Editing Lebensraum (section)

=== Prussian policy ===
Some Prussian politicians were increasingly thinking in terms of ''Lebensraum'' by 1907.<ref>Woodruff D. Smith, Professor of History, University of Texas, S.A. (1989). ''The Ideological Origins of Nazi Imperialism''. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. p. 126.</ref> In 1902, the [[Prussia|Prussian]] government had already allocated 200,000,000 '''[[German mark (1871)|ℳ︁]]''' for purposes of German colonization of [[Prussian Partition|Polish portions]] of eastern Prussia. These funds were intended to support the creation of settlements by acquiring Polish estates.<ref>{{Cite news |title=To Germanize Prussian Poland O GE; Bill Introduced in the Diet – Advance of Polish Element Causes Alarm. |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1902/05/22/101952528.html |access-date=2024-08-31 |work=The New York Times |language=en |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> By 1907, Prussian Chancellor [[Bernhard von Bülow|Bülow]] was promoting bills that explicitly called for the forced sale of Polish estates. A bill in late 1907 asked for another $100,000,000 for expropriations.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1907-12-14 |title=Polish Policy Modified; Prussian Government is to Limit Expropriation of Estates |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1907/12/14/archives/polish-policy-modified-prussian-government-is-to-limit.html |access-date=2024-08-31 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In 1903, the Prussian authorities tried a Polish countess for "presenting a false heir" for an estate near [[Wróblewo, Szamotuły County|Wróblewo]]. The case, tried in [[Berlin]], generated crowds of people and police. Observers expressed concern that Prussian "race partiality" would result in a guilty verdict.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Countess Kwilecki Freed; Crowds of Poles Outside the Court House in Berlin Cheer the News of Her Acquittal. |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1903/11/26/102030993.html |access-date=2024-08-31 |work=The New York Times |language=en |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>