After the first partition of Poland in 1772 between Russia, Prussia and Austria, Austria obtained the part of Poland called “Eastern Galicia” (Ostgalizien). The Austrian emperor Josef II. intended to cultivate his newly acquired territory. He managed to attract a large number of German colonists to the area, by making them a great deal of promises. The German colonists mainly came from the south western region of Germany, and in particular from the Palatinate. This so-called “Josefinian colonization” (Josefinische Kolonisation) took place between 1782 to 1785.                                                                                                                                            In 1784 the village Gelsendorf, near the town Stryj, was founded. Gelsendorf, with its German Protestant inhabitants, was a a kind of model village.  

After the 1st World War, Eastern Galicia became a part of Poland.                            As a result of Hitler`s raid on Poland and the subsequent so-called “Hitler-Stalin-pact” dated 25th August, 1939, Eastern Galicia became a part of the Soviet Union. In January, 1940, all inhabitants of German origin left the country and were resettled during 1940 in the Wartha region of Poland (Wartheland).                                                                                                                             The book „GELSENDORF–GALIZIEN“, published in 2001, presents an overview of this German immigration and settlement. For 217 years, the German population was a part of Galicia and its multiethnic population of Ukrainians, Poles and Jews.      In this book, every-day life and customs are described in detail from several authors.