Polish language in Breslau

The Polish Captivity An Account of the Present Position of the Poles in the Kingdom of Poland, and in the Polish Provinces of Austria, Prussia, and Russia Author: Henry Sutherland Edwards: ""

Germans in Breslau speak Polish at all Indeed German being the invariable language of the Prussian administration even in Posen in spite of treaties which bind Prussia to govern her Polish subjects as Poles it follows that a man meaning to live in any part of Prussia must understand German or be prepared to submit to many inconveniences and disadvantages On the other hand there is no part of Poland in which it is not a positive recommendation in the eyes of the governing Power to be ignorant of Polish In Silesia there is no injustice in the present day in making German the official and educational language in all the towns In many of the country districts however the case is very different The German peasants are prosperous and contented enough But the Polish peasants of Lower Silesia who are still Poles and speak the Polish language and that only are in a miserable position For them there are no schools They have no intercourse with their superiors They feel as much that they are subjected to a foreign Government as the Poles of Posen and with this additional disadvantage that they have to deal exclusively with German proprietors They form a class apart and though nominally not serfs are treated like slaves The home of their hearts is still Poland and in the annual pilgrimages to the Polish religious places BRESLAU 9 The Polish Captivity An Account of the Present Position of the Poles in the Kingdom of Poland, and in the Polish Provinces of Austria, Prussia, and Russia Author: Henry Sutherland Edwards