[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] German Migration to Volhynia

[George Shoning]

Richard Benert and I have exchanged a couple of e-mails about this subject in general and Kostiuk’s book Die deutschen Kolonien in Wolhynien specifically.  Richard suggested that I translate and post to the listserve a couple of paragraphs from this book.  These paragraphs are below and come from pages 32-34.
 
As this discussion progressed, I wondered if perhaps we are looking at this history through our experience here in the western world where in general government is consistent and laws are commonly known by the governed.  Do we know how the edicts in the manifestos of Catherine II and Alexander I were terminated, other than by enactment of new laws or issuance of new edicts that explicitly overrode, eliminated, declared null and void some or all provisions of an earlier manifesto?  I think that perhaps some jurisdictions in Volhynia continued to carry out provisions of the manifestos, while other jurisdictions ignored them, modified them to suit their purposes, or considered them lapsed.  Much communication came by word of mouth and perhaps some officials were never told of changes or additions to laws or chose to ignore them.  Termination of the military exemption may have been treated in such a way.  Enforcement of laws was and still is very inconsistent.  Handing someone a few rubels opened and opens doors.

 

Kostiuk's paragraphs:

 

. . . The legal basis of the German colonization in Volhynia was the (Russian) law as it existed for the other colonists. Russia amended it continuously with new laws. The manifesto of Catherine II on July 22, 1763, formed the fundamental legal basis of Russian colonization policy.  It governed the conditions of colonization, rights and obligations of the colonists, enumerated the more important privileges, affected moving (to Volhynia), taxes, and contributions, military service, etc. The manifesto of Alexander I on February 20, 1804, extended those rights to all who were "employed in the agricultural service."
. . .
Nationality played a significant role in the status of the Volhynian Germans.  Anyone who did not take on Russian nationality (citizenship) encountered problems with land acquisition and conditions of ownership.  The German resettlers from the areas of the Vistula River of the German Empire found themselves in a better position.  The special decree of August 26, 1868, addressed them:  All resettlers were required to register at the new settlement with local authorities.  All tax relief lapsed.  They only received exemption from military service.  All applicable laws applied to them without exception, as they did for all, at the new place of settlement.  They were permitted to keep only certain rights that they enjoyed in their country of origin.  In March 1872 the Ministry of the Interior (Home Affairs) confirmed that these decisions applied also to the “Polish Germans” (72). The Volhynian Governors (government administrators) pointed out that if Germans settled with their Polish citizenship and residence certificate, “they would create a state within a state” (73).  All of these problems disappeared with registration. To eliminate difficulty with the new registration requirement, the central government permitted local authorities at their discretion to grant benefits to immigrants.  Thus, in 1856 the Czar permitted the governor generals of Kiev, Podolia and Volhynia to pay “needy foreigners who came through Austria up to 5 Thaler of support” (74).
 
The bestowal of a variety of special rights to foreigners promoted colonization initially.  However, as soon as this became mass colonization, the Administration slowed the process due to confusion:  Began to order, regulate, to check everything.  Now the resettlers from the Vistula region had to produce “certificates of release” from their place of origin.  Only with this document were they permitted to settle within the borders of Russia.  Of course, the Germans came without such certificate, settled, leased and purchased land and registered as a colony only afterwards (75).  Thus, the situation developed where in 1868 colonists who 20 years before had come from the Radom Gubernia sought certificates of release en masse. In February 1886 alone, 109 such requests were made to the Polish authorities (76).  The process demonstrates on one hand the uncontrollability of the colonization, and on the other hand the efforts to technically manage it.
 

The numbers in the parentheses refer to sources cited in the book. There is some suspicion that the 1856 date at the end of the middle paragraph may by a typo. 

 

George Shoning