Junker

See Junker (disambiguation) for other meanings.

Junkers (English pronunciation: ; German pronunciation: ) were the landed aristocracy of Prussia and Eastern Germany - often also called "Eastelbia" (Ostelbien in German - the land east of river Elbe). These families were mostly part of the German Uradel (very old feudal nobility) and carried on the colonization and Christianization of the northeastern European territories in the 11th, 12th and 13th century.

In the Netherlands the title is sometimes used, this form has however taken the meaning of jonkheer opposed to the description given below.

Origins

"Junker" in German means "young lord", and is understood as country squire. It is probably derived from the German words Junger Herr, or Young Lord. As part of the nobility, many Junker families have particles such as "von" or "zu" before their family names. In the Middle Ages, a Junker was simply a lesser noble, often poor and politically insignificant. Martin Luther was given the cover name "Junker Jörg" while he lived in Wartburg Castle in 1521. A good number of poor Junkers took up careers as soldiers and mercenaries. Over the centuries, they rose from disreputable captains of mercenary cutthroats to influential commanders and landowners in the 19th century. The rest of the article refers to these "modern" Junkers.

Modern influences

Being the bulwark of the Hohenzollern Empire, the Junkers controlled the military, leading in political influence and social status, and owning immense estates, especially in the north-eastern half of Germany (Brandenburg, Mecklenburg, Pommerania, East Prussia, Saxony, Silesia). Their political influence extended from the German Empire of 1871 to 1918 through the Weimar Republic of 1919–1933. It was said that Prussia ruled Germany, the Junkers ruled Prussia, and through it the Empire itself.

They dominated all the higher civil offices and officer corps of the army and navy. Supporting monarchism and military traditions, they were often reactionary and protectionist; they were often anti-liberal, siding with the conservative monarchist forces during the Revolution of 1848. Their political interests were served by the German Conservative Party in the Reichstag and the extraparliamentary Agrarian League. This political class held tremendous power over the industrial classes and the government. When Chancellor Caprivi reduced the protective duties on imports of grain, these landed magnates demanded and obtained his dismissal; and in 1902, they brought about a restoration of such duties on foodstuffs as would keep the prices of their own products at a high level.

The German statesman Otto von Bismarck was a noted Junker, as were president Paul von Hindenburg and Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt.

The Beer Hall Putsch of 1923, staged by Adolf Hitler and General Erich Ludendorff was foiled by commander von Lossow (another Junker) of the local Reichswehr, and the Bavarian Prime Minister Gustav von Kahr. Von Kahr was later murdered in the Reichsmordwoche (the Blood Purge) of June 30, 1934. This series of events, as well as a few others, led Hitler to dislike Junkers in general. However, Hitler mostly ignored the Junkers as a whole during his time in power, taking no action against them and no action in their favour.

As the war turned against Germany and Nazi atrocities were revealed, several Junkers in influential positions participated in Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg's assassination attempt of 20 July 1944. Their attempts ultimately failed due to coincidence and Allied mistrust of their motives. However the resistance of the Abwehr (Secret Military Intelligence) under Admiral Wilhelm Canaris contributed to the eventual Allied victory.

Bodenreform

After the war, during the Bodenreform (soil reform) in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), all private property exceeding a certain area (i.e. all the land that used to belong to the Junkers) was seized and given to collectives of farmers. Now, after the German reunification, the Junkers are trying to get their former estates back. However, the treaties that West Germany (FGR) and the GDR had signed with the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the Soviet Union in the 1950s contained the rule that any decision made by any of the four occupation forces during the time of occupation (1945–1955) must be kept up, lest the independent Germans label it as wrong ex post facto.

German agrarian development has been regional rather than national; that is to say, the ownership and use of land took a different trend in each of three main sections of the country. The southwest (including Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg, Hesse and Rhenish Prussia) became like France, a land of small holdings, and up to the First World War it was the only part of the Empire in which it was possible to discover peasant political influence of any importance. The northwest (including Westphalia, Lower Saxony, and parts of Hanover and Holstein) developed a system of medium-to-large holdings, yet with many peasant proprietorships. From Brandenburg eastward, however, — and especially in the Pruserania, — practically all of the land was long ago gathered into great estates, and most of the people were landless, wage-earning agricultural laborers; the latter were the lands of the Junkers.

References

The Governments of Europe, Frederic Austin Ogg, MacMillan Company, 1922. pg 681. Copyright expired and free use of material granted by same company.

In Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Satan himself appears as "Junker Woland."

Bibliography

On German agrarian history in the 19th century see Economic Development of Modern Europe, Frederic Austin Ogg, Chap ix (bibliography, pp. 210-211).

German noble titles | German society | Weimar Republic

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Origins

Modern influences

Bodenreform

References

Bibliography

See also