of the Union of Poles in Germany by Josef Najdecki from 1923, district Gelsenkirchen, department Wanne-Eickel II, with stamp
  • Membership card of the Union of Poles in Germany by Josef Najdecki - Membership card of the Union of Poles in Germany by Josef Najdecki from 1923, district Gelsenkirchen, department Wanne-Eickel II, with stamp
  • Miners´ hymnal - Miners´ hymnal, published by the miners´ department of the "Polish Professional Association" in Bochum.
  • State of the Polish movement in Westphalia, report from 1912

    Report on the state of the Polish movement in Rhineland and Westphalia and other areas of the German Reich and neighbouring countries in 1912, author: Bochum Police Commissioner Gerstein.
  • Polish amateur theater group from Husen - Amateur theatre group with plaque (inscription: From the Polish Theatre in Husen on 23.3. 1919), marked: Viktoria Wasielewski
  • Choral society in Bochum-Hamme, 1910-1939. - Choral society in Bochum-Hamme in Westphalia, 1910-1939.
  • Polish children from Westphalia on their way to the holiday camp, 1925 - Polish children from Westphalia on their way to the holiday camp in Poland, 1925.
  • Polish children from Westphalia at the holiday camp, 1925-1939 - Polish children from Westphalia at the holiday camp in Jędrzejów, 1925-1939.
  • Polish Artists in Westphalia, 1928 - Polish Artists in Westphalia, 1928
  • A group of Polish artists in Westphalia, before 1939 - A group of Polish artists in Westphalia. Among others: Zofia Barwińska. Before 1939.
  • The religious ceremony in Herne, 1930 - The religious ceremony of "Days of Faith of Our Fathers" in Herne, 1930
  • Delegates to the II Congress of Poles from abroad, on a Street in Dortmund, 1934 - Delegates to the II Congress of Poles from abroad, on a Street in Dortmund, 1934.
  • Bank Robotników (The Workers' Bank) at Klosterstraße 2 in Bochum, 1917-1939 - Bank Robotników (The Workers' Bank) at Klosterstraße 2 in Bochum, founded by the German Polish community 1917-1939. 
  • Sokół gymnastic club 1920-1939 - Members of the "Sokół" gymnastic club at the rally 1920-1939.
  • Polish secondary school students from Westphalia at the summer holiday camp, 1936-1937 - Polish secondary school students from Westphalia at the summer holiday camp in Ustroń, 1936-1937.
  • Polish amateur theatre in Westphalia, 1929 - Polish amateur theatre in Westphalia, 1929.
  • Congress of Poles from Westphalia and Rhineland in Bochum, 1935 - Congress of Poles from Westphalia and Rhineland in Bochum, 1935.
  • Postcard from the Congress of the Poles in Westphalia and Rhineland in Bochum 1935, front - Postcard from the Congress of the Poles in Westphalia and Rhineland in Bochum 1935 with inscription on the back.
  • Postcard from the Congress of the Poles in Westphalia and Rhineland in Bochum 1935, reverse - Postcard from the Congress of the Poles in Westphalia and Rhineland in Bochum 1935 with inscription on the back
  • Congress of the Youth Section of the Polish-Catholic Societies of Westphalia and Rhineland in Bochum, 1927 - Congress of the Youth Section of the Polish-Catholic Societies of Westphalia and Rhineland in Bochum, 1927.
  • Die „Ruhrpolen“ - Hörspiel von "COSMO Radio po polsku" auf Deutsch - In Zusammenarbeit mit "COSMO Radio po polsku" präsentieren wir Hörspiele zu ausgewählten Themen unseres Portals.

    Die „Ruhrpolen“ - Hörspiel von "COSMO Radio po polsku" auf Deutsch

    In Zusammenarbeit mit "COSMO Radio po polsku" präsentieren wir Hörspiele zu ausgewählten Themen unseres Portals.
Associations of Polish Youth in Herne-Horsthausen, 1916–1919
Associations of Polish Youth (Towarzystwa Modzieży Polskiej) in Herne-Horsthausen, 1916–1919

Remigration to a restored Poland - successful reintegration and disenchantment
 

After the end of the war in 1918 when a Polish state was re-established, processes of repatriation began to take place in the now almost entirely Polish homeland of the Ruhr Poles. These processes involved about a quarter of the Polish population who had emigrated to the Rhine and Ruhr in the previous decades, i.e. roughly 150,000 people. Driven by the general euphoria, many returnees gave up their jobs and their homes. The problem was that many people were unaware of the actual situation in the newly emerging Polish state and often placed far too much reliance on the promises of national Polish activists who, in previous decades, had raised hopes of an economically prosperous Poland in which Ruhr Poles who returned home would play a leading role. The reality was often starkly different: many Ruhr Poles found themselves facing not only unemployment and housing shortages, but also a hostile response from the local population, not to speak of immigrants from other parts of the country, who saw the returnees from the Rhine and Ruhr as competitors for scarce jobs and housing. The Polish government was well aware of the existing problems and tried, among other things through the consulate in Essen, to control and contain the number of returnees, not least in order to create a counterweight to the now large minority of Germans in Poland. The Ruhr Poles became a pawn in major politics.[45]

Indeed, news about the situation in Poland, information meetings and feedback from returnees among family members, acquaintances and neighbours on the Rhine and Ruhr led to an abatement in return movements.[46] To return to Poland or to stay in Germany? In order to steer the problem into regulated, internationally accepted channels and offer potential returnees legal security, it was decided to introduce an option procedure. Articles 91 and 278 of the Treaty of Versailles laid down the legal basis for options and citizenship. The option was set to expire on 22.01.1922.[47] If Ruhr Poles opted to return to Poland, they were given twelve months to leave Germany, after which they could be expelled. Personal possessions could be transported across the border duty-free, and they could also retain their property. Persons who failed to make use of an option to which they were entitled, and decided to remain in Germany became German citizens by omission. However, if they returned to Poland and became Polish citizens without taking up the option, they would lose their guaranteed rights, including their right to a pension.[48] Due to the absence of files in the consulate in Essen, it is difficult to reconstruct how many people made use of their option right, but estimates suggest that this was no more than 75,000 people - i.e. option holders plus family members.[49]

Frequently, the driving force behind their decision to return was a Polish national consciousness developed in the Ruhr area. But this was by no means enough to ensure a successful and sustainable return to Poland. Based on the analysis of concrete examples, it is possible to specify the following necessary factors, which also had to be fulfilled: 1. economic independence, i.e. the returnees were financially secured by savings at least in the initial years after emigrating to Poland; 2. real estate ownership, i.e. the returnees owned a house and/or a farm through purchase or inheritance and were not dependent on receiving municipal housing; 3. Self-employment, for example through the ownership of arable land or livestock and/or (simultaneous) employment in a colliery (in Upper Silesia) or industrial enterprise, in trade/crafts or as a state employee (e.g. with the police); 4. Existing networks, i.e. family structures or neighbours, that provided support and protection. If one or even several of these factors were absent, their previously developed national consciousness might be eradicated by unemployment and a drift into poverty. In extreme cases, this could lead them to return to West Germany and, in some cases, to further migration to industrial areas in Belgium, France or the Netherlands. On occasions the general disillusionment with the situation in Poland resulted in bitter letters to former neighbours on the Rhine and Ruhr: “Oh, if only it were possible for me to return to Cologne. I can't stop thinking about Cologne and would like to pack all our things, because it is much better there [...] So if you want a piece of advice, stay there with your family, keep your job and stop being such a committed Pole like many others were, because the Poles here don' t care about any of that [...] Here everyone is running around in misery, they were also mistaken about this Poland [...].”[51]

 

[45] Piotrowski, Mirosław: Reemigracja Polaków z Niemiec 1918–1939, Lublin 2000, pp. 134–137 and 169–170.

[46] Ibid, p. 118.

[47] Ibid, p. 8–9.

[48] Ibid, pp. 117–118 and 297–298.

[49] Ibid, p. 293.

[50] Skrabania: Keine Polen?, p. 176.

[51] Quoted from: Piotrowski: Reemigracja, p. 203 [German translation: David Skrabania].