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Workers

The lowest level in the social hierarchy of Greater Poland was assigned to workers, who, at the same time belonged to the most numerous social group. In Prussian statistics the term “worker” covered hired employees as well as the separate category of helping family members.

In Greater Poland, throughout the XIX century, the most dominant people were agricultural workers whose number, including those helping family members, amounted to 392000 people in 1907 (including 225000 hired labour force). Such a great number of agricultural workers resulted from the capitalist nature of the agricultural production in Greater Poland and was much higher than in other partitions. From the 1880s, their number systematically declined under the influence of the appearance of alternative and more cost-effective and prestigious opportunities to earn money outside of agriculture. At the same time, at the beginning of the 20th century, the trend in agriculture trended more and more towards the employment of seasonal hired workers including their families, often brought from abroad, in lieu of permanent employees. 

At the turn of the century, the slow, but systematic development of industrialisation and urbanisation led to the creation of new workplaces in non-agricultural departments of the economy, often occupied by people migrating for work to larger municipal centres from land estates, villages and small towns. As a consequence of this, the number of agricultural workers in Greater Poland systematically decreased (from 246000 in 1895 to 225000 in 1907), and the number of workers in non-agricultural branches of the economy increased from 149000 in 1895 to 187000 in 1907, and, directly before the outbreak of war achieved a level of 225000 according to estimates. Employment in the food, wood, mineral and construction sectors as well as in various types of craft workshops increased particularly fast - from 22000 in 1895 to 26000 in 1904 and 43000 in 1913.

A characteristic feature of Greater Poland, because of the structure of the agricultural economy in which the land estates and small industrial plants dispersed throughout the entire territory of this province were dominant, was the fact that the majority of workers lived in the countryside. It was only at the turn of the centuries that a fast increase in the number of workers in the largest cities became noticeable. This referred to Poznań in particular, where their number increased from about 10000 in 1882 to 26600 in 1907.

Internally, because of the qualifications possessed, the form of employment and the amount of earnings, agricultural and industrial workers were a group which was strongly diversified. Placement in the respective groups was reflected by the amount of wages, the place occupied in the societal sharing of duties and thus in the social hierarchy. A particularly high percentage of qualified workers worked in the metal, machine and clothing industries and also in trade. On the other hand, the largest number of unqualified workers was employed in agriculture, as well as the mineral and construction sectors.

Domestic servants formed another significant group of hired workers in Greater Poland. They usually lived in the houses of their employers. At the beginning of the 20th century, domestic servants working in the countryside prevailed, however, as alternative and more attractive ways to earn a living appeared and the partial mechanisation of agricultural work became a fact, their number was rapidly reduced from 62000 in 1882 to 27000 in 1907. At the same time the number of domestic servants working in the cities was maintained practically at the same level and in the year 1907 it amounted to 37000 people. Meanwhile, the number of domestic and private servants, who did not live in the house of their employer slightly increased from 12500 in 1882 to 15000 in 1907.

Ethnic structure

In the ethnic structure of Greater Poland, Poles and Germans were dominant. All in all, they constituted over 98% of all inhabitants of this province in the year 1910. The third largest ethnic group were Jews (1.3% in 1907), and the number of representatives of other nationalities (including Russian, Austrian, Swiss, Italian, British, French and Swedish citizens) in the year 1910 was estimated at a level of 11000 (i.e. slightly more than 0.5%)

In the years 1890-1910, as a result of the high population growth rate, the number of Poles increased from 1050000 to 1270000, and their percentage increased from 59.9% to 61.4%. At the same time, the number of Germans also increased significantly from 692000 to 807000, but their percentage fell from 39.5% to 38.4%.

The above-mentioned changes in the ethnic structure caused dissatisfaction among the German authorities which tried to counteract them by the settlement of Germans, the displacement of Poles and a struggle for the Germanisation of at least a certain part of the Polish population. Starting from the middle of the 19th century, the number of Jews living in Greater Poland was also gradually decreasing and this was related to their emigration to Germany or overseas.

Geographically most Poles and Germans lived in rural and manorial districts at the beginning of the 20th century, however, at the same time, representatives of both ethnic groups migrated in great numbers to the cities. As a result of this, their ethnic structure changed and the percentage of the German population so far dominant in the cities decreased from 57.2% in 1890 to 50.7% in the year 1910. In 1910, under the influence of the rapid population growth and high immigration of Polish workers, 89500 Poles lived in Poznań alone, which made up 57.1% of the city’s population. Also, the great majority of Jews from Greater Poland, that is, as many as 95.4% from among 26500 people lived in the cities in 1910.

Out of two administrative districts, Poles clearly outnumbered other ethnic groups only in the Poznań district, where they accounted for 67.5% of the overall population in 1910. At the same time, the number of Poles and Germans in the Bydgoszcz district was practically equal and remained within a range of approximately 50%. Poles were dominant at the lowest administrative levels in the following poviats: Środa, Kościan, Ostrzeszów, Pleszew and Śrem, while in such poviats as Wyrzysk, rural and municipal Bydgoszcz, Leszno, Wschowa, Wieleń, Czarnków, Międzyrzecz, Chodzież and Skwierzyn, they were outnumbered by Germans. 

From the point of view of the occupational structure, most Poles and Germans worked in agriculture and industry. The great majority of Jews from Greater Poland, in turn, worked in trade and transport. As a result of the ethnic policy of the Prussian state, Germans were dominant among the managerial staff and roles in public service, to which access was facilitated for them. The blocking of social promotion for Poles and the privileged positions of the Germans and a section of the Jews who identified themselves with the German state increased the wealth disparities between these ethnic groups and facilitated the acquisition of education necessary for the performance of freelance professions by the two latter ones,.

Conclusion

Society in Greater Poland on the eve of the Great War was characterised by the presence of clear class and ethnic divisions and low social mobility, especially at higher levels of the social pyramid.  

It was strongly attached to tradition and religion and reluctant to accept activities and attitudes which went beyond a certain framework created by it. It accepted the economic and civilisational changes without too much resistance, however any social, political and cultural novelties met with resistance. In spite of this, the slow process of social modernisation was taking place and its most important effects were as follows: the formation of the Greater Poland intelligentsia which was recruited from among various social groups, the development of mass culture, the emancipation of women, the social and political activation of lower social classes and examples of social solidarity going beyond class limitations.

A true phenomenon which distinguished society in Greater Poland from that in other partitions was the cooperation of the landed gentry, the bourgeoisie and the petite bourgeoisie as well as the peasants and workers across class divides in the public sphere, despite the existence of strong divisions and social hierarchy in the sphere of private life. 

As a result of this, at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the most important factors which shaped the social and political mentality of many Greater Poland inhabitants included organic work and legalism (with a simultaneous lack of loyalism), self-organisation and self-determination as well as solidarity and cooperation between all social classes.

This was the consequence of the implementation of the organic work programme formulated as early as the middle of the 19th century by a portion of enlightened and nationally aware land-owners and the forming intelligentsia (also called the social self-modernisation programme by contemporary historians), which was aimed at the defence of Polish assets and culture under the Prussian rule. 

Based on the above-mentioned ideas, hundreds of institutions were established in Greater Poland in the second half of the 19th century (agricultural circles, public libraries and choirs), which, under the supervision or patronage of land-owners, clergy, intelligentsia and nationally aware peasants, consequently strived for the building of a modern economy and society able to counteract the economic and cultural expansion of the Germans. Kulturkampf and the activity of the Settlement Commission additionally affected a deepening of that cooperation and consolidation of the Polish society. Especially when it turned out that the seizure of the Polish land by Germans usually meant a loss of work and thus undermined the livelihood of Polish hired workers (especially economic administration employees), and also the loss of orders for Polish merchants and craftsmen, which clearly showed how strictly the social and national interests were bound with the individual interest. 

The combination of slogans related to the defence of national and religious interests through economic modernisation (and to a lesser extent the social and cultural modernisation) implemented by grass-roots organisations that encompassed all social classes, propagated and fostered internal democratism and contributed to the establishment of a firm conviction in the political mentality of the region regarding the benefits of solidarity and cooperation (unification of social classes) as well as showing the positive impact of representatives of the Catholic Church on social and economic life.