mobile View, to the German Version tap the flag

 

Pomerania

 

Contents

Flags

other Flags

Meaning/Origin of the Flag

Coat of Arms

Meaning/Origin of the Coat of Arms

Map

Numbers and Facts

History

Origin of the Country's Name



Flags

Flagge Fahne flag Provinz Pommern province Pomerania
Colours of the country,
ratio = 3:5




Flagge Fahne flag Provinz Pommern province Pomerania
Official flag (doubtful),
ratio = 3:5



hoch/up


other Flags

Flagge Fahne flag Pommern Pomerania
Pomeranian flag without scutcheon,
ratio = 3:5



hoch/up


Meaning/Origin of the Flag

Pomerania was a duchy until 1648 with it's own Slavic-pmmeranian aristocracy on the top. Thereafter Pomerania came under Brandenburgian respectively Prussian influence. At the death of the last Slavic duke, Bogislaw XIV., had been defined the colours white and red for Western Pomerania and yellow and red for Eastern Pomerania as national colours (Landesfarben) in 1654. In the 19th century, blue and white were designated as national colours (Landesfarben). They have no relation to the old colours or to the griffin-blazon. They refer to the robe and collar colours of the Pomeranian country stalls defined in 1802. They were also the colours of the Pomeranian home guard militia (Landwehr) from 1813.

From 1875, the provinces of Prussia could largely operate in self-governing. There was a provincial parliament and a provincial government (Provincial Committee). Each province had its own colors (Landesfarben), which were also used as flag, and they had also their own coat of arms. If the provincial governments put for official purposes (official flag) their coats of arms on a flag with the provincial colors is not handed down beyond doubt and not for all provinces.

Another incident for the flag was the seizure of power by the National Socialists in the German Empire in 1933. All official non-swastika flags, that refered to federalism, regional references or the old German Empire were abolished between 1933 and 1935. For the National Socialists, the federal structure of the German Empire, its historically grown countries, was considered as outdated, as relics of a past to be overcome. In this sense, several laws were enacted, on 31st of March in 1933 the 'Provisional Law for the phasing of the countries with the Empire', on 7th of April 1933 the 'Second Law for the phasing of the countries with the Empire' and finally, on 30th January in 1934 the 'Law on the rebuilding of the empire'. Thus, the federal structure of the German Empire was replaced by the gau-structure of the NSDAP, the countries became meaningless. From now on, offices and authorities had to use the swastika flag as official flag, until September 15th in 1935, when by the flag-law was legislated a new created official flag for all the offices and authorities of the empire. The prime ministers of the countries, which latest in 1933 all came from the NSDAP – now mostly called Reichsstatthalter (maybe translated as 'governor') – however remained in office until 1945. This was then also applied on the provinces of the state of Prussia. Their sovereign duties were taken over by the Gau structure of the NSDAP, which sometimes coincided with the borders of the provinces and sometimes they were new created. The respective provincial flags disappeared. The corresponding country colours continued, with restrictions, but definitly not in the form of flags. They were used, for example, occasionally on uniforms of the SA or in some ranks of the Hitler Youth in the breast cord.

After the war, the administration within the German Empire was rebuilt, but locally, following the structure of the countries. These have been partly old countries, and some new countries were created. Sometimes they bethought the old country colours and reactivated them – or they created new ones – for limited sovereign duties, which were under the control of the Allies. However, the eastern parts of Prussia were occupied by Soviet troops from 1944, and most of them came under Polish or Russian administration. The process described above did not come into being – also in Eastern Pomerania (Hinterpommern) – the German population was forcibly expelled and the old regional flags no longer played a role. Western Pomerania (Vorpommern) was in 1945 united with the Country of Mecklenburg to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Source: Volker Preuß, Jürgen Kaltschmitt, Uniform-Fibel, Wikipedia (D), Deutsche Wappen Rolle

hoch/up


Coat of Arms


Wappen coat of arms Pommern Pomerania
Coat of arms of Pomerania,
Source, by: Wikipedia (D)

hoch/up


Meaning/Origin of the Coat of Arms

Pomerania was a duchy until 1648 with it's own Slavic-pmmeranian aristocracy on the top. Thereafter Pomerania came under Brandenburgian respectively Prussian influence. The old coat of arms of the Slavic Duchy was retained and shows a red griffin on white (silver). The Slavic dukes, who died out with Bogislaw XIV. in 1654, were called the "griffin house".

Source: Volker Preuß

hoch/up


Map


Source: Hand-Atlas für die Geschichte des Mittelalters und die neueren Zeit von Spruner und Menke

The historical map shows Pomerania in the first half of the 18th century. Western Pomerania (then Swedish) colored red, Eastern Pomerania (as part of Brandenburg) colored light blue.

hoch/up


Numbers and Facts

Area: 11.625 square miles (1885)

Inhabitants: 1.505.575 Ew. (1885)

Density of Population: 130 inh./sq.mi. (1885)

Capital: Stettin

Source: Meyers Konversationslexikon

hoch/up


History

1st cent. · settlement by Germanic tribes (Goths)

7th Jhd. · settlement by Slavs

1181 · the local Slavic sovereigns became princes of the German Empire

1648 · Western Pomerania comes to Brandenburg, Eastern Pomerania comes to Sweden

1654 · death of the last Slavic duke, Bogislaw XIV.

1720 · Southern West-Pomerania comes from Sweden to Prussia

1815 · Northern West-Pomerania comes from Sweden to Prussia, establishing of the Province of Pomerania

1938 · annexation of parts of the Border-Province of Posen – West Prussia

1945 · occupation by soviet troops, Expulsion of the German population which costs 500.000 to 1948, annexation of Eastern Pomerania by Poland, affiliation of Western Pomerania to Mecklenburg

1945–1948 · expulsion of the remained 1.000.000 German civilists

Source: Atlas zur Geschichte, Wikipedia (D), Schwarzbuch der Vertreibung, Discovery '97

hoch/up


Origin of the Country's Name

The Province of Pomerania is placed along the Baltic Coast, from Darss to Danzig Bay. The Oder River and the Oderhaff (Oder Bay) divide the country into a western part and an eastern part. Mecklenburg was merged in 1945 with Western Pomerania to the federal country of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The name of the Province of Pomerania has its roots in the name of the Slavic tribe of the Pomorans, which settled here in 13th century. The Slavic word "po-morju" means "by the sea", and illustrates the location of the country.

Source: Wikipedia (D), Volker Preuß

hoch/up









 

 



Preußische Allgemeine Zeitung
Die Fundgrube für Geschichtsbegeisterte. Mit sehr großem kostenlosen Archiv mit den kompletten Ausgaben dieser Zeitung mit sehr interessanten Artikeln über die preußische Geschichte.

 

 

to start page click here