Bauern – Schulzen – Gutsbesitzer

The author focuses on the geographical and social mobility in Western Pomerania using the example of three villages that were owned by the University of Greifswald for centuries. It becomes clear that systematic attempts by the authorities to bind the subjects to serfdom usually failed. Serfdom sometimes even bore the characteristics of an early form of welfare state. When it was abolished, little changed in the tenure system at first. Over time, farms expanded and reached the scale of large estates. Now, peasants benefited and sometimes even became owners of noble manors. The migration to cities and abroad then led to the educated bourgeoisie.