Ruhrpolen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ruhrpolen (“Ruhr Poles”) is a German term for Poles who immigrated to the rapidly-industrializing areas of the Ruhr Valley, mainly from historical eastern Germany, that is the Prussian provinces of Posen, (Upper) Silesia, and East and West Prussia, in a migration wave known as the Ostflucht. There they found employment in the mining, steel and construction industries. In modern times it is estimated that roughly 150,000 inhabitants of the Ruhr Area (out of roughly 5 millions) are of Polish descent. Famous Ruhrpolen include the unlikely selection of Erich Kempka, Adolf Hitler’s chauffeur, as well as players of FC Schalke 04 - Fritz Szepan and Ernst Kuzorra etc.
[edit] References
- Mark Terkessidis, "Migranten", EVA, 2000
 |
This Polish history-related article is a stub. You can help by expanding it. |
