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Abstract

Table I shows the absolute number of Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and others living in the German Reich, its federal territories, and in Prussian provinces, according to the census of December 1, 1871. Table II shows the same data expressed as percentages. From Table II we see that in 1871, only 1.25 percent of Germans, on average, were Jewish; but this average figure masked great disparities according to region. Table II shows that Jews constituted 4.36 percent (N=36,020) of Berlin’s total population. By contrast, in the Kingdom of Saxony, where a strong antisemitic movement would break out within a decade, Jews constituted only 0.13 percent (N=3,357) of the population. The total number of Jews living in Germany increased between 1871 and 1910 from about 512,000 to 615,000; but the proportion of Jews declined, from 1.25 percent in 1871 to less than one percent in 1910.

Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and Others: Confessional Population (December 1, 1871)

Source

Table I. Population, by Prussian District and Federal State 1871 and 1910

Local Population on December 1, 1871

States and parts of the country

Christians:
Protestant

Christians:
Roman Catholic

Christians:
other

Israelites

Other and no specified religion

1

2

3

4

5

6

Prov. East Prussia

1,569,365

233,007

6,125

14,425

12

Prov. West Prussia

633,548

641,572

12,827

26,632

32

City of Berlin

735,783

51,729

2,573

36,020

236

Prov. Brandenburg

1,987,891

34,530

2,971

11,469

27

Prov. Pomerania

1,397,467

16,858

4,266

13,036

6

Prov. Posen

511,292

1,009,491

1,065

61,982

13

Prov. Silesia

1,760,441

1,896,136

3,860

46,629

101

Prov. Saxony

1,966,696

126,735

3,813

5,917

13

Prov. Schl.-Holst.

1,034,363

6,276

1,024

3,743

13

Prov. Hanover

1,711,728

233,631

3,273

12,790

15

Prov. Westphalia

806,464

949,118

2,334

17,245

14

Prov. Hesse-Nassau

988,041

371,736

3,892

36,390

311

Prov. Rhineland

906,867

2,628,173

5,834

38,423

50

Hohenzollern

1,766

63,051

30

711

--

***Kingdom Prussia[1]

16,040,750

8,268,206

53,894

325,559

843

Kingdom Bavaria

1,342,592

3,464,364

5,453

50,662

379

Kingdom Saxony

2,493,556

53,642

4,893

3,357

796

Württemberg

1,248,860

553,542

3,857

12,245

35

Baden

491,008

942,560

2,265

25,703

26

Hesse

584,391

239,088

3,873

25,373

169

Mecklenburg-
Schwerin

553,492

1,336

98

2,945

26

Hamburg

306,553

7,748

3,166

13,796

7 711

Alsace-Lorraine

270,251

1,235,706

2,132

40,918

731

***German Reich

25,581,685

14,869,292

82,158

512,153

13 504

Local Population on December 1, 1910

German Reich

39,991,421

23,821,453

283,046

615,021

214,152

Table II. Percentage of Population, by Prussian District and Federal State

For Every 10,000 Local Residents on December 1, 1871

States and parts of the country

Christians:
Protestant

Christians:
Roman Catholic

Christians:
other

Israelites

Other and no specified religion

1

7

8

9

10

11

Prov. East Prussia

8,609

1,278

34

79

0,1

Prov. West Prussia

4,819

4,880

98

203

0,3

City of Berlin

8,904

626

31

436

3

Prov. Brandenburg

9,760

170

14

56

0,1

Prov. Pomerania

9,761

118

30

91

0,0

Prov. Posen

3,228

6,374

7

391

0,1

Prov. Silesia

4,749

5,115

10

126

0,3

Prov. Saxony

9,351

603

18

28

0,1

Prov. Schl.-Holst.

9,894

60

10

36

0,1

Prov. Hanover

8,727

1,191

17

65

0,1

Prov. Westphalia

4,543

5,347

13

97

0,1

Prov. Hesse-Nassau

7,056

2,655

28

259

2

Prov. Rhineland

2,534

7,343

16

107

0,1

Hohenzollern

269

9,618

5

108

--

***Kingdom Prussia[2]

6,497

3,349

22

132

0,3

Kingdom Bavaria

2,761

7,123

11

104

1

Kingdom Saxony

9,755

209

19

13

3

Württemberg

6,867

3,044

21

67

0,2

Baden

3,359

6,449

16

176

0,2

Hesse

6,852

2,803

46

297

2,0

Mecklenburg-
Schwerin

9,921

24

2

53

0,4

Hamburg

9,044

229

93

407

227

Alsace-Lorraine

1,744

7,973

14

264

5

***German Reich

6,231

3,621

20

125

5

Notes

[1] The totals for Prussia (including Lauenburg) and Bavaria include the troops belonging to these states in France, without them being counted among the territorial units.
[2] The totals for Prussia (including Lauenburg) and Bavaria include the troops belonging to these states in France, without them being counted among the territorial units.

Source: Statistisches Jahrbuch für das Deutsche Reich (1880), p. 13 and (1913), p. 11; reprinted in Gerd Hohorst, Jürgen Kocka, and Gerhard A. Ritter, eds., Sozialgeschichtliches Arbeitsbuch II. Materialien zur Statistik des Kaiserreichs 1870-1914. Second edition. Munich: C. H. Beck, 1978, pp. 53–54.