Across and Against National Boundaries: Rightwing Feminism in Prussian Colonial Poland, 1895–1914

The question of how politically engaged women forged international ties within the context of First Wave Feminism has been widely studied by women’s historians. Scholars such as Leila J. Rupp and Bonnie S. Anderson argue that progressive politics—either peace activism or socialism—and a shared sense of sisterhood helped forge and fortify transnational bonds amongst female activists.  While Rupp, in particular, demonstrates the limits of internationalist sisterhood, women’s history has yet to adequately address how rightwing women operated transnationally.  By paying special attention to the German imperial context in Poland, my paper addresses conservative women’s transnational activism. Specifically, this project looks at the Grand Duchy of Posen—a territory seized by Prussia from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at the end of the eighteenth century—and Polish women’s nationalist activism in the region. This inquiry shows that conservative women’s activities functioned not along sisterly lines, but competitively, chafing at imperialism’s framework.  Specifically, this piece focuses on the Polish women’s nationalist organizations, Warta and the Reading Room for Women, and juxtaposes them against the “civilizing” activities of the German women who interacted with and comprised the German Eastern Marches Society and the Prussian Settlement Commission. This comparison reveals the previously misunderstood connections between rightwing behavior, colonizing campaigns, and women’s nascent feminist activism.  I argue that German imperial activity in the Duchy of Posen in the late nineteenth century inspired a defensive Polish nationalism, which encouraged Polish women’s public participation in the nation.  I further maintain that this competitive environment encouraged socially minded Polish women to cut their political teeth, providing them a way forward to participate in state politics after Polish independence was achieved. Closely examining this imperial relationship between female subjects and colonizers sheds new light on the little recognized issue of rightwing politics as a vehicle for transnational women’s activity.