COST Action IS0803
Working Paper
Creating a State – Defining its Borders
A Historical Example from Prussian Poland
Torben Kiel, M.A.
Historisches Institut
Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald
[email protected]
This paper was first presented at:
Relocating Borders: A comparative approach
WG or WS Name:
On:
13th January 2013
Location:
Berlin
Keywords:
border, history, Germany, Prussia, Posen, Poland,
Revolution 1848, demarcation, delimitation
Disciplines:
history
Creating a State – Defining its Borders
A Historical Example from Prussian Poland
The revolution of 1848 was an event of high significance not only for Germany, it was
a truly pan-European event. As such, two questions were particular important in central
Europe for the purposes of this paper: First, if and how a German National state could be
established, second, could a Polish state be re-established? The settlement by the Congress of
Vienna 1814/15 provided the framework of action: Poland did not exist as an independent
nation, the Kingdom of Poland had been absorbed by the Russian Empire, smaller parts had
been given to Austria and Prussia. The Prussian part had been constituted as Duchy of Posen
and integrated into the monarchy as the Posen province. The several German states were
linked through the German Confederation as a loose union of independent states and
governed through the German Diet in Frankfurt. Some states, such as Prussia, were not with
their entire territory member of the confederation. Posen and the provinces of East and West
Prussia remained outside. In the course of the revolutionary events Germany tried to
transform this arrangement to form a modern nation state. Popular institutions such as the
National Assembly replaced the old ones.1
During the first days of the revolution there was great sympathy for the Polish case in
Germany und support for a re-establishing of an independent Polish state. Accordingly there
was a consensus that the Polish inhabitants in the province of Posen should get a certain form
of self-government.2 Also, in these days, a Polish national movement was formed in the Great
Duchy and it presented its demands. King Frederick William IV. reacted to these
developments by issuing a cabinet order on 24th March, he promised what was called a
“national reorganisation” of Posen. The order, however, did not specify the exact status und
form of the territory so to be reorganised. It was not said, whether it would remain part of the
Prussian Monarchy or not and if so, in what capacity. Hope on the Polish side, in particular in
the newly formed National Committee, was to establish a nucleus for a new Polish state that
could eventually evolve into an independent Polish state encompassing all former lands.
German inhabitants of the Posen province feared this would mean that they would be under
1
On the revolution cf. Sperber, J. The European Revolutions 1848-1851, Cambridge 1995; D. Dowe (ed.) 1848.
Revolution und Reform, Bonn 1998; W. Siemann Die deutsche Revolution von 1848/49, Frankfurt a. M. 1985; G.
Wollstein Das „Großdeutschland“ der Paulskirche: Nationale Ziele in der bürgerlichen Revolution von
1848/49, Düsseldorf 1977; M. Botzenhart 1848/49. Europa im Umbruch, Paderborn 1998; on legal and
constitutional matters: E. R. Huber Deutsche Verfassungsgeschichte seit 1789, vol 2, 3rd ed 1988.
2
Wollstein, „Großdeutschland“, 98-133.
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Polish government one day. Their concerns were fuelled by the ongoing effort to establish
and equip a military force by the Polish national movement. So the German population of the
Province established their own “German” National Committee in opposition to the already
existing Polish one. Their aim was an incorporation of the predominantly German parts of the
duchy into the German Confederation, as had happened previously with the East- and WestPrussian provinces. The division of the Duchy became evident when the provincial estates
(Landtag), the legally established representative body of the province, voted against an
incorporation into the German Confederation. This decision was made by the Polish majority
of its members, while the German members opposed this vote altogether. Also, in Frankfurt
only members of the German-speaking population took part in the proceedings of the socalled “Pre-Parliament”, while Polish delegates from Posen did not participate. The PreParliament and its successor, however, refused to vote on the question whether Posen should
be included into the new German state and delegated this question to the future National
Assembly. From a German (Frankfurt) perspective therefore the Posen question remained an
open one, and for the time being it remained Prussia’s responsibility to deal with the issues
relating to the administration of the Province.
On the 30th March 1848 the Prussian Government decided to send General von
Willisen as Commissioner of Re-organisation into Posen to find an amicable understanding
with the Polish National Committee about the intended changes in the administration of the
province.3 The settlement that was reached and formalised in the Convention of Jaroslawiec
failed due to opposition by the German-speaking population and Prussian military. The
Commissioner’s efforts thus proved fruitless. Instead, a cabinet order was issued on 14th April
declaring the Province to be divided and the German-speaking part to be exempted from the
reorganisation. For these substantial territories the Prussian Government sought inclusion into
the German Confederation and moved accordingly in the German Diet. This application was
granted by the Diet on its meeting on 22nd April. Only a few days later at the end of the month
the line of demarcation between the German and the Polish part of the Province was changed
to include the Duchy’s capital, the city and fortified place of Posen, and its environs into the
German part. On 2nd May the Diet decided that these territories also should become part of the
German Confederation. The argument used to justify this change was the strategic and
military importance of the city of Posen, as a fortified place it could not be accepted that it
was in foreign hands. Looking at the map one will see that a substantial part of the province
3
Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz Berlin (GStA PK), I. HA, Rep. 77, Tit. 539 Nr. 1, Bd. 1, 49.
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was allocated to the Germans. While the first line of demarcation followed roughly the border
between those districts with primarily German population and those with primarily Polish
population the extension included a substantial part of Polish-speaking areas. The idea to
include the city of Posen into the German part meant, in fact, that only about a third of the
Province remained outside the German confederation and was to be “nationally
reconstructed”.
Further developments must be seen against the background of the military success of
the Prussian troops. They were able to control the actions of the Polish military forces and
forced them to surrender on 9th May. As a result the commanding General von Pfuel decided
on a new line of demarcation, separating areas to be controlled by the polish forces from those
controlled by the Prussian military (and thus under German control). This line left even less
territory under Polish control. Three weeks later this new line was relocated again, some
districts being removed from the German territories, other being removed from the Polish
territories.4 What was the exact legal status of the province at this time? Despite the events in
Posen, one thing was not called in question: the sovereignty of the Prussian King in the entire
province. Independent of any separation of the Polish from the German administration or any
other measure Posen remained an integral part of the Prussian state, the King’s realm. This
was the official view adopted by the Prussian government and reaffirmed in a meeting on 30th
March.5 Whether or not a part of the province became part of the German Confederation was
a different question. It was not the province that was made a member of the Confederation but
from a German perspective it was a relocation of the border of one particular member, i. e.
Prussia. The importance of this relocation lies in the fact it delimitated the space of authority
of the Confederation and thus it would have become the border of new German national state
that was to be founded within the competence and authority of the Confederation.General
Pfuels line of demarcation was something quite different. It was a military measure (within
the King’s competence as the Head of the entire province) and it did not create any legal
claims by the Prussian state. It separated areas where the Polish National Committee was
allowed to exercise administrative control from those where the German Administration
remained in place (or was reinstituted). This separation was done under military authority on
a mere de-facto-basis.
4
5
Wollstein, „Großdeutschland, 115-121.
GStA PK I. HA, Rep 77, Tit 539 Nr. 1, Bd. 1, 49.
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Yet this was not the last act of demarcation in Posen in 1848. The initiative came from
the Frankfurt authorities. The National Assembly had been elected and it had created a new
Provisional Central Power as executive body for the time the new German state had not been
fully established. Best known is the debate in the National Assembly about the future of
Posen.6 Here the decision that the Pre-Parliament did not take had to be made. From the
German perspective all the decisions so far were considered temporary. The question was
whether the districts that were put under German control after 2nd May should also be
included into the German Confederation resp. the new German state. More important on the
practical level was the decision of the Provisional Central Power to appoint a commissioner
for the delimitation of the border in Posen. Hessian General Schaeffer-Bernstein was send
into the province to evaluate the situation there and to make a final decision about the line of
delimitation between German and Polish territories.7 He acted under authority of the Central
Power and not on behalf of the Prussian government. Prussia had agreed to this procedure and
would accept the ruling.8 Later explaining the reasoning for his decision the commissioner
said that he felt he could not go back beyond the decisions of the German Diet. Also, arguing
from the military point of view, he considered shorter borders better than longer ones
potentially with uneven baselines. Therefore he straightened the existing lines of demarcation
and put emphasis of securing strategically important points for the German side. He also
looked not to separate the property of estates. The result was that an even smaller part of the
province was to remain Polish. Despite being faced with a lot of criticism SchaefferBernsteins ruling was finally accepted.
Over the course of about one year we see 5 different lines of demarcation, of
borderlines being drawn in Posen to separate German and Polish territories. Ultimately, even
the latest design by Schaeffer-Bernstein failed to be permanent because the revolution failed
and the situation of before 1848 was restored. It is significant however, that any of these lines
could equally have become the final border of the new state. The Germans, it is true, being in
the position of power, rendered the different lines in their favour, but there is no “natural”
preference for any of these. The result can be described as somewhat arbitrary and accidental,
because it was not a particular political idea that framed the outcome, but somewhat different
practical thoughts of some generals involved in the process. In fact, the Posen-debate in the
6
F. Wigard Stenographischer Bericht über die Verhandlungen der Deutschen Constituirenden
Nationalversammlung zu Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt a. M. 1848-1849, vol 2, 1124-1239.
7
Bundesarchiv Koblenz DB 54/62.
8
R. Heikaus Die ersten Monate der provisorischen Zentralgewalt für Deutschland (Juli bis Dezember 1848),
Frankfurt a. M. 1997, 324-326.
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National Assembly showed the high symbolic value that was attached to the question of the
German-Polish border, but these ideas did not translate into motivation for those that actually
delimitated the lines in the province. Of course, to any (political) border a meaning can be
attached that goes far beyond its practical purpose and that is why established borderlines are
hard to change, but in its original purpose – that is to delimitate the space in which an entity
can exercise its power legitimately – any line can do. They are just that, separations of space,
and they are arbitrary because they are made by man just for that purpose. They can highly
arbitrary, but once established they can be very resilient to calls for change because they work
very well as delimitations of space (in respect to a competence to act) independent of their
symbolic value.
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Map 1: The Province of Posen 1848:
For this revision: © Torben Kiel
Red: Areas admitted into the German Confederation, April 1848.
Green: Demarcation line by Gen. Pfuel, May/June 1848.
Yellow: Demarcation line by Gen. Schaeffer-Bernstein, December 1848.
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