Junker - English spelling Junker German

A colloquial name for the knightly land-owning aristocracy, the traditional ruling class of Prussia. They owned estates in eastern Germany east of the Elbe River, where they developed the Gutsherrschaft, and from the 18th century onwards, they also became the political ruling class, monopolizing control over the upper echelons of the military and bureaucracy. After the Prussian reforms in the early 19th century, land management was converted to capitalist large-scale farm management (the so-called "Junker management"), and the status privileges derived from the Gutsherrschaft were abolished, but they continued to have influence not only locally but also in central political, government and military circles. Politically, they were a social stratum that was the base of conservatism. After World War II, the basis of their existence was completely lost due to the land reform in the former East Germany.

The word Junker comes from the Old High German word juncherro, which meant a young nobleman, but later was also used as a title in the military and at court. In Prussia, Junker was often used as a derogatory term for "country nobles," but some, such as Bismarck, took pride in calling themselves Junkers.

[Eihachiro Sakai]

"Problems of German Social History" by Hans Rosenberg, translated by Eiji Ohno, Kazuyoshi Kawamoto, and Makoto Otsuki (1978, Miraisha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

プロイセンの伝統的支配階級であった騎士領所有貴族の俗称。エルベ川以東の東部ドイツに領地をもち、そこにグーツヘルシャフトを発展させるとともに、18世紀以降軍隊と官僚の上層部を独占的に支配して政治的支配階級ともなった。19世紀初頭のプロイセン改革以後、領地経営は資本主義的な大農場経営（いわゆる「ユンカー経営」）に転換し、またグーツヘルシャフトに由来する身分特権も廃止されていくが、その後も地方はもとより中央の政・官界や軍部に勢力をもち続けた。政治的には保守主義の地盤となった社会層である。第二次世界大戦後、旧東ドイツの土地改革によって、その存立の基盤は完全に失われた。

　なお、ユンカーの語源は、古高ドイツ語のjuncherroで、貴族の若衆を意味したが、のちには軍隊や宮廷の役職名にも用いられた。プロイセンでは、ユンカーは「田舎(いなか)貴族」として多く蔑称(べっしょう)に用いられたが、ビスマルクのように自らそれを誇称した者もいる。

［坂井榮八郎］

『ハンス・ローゼンベルク著、大野英二・川本和良・大月誠訳『ドイツ社会史の諸問題』（1978・未来社）』

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