West Prussia Totally Explained

Everything about West Prussia totally explained

West Prussia (; ) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773-1824 and 1878-1918. After 1918, its central parts became the Polish Corridor and the Free City of Danzig, while the parts remaining with the German Weimar Republic became the new Posen-West Prussia or were joined to the Province of East Prussia as Regierungsbezirk West Prussia.
Apart from the two periods it was a political entity, West Prussia is also used as general name for the region in historical context from the 13th century to 1945, when it was inhabited by a Prussian population, who over centuries of immigrations were mixed with Germans, Slovincians, Kashubians, Hugenots, Poles, Mennonites, Scots, etc.

History

In the Thirteen Years' War (1454-1466), the towns of Pomerelia and western Prussia rebelled against the Teutonic Knights and sought the assistance of King Casimir IV Jagiellon of Poland. By the Second Peace of Thorn (1466), Pomerelia and western Prussia became the Polish province of Royal Prussia, which received several special rights, especially in Danzig (Gdańsk). Royal Prussia became part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1569 and retained self-government by Prussian natives. Eastern Prussia, on the other hand, remained with the Teutonic Knights, who were reduced to vassals of Poland by the Peace of Thorn. This territory became the Duchy of Prussia in 1525 and removed the Polish suzerainty in 1657 Treaty of Wehlau.
   Most of Royal Prussia was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in the First Partition of Poland in 1772, and became the Province of West Prussia the following year, with the exception of Warmia which is located inside eastern Prussia and was joined to form the Province of East Prussia. In the Second Partition of Poland in 1793, the Hanseatic city of Danzig, no longer able to rely on its own strength, opted together with the Hanse city of Thorn to join the Kingdom of Prussia and thus West Prussia. Some of the areas of Greater Poland annexed in 1772 that formed the Netze District were added to West Prussia in 1793 as well.
   During the Napoleonic Wars in 1806, southern parts of West Prussia were moved to the Duchy of Warsaw. From 1824-1878 West Prussia was combined with East Prussia to form the Province of Prussia, after which they were reestablished as separate provinces. The region became part of the German Empire in 1871.
   After the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, most of West Prussia was granted to the Second Polish Republic, while small parts in the West and East of the former province remained in Weimar Germany. The western remainder formed Posen-West Prussia in 1922, while the eastern remainder became part of Regierungsbezirk West Prussia within East Prussia.
   In the Potsdam Conference of 1945 after World War II, all of former West Prussia was placed under the administration of Poland. The remaining German population of the region was expelled westward and replaced with Poles. In 1949, the refugees established the non-profit Territorial Association of West Prussia to represent West Prussians in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Historical population

	Inhabitants	foreigners
West Prussia	1,433,681	1,976

From 1885 to 1890 West Prussia's population decreased by 1%.

1875 - 1,343,057
1880 - 1,405,898
1890 - 1,433,681 (717,532 Catholics, 681,195 Protestants, 21,750 Jews, others)
1900 - 1,563,658 (800,395 Catholics, 730,685 Protestants, 18,226 Jews, others)

Subdivisions

Note: Prussian provinces were subdivided into districts called "Kreise" (singular "Kreis", abbreviated "Kr."). Cities would have their own "Stadtkreis" (urban district) and the surrounding rural area would be named for the city, but referred to as a "Landkreis" (rural district). Population according to the census 1905:

Kreis (County)	Polish Name	Population 1905	Polish, Kashubian	in Percent	German	in Percent
Regierungsbezirk Danzig
Elbing-Stadt	Elbląg	55,627	175	0.31	55,328	99.46
Elbing-Land	Elbląg	38,871	105	0.27	38,737	99.66
Marienburg	Malbork	63,110	1,705	2.70	61,044	96.73
Danzig-Stadt (City)	Gdańsk	160,090	3,065	1.91	154,629	96.59
Danzig-Niederung (lowland)	Gdańsk	36,519	178	0.49	36,286	99.36
Danziger Höhe (highland)	Gdańsk	50,148	5,703	11.73	44,113	87.97
Dirschau	Tczew	40,856	15,144	37.07	25,466	62.33
Preußisch Stargard	Starogard Gdański	62,465	44,809	71.73	17,425	27.90
Berent	Kościerzyna	53,726	29,898	55.65	23,515	43.77
Karthaus	Kartuzy	66,612	46,281	69.48	20,203	30.33
Neustadt	Wejherowo	55,587	27,358	49.22	27,048	48.66
Putzig	Puck	25,701	17,906	69.67	7,629	29.68
Regierungsbezirk Marienwerder
Stuhm	Sztum	36,559	13,473	36.85	22,550	61.68
Marienwerder	Kwidzyń	68,096	24,541	36.04	42,699	62.70
Rosenberg	Susz	53,293	3,465	6.50	49,304	92.51
Löbau	Lubawa	57,285	45,510	79.44	11,368	19.84
Strasburg	Brodnica	59,927	38,507	64.26	21,008	35.06
Briesen	Wąbrzeźno	47,542	25,415	53.46	21,688	45.62
Thorn-Stadt (City)	Toruń	43,658	13,988	32.04	29,230	66.59
Thorn-Land	Toruń	58,765	30,833	52.47	27,508	46.81
Kulm	Chełmno	49,521	25,659	51.89	23,521	47.50
Graudenz-Stadt (City)	Grudziądz	39,953	4,421	11.07	30,709	76.86
Graudenz-Land	Grudziądz	46,509	19,331	41.56	26,888	57.81
Schwetz	Świecie	87,151	47,779	54.82	39,276	45.07
Tuchel	Tuchola	30,803	20,540	66.68	9,925	32.22
Konitz	Chojnice	59,694	32,704	54.79	26,581	44.50
Schlochau	Człuchów	66,317	10,180	15.35	55,981	84.41
Flatow	Złotów	67,783	18,002	26.56	49,167	72.54
Deutsch Krone	Wałcz	63,706	653	1.03	62,977	98.86

Office Holders

Administration of West Prussia before 1919Further Information

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