The Polish Party (german: Polnische Partei) was a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in the
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
and the
Free City of Danzig
The Free City of Danzig (german: Freie Stadt Danzig; pl, Wolne Miasto Gdańsk; csb, Wòlny Gard Gduńsk) was a city-state under the protection of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gda ...
. Representing the
Polish population in Germany, it was the largest of the
minority parties.
[
]
History
The party had its origins in the national associations that were established during the 1848 revolution, but was formally established when the first Reichstag was elected in 1871.[Vincent E McHale (1983) ''Political parties of Europe'', Greenwood Press, p428 ] It won 13 seats in the elections, the lowest number of seats it held in the Reichstag until World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Its best performance was in the 1907 elections, when it won 20 seats.[McHale, p434]
Following the war and the loss of Polish-dominated territory to newly established Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, the party ceased to exist.[
]
Ideology
The party opposed the Germanisation and secularisation policies of the government, seeking to protect the rights of Poles living in Germany. It was usually allied with the Centre Party and other minority parties.[McHale, p429]
See also
*Sejm of the Grand Duchy of Posen
The Sejm of the Grand Duchy of Posen (german: Provinziallandtag des Großherzogthums Posen, pl, Sejm Wielkiego Księstwa Poznańskiego) was the parliament in the 19th century Grand Duchy of Posen and the Province of Posen, seated in Poznań/P ...
References
Defunct political parties in Germany
Polish minority in Germany
Political parties of minorities in Germany
Political parties established in 1871
1918 disestablishments in Germany
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