中世紀德意志人東向移民拓殖史對威瑪共和國內外政策所扮演的功能

The History of the Medieval Germans’Ostsiedlung (Settling Eastwards) in the Internal and External Policies of the Weimar Republic

一戰結束後，德國被迫割讓東疆大片領土予復國後的波蘭，此舉甚令德人憤憤不平，在強大民族情感壓力下，威瑪共和國政府的對內對外政策必然受其牽引，因而期望推動移民實邊政策，藉此厚實人口外流嚴重的德意志東部邊區，希冀迫使波蘭政府同意修正德波邊界。此際「中古時期德意志人東向移民拓殖史」，一如先前在德意志第二帝國時期般，迅速成為威瑪共和國政學界視為絕佳的歷史教材及典範，認為中古德人在東移拓殖歷程中，憑藉著德人卓越的文明根基，逐步同化中東歐各地的西斯拉夫人及波羅的海人。一如中世紀的歷程般，深信今日德人也必能在東部與波蘭人所展開的「民族鬥爭」中大獲全勝，據此威瑪共和國必須戮力不輟地推動東向移民墾殖的政策。本文將以中古德人東向移民拓殖史於威瑪共和國的對內及對外政策上，所扮演的各項功能為題，深入分析共和國政府的具體策略、作為及結果。

After the end of World War I, Germany was forced to cede a large area of its eastern territories to the restored Polish state, a move which caused indignation among the German peoples. The internal and external policies of the Weimar Republic were then shaped by the pressure of strong national sentiments. As a result, the government hoped to promote the policy of having people migrate to the“real”border, so as to enrich the eastern territories where population outflow was serious, thereby forcing the Polish government to agree to amend the Germany-Poland border. The history of the medieval German Ostsiedlung (settling eastwards) thus quickly became an historical teaching aid and model within the political and academic circles of the Weimar Republic, just as it had in the previous period of the Second Reich. It was maintained that within the processes of colonization, the medieval Germans had relied on their outstanding cultural foundation to gradually assimilate the West Slavic and Baltic peoples in East-Central Europe, and thus firmly believed that the achievements of the Germans in various fields would likewise ensure a complete victory in the then“national struggle”between the Germans and the Poles. Based on this, the Weimar government had to make every effort to promote the policy of eastern migration and settlement. This article focuses on the application of the history of the medieval German Ostsiedlung as a policy of the Weimar Republic and examines its various functions in the internal and external policies of the state in detail, analyzing related strategies, actions, and results.