Ostsiedlung

Quick Facts: Who was Ostsiedlung?

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Ostsiedlung

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Medieval migration movement establishing German culture in Eastern Europe.

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2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

Ostsiedlung (German pronunciation: [ˈɔstˌziːdlʊŋ] , lit. 'East settlement') is the term for the early medieval and high medieval migration of ethnic Germans and Germanization of the areas populated by Slavic, Baltic and Uralic peoples; the most settled area is sometimes known today as Germania Slavica. Germanization efforts included eastern parts of Francia, East Francia, and the Holy Roman Empire and beyond; and the consequences for settlement development and social structures in the areas of settlement. Other regions were also settled, though not as heavily. The Ostsiedlung encompassed multiple modern and historical regions, primarily Germany east of the Saale and Elbe rivers, the states of Lower Austria and Styria in Austria, Poland and the Czech Republic, but also in other parts of Central and Eastern Europe.

Career & Major Achievements

The majority of Ostsiedlung settlers settled individually at various stages. Many settlers were encouraged and invited by the local princes and regional lords, who sometimes even expelled previously settled people to make room for German settlers. Germanization also took place, particularly in Prussia, with an estimated 80% of German-speaking East Prussians having Baltic or Slavic paternal origins in 1910. Smaller groups of migrants first moved to the east during the early Middle Ages. Larger treks of settlers, which included scholars, monks, missionaries, craftsmen and artisans, often invited, in numbers unverifiable, first moved eastwards during the mid-12th century.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

The military territorial conquests and punitive expeditions of the Ottonian and Salian emperors during the 11th and 12th centuries do not form part of the Ostsiedlung, as these actions did not result in noteworthy settlement establishment east of the Elbe and Saale rivers. The Ostsiedlung is considered to have been a purely Medieval event as it ended in the beginning of the 14th century. The legal, cultural, linguistic, religious and economic changes caused by the movement had a profound influence on the history of Eastern Central Europe between the Baltic Sea and the Carpathians until the 20th century. In the 20th century, accounts of the Ostsiedlung were heavily exploited by German nationalists, most notoriously the Nazis, to press the territorial claims of Germany and to demonstrate supposed German superiority over non-Germanic peoples, whose cultural, urban and scientific achievements in that era were undermined, rejected, or presented as German. After World War I (1914–1918), the fact that Germany and Austria lost part of their territories in the East appeared as a counterpoint to Ostsiedlung because some of the Germans in the East became foreign citizens when their homes were no longer part of Germany and Austria.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1910: 1910 Milestone — Germanization also took place, particularly in Prussia, with an estimated 80% of German-speaking East Prussians having Baltic or Slavic paternal origins in 1910.
2. 1914: 1914 Milestone — After World War I (1914–1918), the fact that Germany and Austria lost part of their territories in the East appeared as a counterpoint to Ostsiedlung because some of the Germans in the East became foreign citizens when their homes were no longer part of Germany and Austria.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Ostsiedlung

True or False: “The Ostsiedlung was solely a purely ethnic and linguistic boundary-setting project between Slavs and Germanic tribes.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): While it involved cultural shifts, the goal was not strictly to establish an absolute ethnic or linguistic boundary, as Slavic settlement continued in areas like Thuringia.

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