Richard Blanke - Orphans Of Versailles: The Germans in Western Poland, 1918-1939

The Germans in Western Poland 1918-1939

RICHARD BLANKE

Copyright 1993 by The University Press of Kentucky

Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth,

serving Bellarmine College, Berea College, Centre

College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University,

The Filson Club, Georgetown College, Kentucky

Historical Society, Kentucky State University,

Morehead State University, Murray State University,

Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University,

University of Kentucky, University of Louisville,

and Western Kentucky University.

Editorial and Sales Offices: Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008

Blanke, Richard.

Orphans of Versailles : the Germans in Western Poland, 1918-1939 / Richard Blanke.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN: 978-0-8131-5633-0

1. GermansPolandWestern and Northern TerritoriesHistory.2. Western and Northern Territories (Poland)History.3. Western and Northern Territories (Poland)Ethnic relations.I. Title.

This book is printed on acid-free paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials.

This study has benefited from the assistance of numerous individuals and institutions, and it is a pleasure to express thanks to some of them here. The Research Funds Committee at the University of Maine provided the original seed money in the form of a faculty summer research grant. Subsequently, the project received generous support from the Fulbright Commission and the American Council of Learned Societies, which allowed me to spend a sabbatical year in proximity to European archives and libraries. A grant from the International Research and Exchanges Board financed a summer visit to Poland for the same purpose. Special thanks go also to the Herder Institute in Marburg/Lahn, which has the single best collection of published sources on German-Polish problems; in the course of the year I spent there, Frau Eisinger and her colleagues patiently produced a significant proportion of this collection for my perusal. Thanks also to the Volkswagen-Stiftung, which provided affordable accommodations in Germany; to the Russian and East European Center at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, for the summertime use of its fine library; to Harvard University for providing outsiders generous access to its vast holdings, and to Libby Soifer and Barbara Jones of the inter-library loan office at the University of Maine Library for essential services when I was unable to be at these other places.

The list of individuals to whom I am indebted is headed by my wife, Ann, without whose support and competence in other matters this project would not have been possible (and without whom it would not have been worth undertaking in the first place). Thanks also to Hans Lemberg for varied help and kindness during a sabbatical in his country; to Toma Olejniczak, who made research during a chaotic time in his country somewhat easier; to Bill TeBrake and Kim Pelletier, who made my belated entry into the world of the word processor less traumatic; to Baycka Voronietsky for help with Polish officialdom; to David Smith, Stew Doty, and other colleagues at Maine who were always willing to discuss this project with me; to John Kulczycki, Mieczysaw Biskupski, Anne Young, and others who wrote in behalf of it on more than one occasion. Finally, sincere thanks to those who will point out the shortcomings and inevitable errors of the work that follows, and so help advance the project itself.