Polish minority in Germany, is the second largest Polish minority (
Polonia) in the world and the biggest in
Europe. Estimations of the number of
Poles living in
Germany vary from 384,808 Poles with exclusively Polish citizenship and with up to three million people living that might be of Polish descent, although many of them have lost their ancestors' identity. The main Polonia organisations in Germany are the
Union of Poles in Germany and
Congress of Polonia in Germany.
Polish surnames are relatively common in Germany, especially in the
Ruhr area (
Ruhr Poles) and among
Silesians.
Minority rights for Poles in Germany were revoked by
Hermann Göring's
World War II decree of 27 February 1940, and their property was confiscated. The official minority status of Poles has never been restored in Germany.,
Polska Agencja Prasowa
History
Since the
Partitions of Poland in 1772, 1793 and 1795 and Poland's partial incorporation into Prussia, a large Polish ethnic group existed inside
Prussia's borders, especially in the new provinces of
Posen and
West Prussia. During the transformation of Germany from an agrarian to an
industrial society, many Poles, alongside
Silesians,
Kashubians and
Masurians migrated to the rapidly transforming areas around the
Ruhr river. The expansion of the coal mining industry of the area required manpower which could not be supplied from the nearby regions. The...
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