After 1871 Prussians escalated germanization to Germanize educated Poles and crush Polish culture. Bismarck drove anti-Polish policies using legal and illegal means. German became sole official language – Polish names, cities germanized. Kulturkampf attacked Catholic Church as Polish bastion, closing seminaries and fining institutions. Polish organic work formed societies uniting classes to preserve language and economy. Rugi pruskie expelled 26,000 non-citizen Poles in 1885. Colonization Commission spent 100 million marks to buy and parcel Polish land to Germans but failed. Poles countered with Bank Polski providing cheap credits to hold land. Hakata spread anti-Polish propaganda with imperial support. Września strike in 1901 protested German-only religion classes – kids whipped, parents jailed. 1904 law banned new Polish farm settlements – Drzymala lived in a moving wagon defying it. 1908 empowered forced expropriation of Polish properties. Gag law forced meetings in German only. Polish societies taught thrift and modern farming to outcompete Germans. Kulturkampf backfired, boosting Church influence among Poles.