POMERANIAN ROOTS

"RUSHED, WRECKED & RELAXED"

A Genealogical Weekend in Pomorze, Poland



You may be asking "What or where is Pomerania"? Well, here's a very brief chronology of Pomerania (or "Pommern" in German) that I adapted from an e-mail message from Gunthard Stuebs to the Pommern-L genealogy list on July 22, 1999:

In the 16th century an accord was signed that stipulated that if the line of Pomeranian dukes died out, control of Pomerania would revert to the Kurfuersten of Brandenburg. With the death of Bogislaw XIV in 1637, this indeed happened, and led directly to the "30 Years War" during which time Pomerania was occupied by the Swedes. According to the 1648 peace treaties of Osnabrueck and Muenster, Brandenburg was to gain control of Hinterpommern and Sweden was to maintain control of Vorpommern.

In 1701 the Kurfuerst of Brandenburg became the king of the former duchy of Preussen which, at the time, was part of the German nation, but fell outside the Holy Roman Empire.

In 1720 the Kurfuerst of Brandenburg managed to seize control of the southern region of Vorpommern and, in 1815, the northern area of Vorpommern. In that same year the whole of Pomerania became a Prussian province, and maintained it's borders till 1945.

At the end of the 2nd World War, the free state of Prussia (within Germany) was disbanded by the Allied victors. The western region, Vorpommern, stayed under German administration while the eastern region, Hinterpommern, came under Polish administration. To this day the borderline between Vorpommern and Hinterpommern is the Oder River, but often not strictly so.

In the light of the recent (i.e. 1999) crises in the Balkans I thought that, by way of introduction, it would also be appropriate to post a copy of a message sent the the Pommern-L list by Ronald D. Schulz of Moraga, California on April 14, 1999. Under the heading "The Silence Is Pervasive" he wrote:

I have spent the last four years learning everything I can about the former home of my family, Pomerania. My family considered themselves Pomeranian first, Prussian, second, and German third. I don't know why they felt this way but they did. I have been watching the news the past several weeks, as you have, and find myself shaking my head.

The Israeli ambassador to Albania is on TV now saying, without hesitation, that the current situation in Yugoslavia is the worst situation in Europe since the Holocaust.

I wonder if anyone remembers the Vertreibung. I haven't heard one word of the ethnic cleansing of eastern Germany, not even the old saw "they had it coming".

Pomerania was at one time a country, an "empire" if you will, and the Pomeranian people were real people who had occupied that area for 800 years. Even as part of the Reich it was an identifiable entity and the people were Pommern. They spoke Pommersche and they observed their own customs.

In 1945 Pomerania ceased to exist as an area and the Pomeranians ceased to exist as a people, except in our memories. They were given 24 hours to leave, with just what they could carry on their back. In the most severe winter of 100 years and with nowhere to go except west. They were told if the didn't go they would be killed. My grandmother's sister who felt she was either to old to go or just to stubborn to leave her home was killed on the front porch of her home. Her head was crushed in by the rifle butt of a young Polish soldier. She was not a threat to anyone. But of course there was no one to complain to.

I am now looking at a report "Facts Concerning the Problem of the German Expellees and Refugees" published by the Federal Ministry for Expellees, Refugees and War Victims - Bonn. After the war that area which was Pomernia is designated on the map "At Present Under Polish Administration".

3,198,000 (which was 18.8% of the German population in 1939) were reported in this official report as loses due to the expulsion. Many feel that these figures are understated.

Do we understand ethnic cleansing? Probably better than most of Europe but we are not expected to have a voice.

A tear comes to my eye and I think of Heinz, Margret and their families that didn't make it, and all the others who are remembered by God....at least by God.


Débra and I spent the 1999 Easter weekend in the erstwhile "Hinterpommern" (north-western Poland). It was an intensive weekend, primarily driven by our interest in genealogy. Read on.....

  Day 1: Saturday, April 3, 1999 - "Rushed"

  Day 2: Sunday, April 4, 1999 - "Wrecked"

  Day 3: Monday, April 5, 1999 - "Relaxed"

Throughout the report I present the current Polish place names, but generally refer to locations in the original German. This is because German is the language my family spoke in Pomerania in the mid-19th century, but primarily because I have great difficulty pronouncing the Polish names! Take a look at this 200 kb MAP (drawn by cartographer Reilly in 1791) to get a feel for the area that we visited. For a larger scale perspective, look at this 600 kb MAP drawn by the cartographer Johann Wilhelm Abraham Jaeger (of Frankfurt) between 1718 and 1790.