Pommern (Pomerania), a former province (Provinz) of Prussia (see Preussen), which ceased to exist in 1945. The greater part of Pomerania is now Polish. The territory was formerly divided into Vorderpommern, west of the River Oder, and the much larger area of Hinterpommern to the east of it, all of which now forms part of Poland. The greater part of Vorderpommern, except for a strip on the left bank stretching northwards from Stettin (now Szczecin), is German territory and formed part of the DDR (see Deutsche Demokratische Republik). In the Middle Ages Pomerania was a duchy. In the 17th c. and 18th c. it was a bone of contention between Prussia and Sweden; Prussia acquired it piecemeal between 1679 and 1815.

The Oxford Companion to German Literature. Copyright © 1976, 1986, 1997, 2005 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.