Im Namen der „großen Kolonisationsaufgaben“: Das Hygiene Institut in Posen (1899-1920) und die preußische Hegemonialpolitik in der Ostmark

By establishing a new institute of hygiene in Posen in 1899 the German political agenda for the Province of Posen - a multinational, multi-confessional, strongly Polish shaped region - should get a new profile. German hegemonic politics, German culture and the cultural proximity of the region to the German Empire should be reinforced. Furthermore, the institute was to introduce a new demographic policy. Berlin aimed at medicalizing the entire region and thus at strengthening the German-speaking population while at the same time disciplining the Polish by not allowing them to benefit too much from the Institute's services. Taking the Institute as a microcosm of regional politics and as designed to be one of the most powerful political tools to govern the province, this essay explores the contradictions and challenges of the German hegemonic and colonial agenda for the eastern parts of the Empire. It argues in favour of both, the historical importance of political debates and rhetoric on the one hand and of local practices, material and social, human and intellectual capacities on the other. The analysis of both of these fields reveals two trends: the repeated political claim to German cultural domination contradicted the financial commitment to the region. In the end Posen remained a province culturally too unstable to be worth serious efforts. The Institute was established in the name of the state, but should act in the name of hygiene. However, it remained constrained by the lack of political will and finally could claim only very limited success