[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] GERMANS IN RUSSIAN-POLAND IS THEREA HISTORY BOOK?

[Jack Milner]

Volhynia had been a feudal province with a Polish aristocracy and 
Ukrainian serfs, ruled by Poland until the late 18th century, when 
Poland was partitioned by the Prussian, Austrian, and Russian empires. 
  Prussia, Russia, and Austria had already annexed parts of Poland in 
1772 and 1793. During the third partition in 1795, Poland's last 
remaining territory was occupied by the three partitioning powers, which 
resulted in the disappearance of Poland from the European map.

In 1815, at the Congress of Vienna, Russia formally incorporated the 
greater part of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and allowed some semi-autonomy 
with little interference.

Catherine the Great died in 1796 after the third partition of Poland. 
Though there were a few Germans scattered about in Volhynia at that 
time, there was no organized migration until c.1816. In the early 1830s, 
another migration took place as a result of a Polish rebellion in 
Russian Poland when large numbers of German cloth makers arrived.

The story of Catherine the Great and her invitation applies only to what 
are known as Volga River Germans who settled much further to the east in 
Russia. The migration into Volhynia occurred about sixty five to seventy 
years after Catherine's death and these Germans migrated there, without 
extended privileges, primarily due to the availability of land for farming.

By 1860, there were only about 5,000 Germans in 35 small villages. Then, 
with the abolition of serfdom by Tsar Alexander I I in 1861 and the 
failed Polish Insurrection of 1863, Germans began to flood into this 
area because more land became available to them. It was the shortage of 
land in their old homes that drove most of the Germans into this region. 
Since the landlords in Volhynia no longer had serfs bound to the land, 
they were looking for qualified farmers to develop and farm their 
properties. By selling and leasing land to the German farmers, they 
profited and many new German villages were developed. The only 
priveliges extended to these new colonists were those which could be 
provided by the local nobility.

By 1871, there were over 28,000 Germans living in Volhynia and by the 
turn of the century, over 200,000. Most of them had come from Poland 
with a minority from Wuerttemberg, Pomerania, East Prussia, Silesia, and 
Galicia. Neither Catherine nor her successors had created any special 
rules, invitations, or other incentives for Germans moving to Volhynia.

Volhynia was a gubernia, or province, of the Russian Empire until 1921, 
when the western part of Volhynia once again became part of Poland. In 
1945 the entire area of the Volhynia Gubernia was absorbed into the 
Soviet Union and the Volhynia name was used to identify a smaller 
region, called an oblast, in the western part of the old gubernia. Most 
of what was the Volhynia Gubernia is now in Ukraine, with a small part 
of northern Volhynia in Belarus.

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On 1/19/2016 11:17 AM, Paul Rakow wrote:
>      No, Catherine was born in Stettin/Szczecin in Pomerania, in
>   what is now an insurance office. They have a plaque there to
>   prove it, (I've been there and have a photo).
>
>            Paul Rakow
>
>
> On Tue, January 19, 2016 16:24, marlo50 at bex.net wrote:
>> Wasn't she born in Volhynia???
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Dave Obee
>> Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2016 11:13 AM
>> To: Comcast
>> Cc: ger-poland-volhynia at sggee.org ; MIKE MCHENRY
>> Subject: Re: [Ger-Poland-Volhynia] GERMANS IN RUSSIAN-POLAND IS THEREA
>> HISTORY BOOK?
>>
>>
>> What does Catherine the Great have to do with Volhynia?
>>
>>
>> Dave
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Comcast <mjm1021 at comcast.net>
>> To: MIKE MCHENRY <maurmike1 at verizon.net>
>> Cc: ger-poland-volhynia at sggee.org
>> Sent: Tue, 19 Jan 2016 04:53:00 -0700 (MST)
>> Subject: Re: [Ger-Poland-Volhynia] GERMANS IN RUSSIAN-POLAND IS THERE A
>> HISTORY BOOK?
>>
>>
>>
>> The link below is a beginning.  Volhynia's story is entwined with
>> Catherine
>> the Great.  I cannot remember the name of the one I read but there are
>> many at Amazon under Volhynia and Catherine the Great.
>>
>> https://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/history_culture/history/german_american_jou
>> rnal1.html
>>
>> Fran Matkovich
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>>
>>> On Jan 18, 2016, at 4:21 PM, MIKE MCHENRY <maurmike1 at verizon.net>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> Has there been an account written? Can anybody recommend a book?
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> MIKE
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>
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