Silesian Uprisings

The Silesian Uprisings (Polish: Powstania śląskie) were a series of three armed insurgencies (1919–1921) of Polish people in Upper Silesia with the intention of detaching the province from Germany. In some parts Polish-speakers constituted a majority and many wished to join it with the new Polish state, which had been established following World War I (1914–1918). They were assisted in this quest by huge numbers of armed Polish nationalists who crossed the border from Poland.

Historical background

Silesia had been an independent Duchy ruled by a cadet of the Polish Royal or Ducal family, but who gave his allegiance to the Holy Roman Emperors. The Duchy passed to the Kings of Bohemia in the Fourteenth century, then to the Austrian Habsburgs. Frederick the Great of Prussia seized Silesia from Maria Theresa of Austria in 1740 in the War of Austrian Succession, after which it became a part of Prussia.

Demographics in the early 20th century

The area East of the Oder in Upper Silesia was dominated by ethnic Poles, most of whom were lower class. A large proportion spoke a dialect of Polish, many also felt that they were an ethnic (Slavic) group of their own called Silesians. At the same time, the vast majority of the landowners, businessmen, factory owners, local government, police and Catholic clergy were German. Almost all the higher German officials were Protestant while the vast majority of Silesians were Catholic.{fact}

In the German census of 1900, 65% of the population was recorded as Polish speaking, decreasing to 57% in 1910. This was the result of creating a category of "bilingual" inhabitants, which upon first glance, reduced the number of Polish-speaking Silesians. According to a language map drawn up by German Professor Paul Weber, in most Upper Silesian districts east of the Oder river Polish-speaking Silesians made up over 70% of the population in 1910.

The Treaty of Versailles had ordered a plebiscite in Upper Silesia to determine whether the territory should be a part of Germany or Poland. In the background, strongarm tactics and discrimination on both sides led to rioting and eventually to the first two Silesian Uprisings in 1919 and 1920.

In the plebiscite, around 707,605 votes were cast for Germany, while 479,359 for Poland. The Germans thus had 228,246 votes of majority. Both the German and Polish states brought in a number of outvoters, the German outvoters numbering 179,910; the Polish numbering over 10,000.^{[citation needed]} giving the total result (minus the outvoters) was: 527,695 for remaining in Germany, and circa 469,359 votes for becoming a part of Poland. This is still a majority of votes for Germany, circa 58,336 more votes. Some have speculated that if the plebiscite had been held only East of the Oder River, the percentage of the vote for Poland would have been higher. However, the vote was concerning all of Upper Silesia, and hence was held in all of Upper Silesia, including the predominantly German speaking Upper Silesian areas West of the river.[1]

The result of this democratic plebiscite led to the Third Silesian Uprising in 1921. The League of Nations was asked to settle the matter before it led to even more bloodshed. In 1922, a six-week investigation determined that the land should be divided between the two nations. This decision was accepted by both countries, and the majority of Upper Silesians. Approximately 736,000 Poles and 260,000 Germans lived in Polish (Upper) Silesia and 532,000 Poles and 637,000 Germans in German (Upper) Silesia.

First Silesian Uprising: 16 August–26 August 1919

A massacre of workers in the "Myslowitzer Grube" (Mysłowice) mine by Grenzschutz (German Border Patrol) on 15th August resulted in Polish protests and ultimately in the First Silesian Uprising against German control over Upper Silesia[2]. 21,000 Germans soldiers (with an additional 40,000 troops in reserve) suppressed the Uprising. What followed was German repression of the ethnic Poles of Silesia, and ca. 2,500 Poles were either hung or executed by firing squad. 9,000 sought refuge in Poland along with thousands of family members. The repressive actions came to an end when Allied forces were brought in to restore order. Once the Uprising had been crushed, a strong resentment arose within the Silesian Poles, reinforcing the Polish culture with which they identified.

Second Silesian Uprising: 19 August–25 August 1920

The Second Silesian Uprising (Template:Lang-pl) was the second of three uprisings of the Polish people in the Upper Silesia region against the German government, in order to separate the region (where Poles constituted a majority) from Germany and join it with Poland, which had been established after World War I (1914–1918)

Third Silesian Uprising: 2 May–5 July 1921

The Third Silesian Uprising (Template:Lang-pl) was the last of the three uprisings of the Polish people in the region of Upper Silesia against the German government, in order to separate the region (where Poles constituted a majority) from Germany and join it with Poland, which had been re-established after World War I (1914–1918).

Fighting sides

- Polish: Polish Military Organisation Nowina-Doliwa
- German: Grenzschutz headed by the invalided Prussian General Karl Höfer
Started: May 2, 1921
Ended (date of ceasefire): July 21, 1921, when the Polish side had taken two thirds of Upper Silesia.
Government: Head Council in Szopienice with Wojciech Korfanty as the uprising dictator.
The outcome: The League of Nations made the decision to divide Upper Silesia between Germany and Poland.

Events

The insurrection began on the date planned early in May, because the population had already been terrified by many acts of violence from the Greater Polish Army as well as German paramilitary groups. Those groups called Grenzschutz were formed by demobilised soldiers and volunteers outside Upper Silesia.

The Inter-Allied Commission, in which General Henri Le Rond was the most influential personage, waited a long time before taking any step to oppose the violence. The French troops of occupation generally favoured the insurrection as means of "so-called" self-defense. In some cases British and Italian troops of occupation actively cooperated with Germans. On the other hand Lloyd George's speech in Parliament, strongly disapproving of the insurrection, aroused hopes of Germans. But the Entente appeared to have no troops available for dispatch. The only action the Inter-Allied Military Control Commission and the French government made was demanding immediate prohibition of recruiting for German volunteers outside Upper Silesia, and this was promptly made public. After an initial success of insurgents and taking over 2/3 of the area of Upper Silesia, the German Grenzschutz several times resisted the attacks of Korfanty's Silesian troops, in some cases in cooperation with British and Italian troops of occupation. An attempt on the part of the English troops to take steps against Silesians on their own account was prevented by General Jules Gratier, the French commander-in-chief of the Allied troops. Eventually, insurgents kept most of the taken-over area, including the industrial district. They proved that they could mobilize large local support, while German forces based outside Silesia were barred from taking an active part.

Twelve days after the outbreak of the insurrection Korfanty offered to take his troops behind a line of demarcation, on condition that the released territory would not be occupied by German forces, but by Allied troops. It was not, however, until July 1st that the British troops arrived in Upper Silesia and began to advance in company with those of the other Allies towards the former frontier. Simultaneously with this advance the Inter-Allied Commission pronounced a general amnesty for the illegal actions committed during the insurrection, with the exception of acts of revenge and cruelty. The German Grenzschutz was finally withdrawn and disbanded and amity was restored.

Aftermath

Silesian Insurgents Monument in Katowice. The largest and heaviest monument in Poland, constructed in 1967.

The Silesian Parliament in Katowice.

As the Supreme Council was unable to come to an agreement on the partition of the Upper Silesian territory on the lines of the plebiscite. The result was 60% for Germany. A solution was found by turning the question over to the Council of the League of Nations. Agreements between the Germans and Poles in Upper Silesia and appeals issued by both sides, as well as the despatch of six battalions of Allied troops and the disbandment of the local guards, contributed markedly to the pacification of the district. The greatest excitement was caused all over Germany and in the German part of Upper Silesia by the intimation that the Council of the League of Nations had handed over the matter for closer investigation to a commission, consisting of four representatives — one each from Belgium, Brazil, Spain, and China. On the basis of the reports of this commission and those of its experts, the Council awarded the greater part of the Upper Silesian industrial district to Poland. Polish Government had decided to give Silesia considerable Autonomy with Silesian Parliament as a constituency and Silesian Voivodship Council as the executive body. Poland obtained almost exactly half of the 1,950,000 inhabitants, viz., 965,000, but not quite a third of the territory, i.e., only 3,214 of 10,951 square kilometres (1,241 of 4,228 mi²). This, however, comprised by far the more valuable portion of the district. Of 61 coal mines 49½ fell to Poland, the Prussian state losing 3 mines out of 4. Of a coal output of 31,750,000 tons, 24,600,000 tons fall to Poland. All iron mines with an output of 61,000 tons fell to Poland. Of 37 furnaces 22 went to Poland, 15 to Germany. Of a pig-iron output of 570,000 tons, 170,000 tons remained German, and 400,000 tons became Polish. Of 16 zinc and lead mines, which produced 233,000 tons in 1920, only 4 with an output of 44,000 tons remained German. The main towns of Königshütte/Chorzow, Kattowitz/Katowice, and Tarnowitz, were given to Poland. In the Silesian territory which Poland regained the Germans were a significant minority[3].

In order to mitigate the hardships likely to arise from the partition of a district which was essentially an economic unit, it was decided, on the recommendation of the Council of the League of Nations, that German and Polish delegates, under a chairman appointed by the Council of the League, should draw up economic regulations as well as a statute for the protection of minorities, which were to have a duration of fifteen years. Special measures were threatened in case either of the two states should refuse to participate in the drawing up of such regulations, or to accept them subsequently.

References:

Henryk Zieliński, Rola powstania wielkopolskiego oraz powstań śląskich w walce o zjednoczenie ziem zachodnich z Polską (1918–1921), [w:] Droga przez Półwiecze.