Ethnic Poles, Germans & Other Groups Living Within The Borders Of Modern Poland In 1914

Map created by SGP.MAPS found via reddit.

The map above shows where ethnic Germans, Poles, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Slovaks, Lithuanians and Jews lived in the borders of modern around 1914.

In many areas Germans made up to 95% of the population. So what happened?

To start in 1914 there was not Polish state and the Polish people were split between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia.

For more on that process see:

However, following World War I the Second Polish Republic was created. And more or less corresponded to where ethnic Poles lived at that time.

The Free City of Danzig is an interesting anomaly.

Although predominantly German-populated, the territory was bound by the imposed union with Poland covering foreign policy, defence, customs, railways and post, but remained distinct from both the post-war German Republic and the newly independent Polish Republic.

However, World War 2 would change things again:

Here’s a detailed explanation of what happened to Poland’s territory and people from the outbreak of World War II (1939) through the shifting of its borders after World War II (1945):

September 1939 – The Invasion and Partition of Poland

September 1, 1939: Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west, initiating WWII.
September 17, 1939: The Soviet Union invaded from the east, in accordance with the secret clauses of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which divided Poland into two spheres of influence.
Poland ceased to exist as an independent nation, partitioned between:
- Western and Central Poland: Annexed by Nazi Germany, incorporated into Germany directly, or administered under harsh occupation policies (General Government).
- Eastern Poland: Occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union, incorporated into the Ukrainian and Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republics.

Poland Under Occupation (1939–1945)

Nazi-occupied territory:
- Brutal policies aimed at cultural destruction, economic exploitation, and Germanization.
- Mass extermination: Holocaust resulted in the murder of approximately 3 million Polish Jews and millions of non-Jewish Poles.
- Polish elites (intellectuals, politicians, religious leaders) systematically targeted and killed or imprisoned.
Soviet-occupied territory (1939–1941, 1944–1945):
- Deportations: Over 1 million Poles forcibly deported to Siberia, Kazakhstan, and remote regions of the USSR.
- Mass executions (most notably the Katyn Massacre (1940)): Approximately 22,000 Polish officers, intellectuals, and civil servants were executed by the NKVD.
- Sovietization policies implemented, repressing Polish culture and religion.
1941–1944: After Operation Barbarossa (the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941), all of pre-war Poland was under Nazi occupation until Soviet forces gradually recaptured it (1944–1945).

End of WWII and Movement of Borders (1945)

As WWII ended, Poland’s borders shifted dramatically westward at the insistence of the Allied powers (USA, UK, USSR), primarily under Soviet direction.
Yalta (February 1945) and Potsdam Conferences (July–August 1945) set the new boundaries:
- Eastern Territories Lost:
  Poland permanently lost substantial territories east of the Curzon Line (regions including Vilnius, Lviv, Brest), which remained part of the USSR (now Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania).
- Western Territories Gained:
  Poland was compensated with former German territories in the west, including Silesia, Pomerania, and East Prussia (cities such as Wrocław/Breslau, Szczecin/Stettin, and Gdańsk/Danzig).
As a result, the entire country shifted westward by roughly 150–200 kilometres (90–125 miles).

Population Movements and Consequences

Forced Migrations:
Massive population transfers occurred to align populations with the new borders:
- Over 2 million Poles expelled from former eastern Poland (now USSR territory).
- Around 6 million Germans forcibly expelled or fled from new Polish territories to Germany.
- Approximately 1.5 million Poles from central Poland and other parts resettled in the newly acquired western territories.
Poland’s ethnic makeup dramatically changed:
- Pre-war Poland was diverse (Poles, Jews, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Germans, Lithuanians, and others).
- After WWII, it became overwhelmingly ethnically Polish (over 90%) due to genocide, expulsions, migrations, and territorial changes.

Political Aftermath

Poland emerged from WWII greatly diminished demographically (over 6 million deaths, including about half the pre-war Jewish population).
Politically, Poland became a Soviet satellite state, governed by a communist government installed by the Soviet Union, which remained until 1989.
The German population which had lived in what is now Western Poland were expelled to make room for the Poles who were themselves expelled from the Soviet Union.