Agriculture in the eastern provinces of Prussia was to a high degree based on large-area manors (often requisitioned from their formerly Polish owners) and run by German junkers, who employed thousands of migrating Poles from the Russian and Austrian part of partitioned Poland. Also, the growing industrial region of Upper Silesia attracted workers from economically backward areas. At the same time, parts of the local German and Polish population migrated in search of work to more industrialized western areas of Germany (Ostflucht). Although no anti-German political activity among the Polish migrants was ever noted, the resulting increase of the Polish population alarmed nationalist German circles, including Germany's chancellor Otto von Bismarck.

On 26 March 1885, the ministry of internal affairs of Prussia ordered its provincial authorities to expel abroad all ethnic Poles and Jews holding Russian citizenship.

In July 1885, the expulsion order was extended to include Polish Austrian citizens also. Additionally, the authorities were obliged to watch, that in the future no "undesirable foreigners" would settle on those territories.

The order was executed upon all non-Prussian citizens regardless of their long term residence or previous service in the Prussian Army, and despite their state of health, age or sex. The expellees were "driven in mass towards the eastern border under blows of gendarmes' rifle butts". Fatal incidents were being reported, as the expulsions were carried in winter time. In the initial months nearly 26,000 persons were expelled from eastern provinces of Prussia, mainly workers and craftsmen employed there. The expulsions were continued in subsequent years. Until 1890 the number of expellees exceeded 30,000, and the border of Prussia was closed to all migrants of Polish ethnicity.