Emigration from the Polish Territories under German Rule, 1815-1914

Abstract

Migrational movements from Polish territories under Prussian and German rule constitute one of the largest population shifts in modern European history, yet their full economic, demographic, and occupational dimensions remain insufficiently analyzed across the period from the Congress of Vienna to World War I.
This article examines emigration and the migrational increase or decrease of population in the territory east of Odra and Nysa – comprising the Prussian provinces of Silesia, Great Poland, and Pomerania – during 1815-1914. It analyzes regional differences in migrational movements, the occupational and demographic structure of emigrants, and the economic determinants shaping the intensity and direction of migration.
The study draws on Prussian and German statistical sources: population censuses (from 1816), registration of births and deaths, and records of the Prussian Royal Office for Statistics documenting legal and overseas emigration in 1844-1887. These are supplemented by census data on place of birth and place of stay from 1871, occupational census data from 1907, and unpublished district administrative reports in regional archives.
Between 1815 and 1840 the territory east of Odra and Nysa experienced a migrational increase, supported by agrarian reforms and economic growth. From 1840 onwards a persistent migrational decrease set in, peaking in 1881-1890 with annual net losses exceeding 100,000 persons. This outflow – directed first toward the western Reich, later toward North America – was driven by slower industrialization east of Odra and Nysa relative to western Germany, combined with high natural increase. Emigration significantly altered the labour market and the age and sex structure of the sending regions, contributing to falling birth rates and accelerated demographic aging.