You think that the acquisition of Posen jeopardized assimilation in other regions? How so? Not saying you are wrong I'm just curious.France had more time to do the job. Prussia/Germany would be more successfull in assimilating Upper Silesian and West Prussian Poles if Posen was given to Russia, but Russian Posen is quite challenge, it would require war over Polish-Saxon Crisis in 1814/15.
There was also the fact that German settlement of the east was being reversed in the late 19th century due to industrialization in the Ruhr. There would have to be good economic incentives for Germans to move there.-Start with a process of assimilation first and resettlement second, the resettlement as far as I can tell triggered a Polish reaction of resisting German authorities which would make assimilation harder.
Anyway the German Empire could successfully assimilates its Polish Population like How France absorbed the different Groups inside its borders.
What would be the impact on the German Empire and on World War 1
At least in Upper Silesia it would make difference. At begining of 19th century Silesia was forgotten by Poles, then after Partitions Poles from Posen and Upper Silesians both happened to live within borders of Prussia, Posen Poles discovered, that there are Polish speaking people still living there. Living in the same country made contacts between Posen Poles and Upper Silesian Poles easier, some Posen Poles moved to Upper Silesia looking for jobs in industry. Also Posen contained ecclesiastical capital of Poland (Gniezno) and was unique, because its main city-Poznań, was big center of Polish culture and had Polish majority during second half of 19th century, when Upper Silesia lacked one dominant city and main city of West Prussia (Danzig) was circa 90% German.You think that the acquisition of Posen jeopardized assimilation in other regions? How so? Not saying you are wrong I'm just curious.
That is impossible-Duchy of Warsaw was created as result of 1806 Polish uprising in Greater Poland (Posen), untill 1809 Warsaw was on periphery of the Duchy, so either Duchy has Posen or Duchy do not even exist. And how Duchy existing for mere 7 years prevented Germanization of Posen during over 100 years of Prussian/German rule that followed?Don't include Posen in the Duchy of Warsaw, and we would likely have seen a German majority in Posen.
Anyway the German Empire could successfully assimilates its Polish Population like How France absorbed the different Groups inside its borders.
What would be the impact on the German Empire and on World War 1
If Germany had held on to those regions into the age of modern telecommunication, mass TV and the like, then the local language might have receded very rapidly, as examples elsewhere show.Short of expulsion, the German Empire could assimilate Posen in a few centuries of unbroken rule. These things take time.
If Germany had held on to those regions into the age of modern telecommunication, mass TV and the like, then the local language might have receded very rapidly, as examples elsewhere show.
Regional languages in France and Italy for example?Which examples?
Regional languages in France and Italy for example?
I did say languages, not dialects. That is another phenonmenon. But Breton (a Celtic language), German in Alsace, the North Italian languages that are closer related to French than Italian... they all became moribound as soon as there was telecommunication, national TV and so on. Why should Polish in Posen or Upper Silesia fare better?Polish is not a "regional language". Posen/Poznan is not filled with Germans who just so happen to not speak Hochdeutsch. A better analogy would be the Wends.
I did say languages, not dialects. That is another phenonmenon. But Breton (a Celtic language), German in Alsace, the North Italian languages that are closer related to French than Italian... they all became moribound as soon as there was telecommunication, national TV and so on. Why should Polish in Posen or Upper Silesia fare better?
Well, probably that they won't receive it. You have a period in the 20th century that sits just right between ever increasing national standardization and eventual globalization. A period where border crossings were much rarer than these days, but national standardization had already reached our levels. So in between national language schools, TV news, cinema, radio, etc... it's a barrage, and experience shows languages without national language status are ill-prepared to deal with them. Once again: German in the Alsace, or also French in the Aosta Valley. There are even more German speakers or French speakers outside those regions, and yet... And there is nothing to suggest things would go differently for Polish in Posen and Upper Silesia.Because there are millions of Polish speakers outside of Posen and Upper Silesia. Again, Polish is not a "regional" language, it is the language of a very large national group with a very strong national consciousness. Do you really think having TV in German would somehow change that? And what exactly is stopping them from having Polish language TV?