Modern Age
From the Napoleonic Wars to World War I, Pomerania was administered by the Kingdom of Prussia as the Province of Pomerania (Western and Farther Pomerania) and West Prussia (Pomerelia).
The Province of Pomerania was created from the Province of Pomerania (1653–1815) (Farther Pomerania and southern Vorpommern) and Swedish Pomerania (northern Vorpommern), and the districts of Schivelbein and Dramburg, formerly belonging to the Neumark. While in the Kingdom of Prussia, the province was heavily influenced by the reforms of Karl August von Hardenberg and Otto von Bismarck. The industrial revolution had an impact primarily on the Stettin area and the infrastructure, while most of the province retained a rural and agricultural character. Since 1850, the net migration rate was negative, Pomeranians emigrated primarily to Berlin, the West German industrial regions and oversees. In areas where Polish population lived along with Germans a virtual apartheid existed,with bans on Polish language and religious discrimination, besides attempts to colonize the areas with Germans Prussian Settlement Commission introduced 154,000 German colonists before World War I, which were also located in Pomerania.
After the First World War, the Pomeranian Voivodeship of the Second Polish Republic was established from the bulk of West Prussia;Poland became a democracy and introduced women's right to vote already in 1918
German minority in Poland moved in large numbers to Germany,mostly on free will and due to economical situation Poland build a large Baltic port at the site of the former village Gdynia. The Danzig (Gdansk) area became the city state Free City of Danzig.
In the Province of Pomerania, that after the Kaiser's abdication was part of the Free State of Prussia within the Weimar Republic, democracy and the women's right to vote were introduced. The economic situation worsened due to the consequences of World War I and worldwide recession. As in the Kingdom of Prussia before, Pomerania was a stronghold of the nationalistic and anti-semiticDNVP also in the Weimar Republic.
Read more about this topic: History Of Pomerania
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