German state children (Staatskinder) of the Evangelical denomination in the colonisation of the eastern provinces of the Prussian state. The orphanage in Ruchocin/Mielżyn 1899– –1918

The article presents the mechanism of the Prussian authorities using „state children” [Staatskinder] in the process of colonization of the eastern Prussian provinces, and combining charity activity with the program of Germanization of the area in question. The actions taken by the Prussian authorities in the late 19 and the early 20th century were in reaction to the internal migration movements, which directly affected the eastern Prussian provinces, from Berlins perspective negatively influencing their national structure. In 1895, Ernst Hasse presented a plan to colonize the eastern Prussian provinces by bringing „state children”, i.e. orphans and illegitimate children from the metropolitan areas of central and western Germany, and placing them in orphanages established in the East. The article describes, among others, one of such orphanages which operated between 1899 and 1918 and was supervised by the Protestant Association for the Care of Orphans in the Province of Poznań [Evangelischer Verein für Waisenpflege in der Provinz Posen].