Zmiany w strukturze własności ziemiańskiej w dystrykcie radomskim 1939–1945

Abstract

During World War II, a series of changes took place in the social and economic sphere on the Polish lands occupied by Germans. One of the spheres subject to German experiments was agriculture. The experiments were carried out both in Third Reich and in the General Government. In the GG, to which the Radom district belonged, the agricultural sector, especially the great rural property, was subject to numerous modernization procedures (the use of chemicals, mechanization of production, irrigation, mergers). Germans intended to supply the sector with capital through degression, low-cost credits and exploitation privileges. It was all done in the context of plans for increasing the agricultural production for the war needs of Germany and of preparing for the colonization (i.e. germanization) of GG. Restructuring of the agrarian system was a prelude to this goal. One of the basic issues in this respect, apart from merger, was intervention into the proprietary relationships in farming. Intervention of various German institutions (Liegenschaftverwaltung, Main Forest Department, Wehrmacht, Waffen, SS, Police, local and district organs of the agrarian apparatus, general administration institutions, and manufacturing plants) into the proprietary structure was carried out within the framework of the German property law. It was very rigorous, however, it allowed for broad interpretation, mostly to the advantage of the occupant. The ordinance of 24th January 1940 that concerned the property of natural and legal persons announced that private property can be sequestered due to its so-called public usefulness. It also stated that ownerless property (absence of the owner in the property) could be confiscated. While analyzing data from the Radom district, one can conclude that German intervention was not large-scale. According to estimations, about one fifth of the great property was taken over, the largest part by the Tresury (Liegenschaft, Forest Department) which possessed three quarters of all properties confiscated by the occupants. Properties taken over by the German army, police, SS, industry sector or local government institutions served immediate war aims (in many cases, well-organized and welllocalized properties were confiscated). In longer perspective, they were supposed to become a basis for the German colonization. Intervention into proprietary relations brought Germans also profits other than the economic ones. Imprecise and loosely interpreted law became a war instrument of extorting loyalty from the landed gentry. Landowners who wanted to keep their properties were usually forced to some extent of economic “cooperation” with the enemy, i.e. to using preferences, putting aside quotas, yielding to the supervision of the agrarian administration.