Junker
Encyclopedia
A Junker (ˈjʊŋkər , ˈjʊŋkɐ) was a member of the landed nobility
of Prussia
and eastern Germany
. 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 during the medieval Ostsiedlung
. The abbreviation of Junker is Jkr. and is most often placed before the given name and academic titles, for example: Jkr. Heinrich von Hohenberg. The female equivalent Junkfrau (Jkfr.) is used only sporadically. In the past, the honorific
Jkr. was also used for Barons and Counts.
means "young lord", and is understood as country squire. It is derived from Middle High German
Juncherre meaning "Young Lord". As part of the nobility, many Junker families have prepositions 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 pseudonym "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 became influential commanders and landowners in the 19th century, especially in the lands east of the Elbe River in the Kingdom of Prussia
.
Prussia, the Junkers controlled the Prussian Army
, leading in political influence
and social status
, and owning immense estates
, especially in the north-eastern half of Germany (Brandenburg
, Mecklenburg
, Pomerania, East Prussia
, Saxony
, Silesia
). Their political influence extended from the German Empire
of 1871–1918 through the Weimar Republic
of 1919–1933. It was said that "if Prussia ruled Germany, the Junkers ruled Prussia, and through it the Empire itself."
Since the Junker estates were necessarily inherited by the elder son alone, younger sons, all well educated and with a sense of noble ancestry, turned to the civil and military services, and dominated all higher civil offices, as well as the officer corps. 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 industrial classes and government alike. 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
.
Adolf 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 World War II
turned against Nazi Germany
several senior Junkers in the Army participated in Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg's assassination attempt
of 20 July 1944. Fifty-eight were executed when the plot failed. During the closing months of the war and subsequent expulsion of Germans from eastern Europe
, all the Junkers were expelled from lands that were turned over to Poland.
, Württemberg
or Baden
, where land was owned by small farms, or the mixed agriculture of the western states like Hesse
or Westphalia
. This gave the Junkers a virtual monopoly on all agriculture in the German states east of the Elbe river.
After World War II, during the communist Bodenreform (land reform) in the German Democratic Republic
(GDR), all private property exceeding a certain area was nationalised and redistributed to Landwirtschaftliche Produktionsgenossenschaften (agricultural cooperatives). As most of these large estates belonged to Junkers, the government promoted their plans with the slogan "Junkerland in Bauernhand!" ("Junker land into farmer's hand").
After German reunification
, some Junkers tried to regain their former estates through civil lawsuits. However, the German courts have upheld the land reforms and rebuffed all claims for compensation. The last decisive case being the unsuccessful lawsuit of Ernst August, Prince of Hanover, in September 2006, where the federal courts decided that the prince had no right to compensation. Other families, however, have quietly purchased or leased back their ancestral homes from the current owners (often the German federal government in its role as trustee).
Landed nobility
Landed nobility is a category of nobility in various countries over the history, for which landownership was part of their noble privileges. Their character depends on the country.*Landed gentry is the landed nobility in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
of Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
and eastern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. These families were mostly part of the German Uradel
Uradel
The German and Scandinavian term Uradel refers to nobility who can trace back their noble ancestry at least to the year 1400 and probably originates from leadership positions during the Migration Period.-Divisions of German nobility:Uradel : Nobility that originates from leadership positions held...
(very old feudal nobility) and carried on the colonization and Christianization
Christianization
The historical phenomenon of Christianization is the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once...
of the northeastern European territories during the medieval Ostsiedlung
Ostsiedlung
Ostsiedlung , also called German eastward expansion, was the medieval eastward migration and settlement of Germans from modern day western and central Germany into less-populated regions and countries of eastern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The affected area roughly stretched from Slovenia...
. The abbreviation of Junker is Jkr. and is most often placed before the given name and academic titles, for example: Jkr. Heinrich von Hohenberg. The female equivalent Junkfrau (Jkfr.) is used only sporadically. In the past, the honorific
Honorific
An honorific is a word or expression with connotations conveying esteem or respect when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term is used not quite correctly to refer to an honorary title...
Jkr. was also used for Barons and Counts.
Origins
"Junker" in GermanGerman language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
means "young lord", and is understood as country squire. It is derived from Middle High German
Middle High German
Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German...
Juncherre meaning "Young Lord". As part of the nobility, many Junker families have prepositions such as "von
Von
In German, von is a preposition which approximately means of or from.When it is used as a part of a German family name, it is usually a nobiliary particle, like the French, Spanish and Portuguese "de". At certain times and places, it has been illegal for anyone who was not a member of the nobility...
" or "zu
Zu
-Fiction:* Zu, a mountain featured in the film Zu Warriors from the Magic Mountain* ZU, a "furry" anthology published by MU Press* En Zu, a character from the manga series Stray Little Devil* Zu, a large birdlike monster from the Final Fantasy series...
" before their family names. In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, a Junker was simply a lesser noble, often poor and politically insignificant. Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
was given the pseudonym "Junker Jörg" while he lived in Wartburg Castle
Wartburg Castle
The Wartburg is a castle situated on a 1230-foot precipice to the southwest of, and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany...
in 1521. A good number of poor Junkers took up careers as soldiers and mercenaries. Over the centuries, they became influential commanders and landowners in the 19th century, especially in the lands east of the Elbe River in the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
.
Modern influences
Being the bulwark of HohenzollernHouse of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
Prussia, the Junkers controlled the Prussian Army
Prussian Army
The Royal Prussian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War...
, leading in political influence
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
and social status
Social status
In sociology or anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society . It may also refer to a rank or position that one holds in a group, for example son or daughter, playmate, pupil, etc....
, and owning immense estates
Estate (house)
An estate comprises the houses and outbuildings and supporting farmland and woods that surround the gardens and grounds of a very large property, such as a country house or mansion. It is the modern term for a manor, but lacks the latter's now abolished jurisdictional authority...
, especially in the north-eastern half of Germany (Brandenburg
Province of Brandenburg
The Province of Brandenburg was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946.-History:The first people who are known to have inhabited Brandenburg were the Suevi. They were succeeded by the Slavonians, whom Henry II conquered and converted to Christianity in...
, Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
, Pomerania, East Prussia
Province of East Prussia
The Province of East Prussia was a province of Prussia from 1773–1829 and 1878-1945. Composed of the historical region East Prussia, the province's capital was Königsberg ....
, Saxony
Province of Saxony
The Province of Saxony was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1945. Its capital was Magdeburg.-History:The province was created in 1816 out of the following territories:...
, Silesia
Province of Silesia
The Province of Silesia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1815 to 1919.-Geography:The territory comprised the bulk of the former Bohemian crown land of Silesia and the County of Kladsko, which King Frederick the Great had conquered from the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy in the 18th...
). Their political influence extended from the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
of 1871–1918 through the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
of 1919–1933. It was said that "if Prussia ruled Germany, the Junkers ruled Prussia, and through it the Empire itself."
Since the Junker estates were necessarily inherited by the elder son alone, younger sons, all well educated and with a sense of noble ancestry, turned to the civil and military services, and dominated all higher civil offices, as well as the officer corps. Supporting monarchism
Monarchism
Monarchism is the advocacy of the establishment, preservation, or restoration of a monarchy as a form of government in a nation. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government out of principle, independent from the person, the Monarch.In this system, the Monarch may be the...
and military traditions, they were often reactionary
Reactionary
The term reactionary refers to viewpoints that seek to return to a previous state in a society. The term is meant to describe one end of a political spectrum whose opposite pole is "radical". While it has not been generally considered a term of praise it has been adopted as a self-description by...
and protectionist; they were often anti-liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
, siding with the conservative monarchist forces during the Revolution of 1848
Revolutions of 1848 in the German states
The Revolutions of 1848 in the German states, also called the March Revolution – part of the Revolutions of 1848 that broke out in many countries of Europe – were a series of loosely coordinated protests and rebellions in the states of the German Confederation, including the Austrian Empire...
. Their political interests were served by the German Conservative Party
German Conservative Party
The German Conservative Party was a right-wing political party of the German Empire, founded in 1876.- Policies :It was generally seen as representing the interests of the German nobility, the East Elbian Junkers and the Evangelical Church of the Prussian Union, and had its political stronghold...
in the Reichstag
Reichstag (German Empire)
The Reichstag was the parliament of the North German Confederation , and of the German Reich ....
and the extraparliamentary Agrarian League. This political class held tremendous power over industrial classes and government alike. When Chancellor Caprivi
Leo von Caprivi
Georg Leo Graf von Caprivi de Caprera de Montecuccoli was a German major general and statesman, who succeeded Otto von Bismarck as Chancellor of Germany...
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
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
was a noted Junker, as were President Paul von Hindenburg
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg , known universally as Paul von Hindenburg was a Prussian-German field marshal, statesman, and politician, and served as the second President of Germany from 1925 to 1934....
and Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt
Gerd von Rundstedt
Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt was a Generalfeldmarschall of the German Army during World War II. He held some of the highest field commands in all phases of the war....
.
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
mostly ignored the Junkers as a whole during his time in power, taking no action against them and no action in their favour.
As World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
turned against Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
several senior Junkers in the Army participated in Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg's assassination attempt
July 20 Plot
On 20 July 1944, an attempt was made to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of the Third Reich, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The plot was the culmination of the efforts of several groups in the German Resistance to overthrow the Nazi-led German government...
of 20 July 1944. Fifty-eight were executed when the plot failed. During the closing months of the war and subsequent expulsion of Germans from eastern Europe
Expulsion of Germans after World War II
The later stages of World War II, and the period after the end of that war, saw the forced migration of millions of German nationals and ethnic Germans from various European states and territories, mostly into the areas which would become post-war Germany and post-war Austria...
, all the Junkers were expelled from lands that were turned over to Poland.
Bodenreform
As landed aristocrats, the Junkers owned most of the arable land in the Prussian and eastern German states. This was in contrast to the Catholic southern States such as BavariaBavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
or Baden
Baden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
, where land was owned by small farms, or the mixed agriculture of the western states like Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
or Westphalia
Westphalia
Westphalia is a region in Germany, centred on the cities of Arnsberg, Bielefeld, Dortmund, Minden and Münster.Westphalia is roughly the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north and south of the Ruhr River. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia"...
. This gave the Junkers a virtual monopoly on all agriculture in the German states east of the Elbe river.
After World War II, during the communist Bodenreform (land reform) in the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
(GDR), all private property exceeding a certain area was nationalised and redistributed to Landwirtschaftliche Produktionsgenossenschaften (agricultural cooperatives). As most of these large estates belonged to Junkers, the government promoted their plans with the slogan "Junkerland in Bauernhand!" ("Junker land into farmer's hand").
After German reunification
German reunification
German reunification was the process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany , and when Berlin reunited into a single city, as provided by its then Grundgesetz constitution Article 23. The start of this process is commonly referred by Germans as die...
, some Junkers tried to regain their former estates through civil lawsuits. However, the German courts have upheld the land reforms and rebuffed all claims for compensation. The last decisive case being the unsuccessful lawsuit of Ernst August, Prince of Hanover, in September 2006, where the federal courts decided that the prince had no right to compensation. Other families, however, have quietly purchased or leased back their ancestral homes from the current owners (often the German federal government in its role as trustee).
Further reading
- On German agrarian history in the 19th century see Economic Development of Modern Europe, Frederic Austin Ogg, Chap. IX (bibliography, pp. 210–211).
- Ordinary Prussians – Brandenburg Junkers and Villagers, 1500–1840, by William W. Hagen (Cambridge University Press) Hardback ISBN 9780521815581 | ISBN 0521815584, Also available in Paperback, Published January 2003
- National Character and the Junkers, From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology (Routledge classics in sociology) Paperback: 490 pages, Publisher: Routledge; 1 edition (7 Mar 1991), Language English ,ISBN 0415060567,ISBN 978-0415060561.http://books.google.fi/books?id=Y_pqZS5q72UC&pg=PA386&lpg=PA386&dq=National+Character+and+the+Junkers&source=web&ots=QHoTykZ05o&sig=v8or434wQEh9IsvwS4Js9iMB-Ko&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result