Farther Pomerania, Hinder Pomerania, Rear Pomerania or Eastern Pomerania (Polish: Pomorze Tylne; German: Hinterpommern, Ostpommern), is a subregion of the historic region of Pomerania in north-western Poland, mostly within the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, while its easternmost parts are within the Pomeranian Voivodeship.
It is the part of Pomerania which comprised the eastern part of the Duchy and later Province of Pomerania. It stretched roughly from the Oder River in the West to Pomerelia in the East. The Polish term Pomorze Zachodnie ("Western Pomerania") is colloquially used in contemporary Poland as a synonym for the West Pomeranian Voivodship whose borders do not match the historical ones; in Polish historical usage, it applied to all areas west of Pomerelia (i.e. to the entire narrow Pomerania).
Map of Farther Pomerania of 1801, on the r. h. s. the Lauenburg and Bütow Lands (identified as Lordship of Lauenburg and Lordship of Buto, respectively, western border marked in red).
After Germany's defeat in World War II, the region became again part of Poland. The German population was expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement and replaced with Polish citizens, many of whom were expellees themselves as well.
The toponym Pomerania comes from Slavicpo more, which means Land at the Sea.[1]
Initially, Farther Pomerania referred to the areas beyond (i.e. lying east of) Pomerania-Wolgast, and the name eventually became adopted for areas east of Szczecin by the 16th century. When the 1648 Peace of Westphalia and the Treaty of Stettin (1653) divided the Duchy of Pomerania into its Western, Swedish and Eastern Brandenburgian parts, Farther Pomerania was used for the latter - in opposition to Swedish Hither Pomerania (Vorpommern) including Stettin (Szczecin), Wollin (Wolin) and a strip of land east of the Oder River, ultimately limited to include two suburbs of Szczecin, namely the towns of Gollnow (Goleniów) and Damm/Alt-Damm/Altdamm (Dąbie). To the East, Farther Pomerania stretches to the border with Pomerelia, considered by the Polish historiography to be located on the river Łeba.
In the post-1945 era, Farther Pomerania was affected by the Polish-German border shift. Before, it happened to be the Eastern part of German Pomerania (Pommern, consisting of Hither and Farther Pomerania), yet thereafter it became the Western part of Polish Pomerania (Pomorze, consisting of Pomerania and Pomerelia). As Polish Pomorze has also been in use for Pomerelia, while Hither and Farther Pomerania are jointly referred to as West Pomerania (Pomorze Zachodnie) in Poland, located predominantly in today's West Pomeranian Voivodeship, including Szczecin and Wolin. However, this term is not being adopted by the Germans, as only Hither Pomerania is considered to be Western Pomerania, so Farther Pomerania is still in use.
Cities and towns
Victory Square with the statue of Józef Piłsudski and the former Koszalin Voivodeship Office in Koszalin, the largest city of the regionCounty office in Słupsk, the second largest city of the region
In addition, the following towns are located in the historical Lębork and Bytów Land, thus being treated as part of Pomerelia/Gdańsk Pomerania by the Polish historiography, and as part of Farther Pomerania by the German historiography:
1919 Treaty of Versailles - the bulk of Pomerelia, as well as minor parts of the Stolp, Lauenburg and Bütow districts are awarded to the re-established Polish state; the bulk of Farther Pomerania, Lauenburg and Bütow Land, as well as minor parts of the remainder of Pomerelian lands remain part of Germany
1939 Stalag II-D, a major prisoner-of-war camp for Polish POWs and civilians, and later also for other Allied POWs, including Americans, French, Dutch, Belgians, Serbs, Soviet, Italians, Canadians, established by Nazi Germany in Stargard with numerous forced labour subcamps in the region.[8]
^Aniszewska, Jolanta (2011). "W obowiązku pamięci... Stalag II D i formy upamiętnienia jeńców wojennych w Stargardzie Szczecińskim". Łambinowicki rocznik muzealny (in Polish). 34. Opole: 9, 14, 20.
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