Junker

A Junker ( , ) 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. Today "Junker" is often used as an honorific for untitled German nobility. 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.

Origins

"Junker" in German 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 articles 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.

Modern influences

Being the bulwark of Hohenzollern 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.

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 Bavaria, 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).

See also

Baltic Germans

Gentry

Notes

Bibliography

Ogg, Frederick Austin, The Governments of Europe, MacMillan Company, 1920.

MacDonogh, Giles, After the Reich, Basic Books, (2007) ISBN 0-465-00337-0.

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.

External links

Category:German noble titles Category:Noble titles Category:Noblemen Category:German society Category:History of Prussia