Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Silesian Voivodeship was an autonomous province (voivodeship

Voivodeship

Voivodship is a term denoting the position of, or more commonly the area administered by, a voivod. Voivodeships have existed since medieval times in Poland, Romania, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Russia and Serbia....

) of the interwar Second Polish Republic

Second Polish Republic

The Second Polish Republic, Second Commonwealth of Poland or interwar Poland refers to Poland between the two world wars; a period in Polish history in which Poland was restored as an independent state. Officially known as the Republic of Poland or the Commonwealth of Poland , the Polish state was...

. It consisted of territory which came into Polish possession as a result of the 1921 Upper Silesia plebiscite

Upper Silesia plebiscite

The Upper Silesia plebiscite was a border referendum mandated by the Versailles Treaty and carried out in March 1921 to determine a section of the border between Weimar Germany and Poland. The region was ethnically mixed, chiefly among Germans, Poles and Silesians. According to prewar statistics,...

, the Geneva Conventions

Geneva Conventions

The Geneva Conventions comprise four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish the standards of international law for the humanitarian treatment of the victims of war...

, three Upper Silesian Uprisings

Silesian Uprisings

The Silesian Uprisings were a series of three armed uprisings of the Poles and Polish Silesians of Upper Silesia, from 1919–1921, against German rule; the resistance hoped to break away from Germany in order to join the Second Polish Republic, which had been established in the wake of World War I...

, and the eventual partition of Upper Silesia

Upper Silesia

Upper Silesia is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia. Since the 9th century, Upper Silesia has been part of Greater Moravia, the Duchy of Bohemia, the Piast Kingdom of Poland, again of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and the Holy Roman Empire, as well as of...

between Poland, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

and Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia

Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

. The capital of the voivodeship was Katowice

Katowice

Katowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2...

.

The voivodeship was dissolved on October 8, 1939 following the German invasion of Poland, and its territory was incorporated into the German Province of Silesia

Province of Silesia

The Province of Silesia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1815 to 1919.-Geography:The territory comprised the bulk of the former Bohemian crown land of Silesia and the County of Kladsko, which King Frederick the Great had conquered from the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy in the 18th...

. After the war the 1920 act granting its autonomous powers was formally repealed by the Polish government, and its territory was incorporated into a new, larger Silesian Voivodeship which existed until 1950.

General description

The Silesian Voivodeship was the richest and best developed of the provinces of inter-war Poland. It owed its wealth to rich deposits of coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

, which resulted in construction of numerous coal mines and steelworks. For this reason, this Voivodeship was crucial to Polish armaments production. However, its location on the border with Germany

Germany

made it vulnerable. In mid-1930s, the Polish government decided to move some sectors of heavy industry to the nation's heartland, creating the Central Industrial Region. Due to efficient agricultural practices, the Silesian Voivodeship also was a major producer of food, in spite of its small size.

According to the 1931 Polish census, 92.3% of population stated Polish as their mother tongue. Germans

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

made up 7% and Jews

Jews

The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

only 0.5%. Poles lived mainly in the villages (95.6% of population there), while Germans and Jews preferred cities (12.9% of Polish Upper Silesian cities' population was German, especially Katowice

Katowice

).

Population density was the highest in the country at 299 persons per 1 km². On January 1, 1937, forested areas made up 27.9% of the province. Rail density was the highest in the country at 18.5 km. per 100 km². In 1931, the illiteracy rate was the lowest in the country at 1.5% of population.

History

After the First World War a dispute arouse aboute the future of Upper Silesia

Upper Silesia

. This part of the Silesia

Silesia

Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...

region was the least affected by centuries of germanisation

Germanisation

Germanisation is both the spread of the German language, people and culture either by force or assimilation, and the adaptation of a foreign word to the German language in linguistics, much like the Romanisation of many languages which do not use the Latin alphabet...

. The population was predominately Slavic

Slavic peoples

The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...

, especially in rural areas. Many of them considered themselves Poles

Poles

thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...

, and some Czechs. The rest did not feel any strong connections to either of those nations; according to Wojciech Korfanty

Wojciech Korfanty

Wojciech Korfanty , born Adalbert Korfanty, was a Polish nationalist activist, journalist and politician, serving as member of the German parliaments Reichstag and Prussian Landtag, and later on, in the Polish Sejm...

's estimations, this last group represented up to a third of the total whole population of the region.

The Treaty of Versailles

Treaty of Versailles

The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...

resolved that a plebiscite

Upper Silesia plebiscite

be conducted so that the local population could decide whether Upper Silesia should be assigned to Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

or to Germany

Germany

. Before the plebiscite took place, two Silesian Uprisings

Silesian Uprisings

supporting the Polish option broke out. There was a third uprising after the plebiscite, as well.

Based on the results of the plebiscite, Upper Silesia was divided between Poland

Poland

and Germany

Germany

. The Polish part was incorporated as the Silesian Voivodeship.

The voivodeship was one of the best economically developed parts of Poland. It had been granted autonomous status by an Act of the Polish Sejm

Sejm

The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....

dated 15 July 1920. This status was secure until the May Coup in 1926, after which there were various attempts to limit it in favor of a strong and centralised state.

Following the German invasion of Poland, the voivodeship was dissolved on October 8, 1939, and its territory was incorporated into the German Province of Upper Silesia

Province of Upper Silesia

The Province of Upper Silesia was a province of the Free State of Prussia created in the aftermath of World War I. It comprised much of the region of Upper Silesia and was eventually divided into two administrative regions , Kattowitz and Oppeln...

. The territory came back into Polish possession at the end of the war, and the 1920 act giving autonomous powers to the Silesian Voivodeship was formally repealed by a law of 6 May 1945. An enlarged Silesian Voivodeship (unofficially called Silesia-Dąbrowa Voivodeship, województwo śląsko-dąbrowskie) continued in existence until 1950, when it was divided into Katowice Voivodeship

Katowice Voivodeship

Katowice Voivodeship was a unit of administrative division and local government in Poland in the years 1975–1998, superseded by the Silesian Voivodeship...

and Opole Voivodeship

Opole Voivodeship

- Administrative division :Opole Voivodeship is divided into 12 counties : 1 city county and 11 land counties. These are further divided into 71 gminas.The counties are listed in the following table .- Economy :...

. (For details, see Administrative division of the People's Republic of Poland.)

Politics

The voivodeship possessed wide autonomy in domestic matters excluding foreign and military policy. It had its own Silesian

Silesian Parliament

Silesian Parliament or Silesian Sejm was the governing body of the Silesian Voivodeship , an autonomous voivodeship of the Second Polish Republic between 1920 and 1945. It was elected in democratic elections and had certain influence over the usage of taxes collected in Silesia...

Parliament

A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...

with 48 MPs (24 since 1935) elected in democratic elections. Legislation, however, had to be consistent with the Polish constitution. The voivodeship also had its own national treasury - the Silesian Treasury

Silesian Treasury

Silesian Treasury - name of the treasury of the Silesian Voivodeship.- General information :The Silesian Treasury consisted of about 1 ton of gold in 1939. It was managed by the Silesian Parliament...

. Only around 10% of taxes were transferred to Polish national treasury. The head of the administration was headed by a voivode appointed by the president of Poland to act as a representative of the central government.

Administrative divisions

Counties (powiaty)

In mid-1939 the population of the voivodeship was 1,533,500 (together with Zaolzie

Zaolzie

Zaolzie is the Polish name for an area now in the Czech Republic which was disputed between interwar Poland and Czechoslovakia. The name means "lands beyond the Olza River"; it is also called Śląsk zaolziański, meaning "trans-Olza Silesia". Equivalent terms in other languages include Zaolší in...

, annexed in October 1938) and its area was 5 122 km². The voivodeship was divided into these counties:

Powiaty	Population Population A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...	Area Area Area is a quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional surface or shape in the plane. Area can be understood as the amount of material with a given thickness that would be necessary to fashion a model of the shape, or the amount of paint necessary to cover the surface with a single coat...
Katowice Katowice Katowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2... county (powiat katowicki)	357,300	213 km²
Rybnik Rybnik Rybnik is a city in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship. Rybnik is located close to the border with the Czech Republic and just outside the southern border of the largest urban area in Poland, the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union... county (powiat rybnicki)	212,900	890 km²
Cieszyn Cieszyn Cieszyn is a border-town and the seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It has 36,109 inhabitants . Cieszyn lies on the Olza River, a tributary of the Oder river, opposite Český Těšín.... county (powiat cieszyński)	176,600	1 305 km²
Pszczyna Pszczyna Pszczyna is a town in southern Poland with 26,827 inhabitants within the immediate gmina rising to 50,121 inhabitants in the powiat, which includes the town of Pszczyna, itself, Brzeźce , Czarków , Ćwiklice , Jankowice , Łąka , Piasek , Poręba , Rudołtowice , Studzionka , Studzienice , Wisła... county (powiat pszczyński)	151,500	1 046 km²
Frysztat Fryštát is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic, now administratively a part of the city of Karviná. Until 1948 it was a separate town. It lies on the Olza River, in the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia.... county (powiat frysztacki)	143,000	262 km²
City of Chorzów Chorzów Chorzów is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central districts of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - a metropolis with a population of 2 million...	128,900	32 km²
City of Katowice Katowice Katowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2...	126,200	42 km²
Tarnowskie Góry Tarnowskie Góry Tarnowskie Góry is a town in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Borders on the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - metropolis with the population of 2 millions. Located in the Silesian Highlands.... county (powiat tarnogórski)	107 000	268 km²
Bielsko Bielsko Bielsko was until 1950 an independent town situated in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland. In 1951 it was joined with Biała Krakowska to form the new town of Bielsko-Biała. Bielsko constitutes the western part of that town.... county (powiat bielski)	59,500	339 km²
Lubliniec Lubliniec Lubliniec is a town in southern Poland with 29,359 inhabitants . It is the capital of Lubliniec County, part of Silesian Voivodeship ; previously it was in Częstochowa Voivodeship .-Geography:... county (powiat lubliniecki)	45,200	715 km²
City of Bielsko Bielsko Bielsko was until 1950 an independent town situated in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland. In 1951 it was joined with Biała Krakowska to form the new town of Bielsko-Biała. Bielsko constitutes the western part of that town....	25,400	10 km²

Cities

The largest cities of the voivodeship were (population based on the 1931 census):

Cities	Population Population A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
Chorzów Chorzów Chorzów is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central districts of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - a metropolis with a population of 2 million... ¹	128,900
Katowice Katowice Katowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2...	126,200
Siemianowice Śląskie Siemianowice Slaskie Siemianowice Śląskie aka Siemianowice ; is a city in Upper Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. The central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - metropolis with the population of 2 millions...	37,800
Cieszyn Cieszyn Cieszyn is a border-town and the seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland. It has 36,109 inhabitants . Cieszyn lies on the Olza River, a tributary of the Oder river, opposite Český Těšín....	28,000
Bielsko Bielsko Bielsko was until 1950 an independent town situated in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland. In 1951 it was joined with Biała Krakowska to form the new town of Bielsko-Biała. Bielsko constitutes the western part of that town....	25,400
Rybnik Rybnik Rybnik is a city in southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship. Rybnik is located close to the border with the Czech Republic and just outside the southern border of the largest urban area in Poland, the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union...	23 000
Mysłowice	22,700
Karwina	22,300
Tarnowskie Góry Tarnowskie Góry Tarnowskie Góry is a town in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Borders on the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - metropolis with the population of 2 millions. Located in the Silesian Highlands....	15,500
Mikołów	11,900
Bogumin	10,800
Orłowa	10 000

¹ – in 1934 the town of Królewska Huta, the village of Maciejkowice, the commune of Nowe Hajduki and the village of Chorzów Stary were merged, creating the city of Chorzów
Chorzów
Chorzów is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central districts of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - a metropolis with a population of 2 million...

. Additionally, on April 1, 1939, the commune of Wielkie Hajduki
Chorzów Batory
Chorzów Batory is a district of the Polish city of Chorzów, in Silesian Voivodeship. Until early 1939, it was a separate municipality. One of the most renowned football clubs in Poland, Ruch Chorzów, is based there....

also became incorporated into the city of Chorzów.

Voivodes

Józef Rymer
Józef Rymer
Józef Rymer was a Polish and Silesian activist and politician.Born in Zabełków on February 2, 1882. Before the First World War he was an activist in the Zjednoczenie Zawodowe Polskie , a Polish labor union organization in Imperial Germany...

16 June 1922 – 5 December 1922
Zygmunt Żurawski 15 December 1922 – 1 February 1923 (acting)
Antoni Schultis 1 February 1923 – 3 March 1924
Tadeusz Koncki 15 October 1923 – 2 May 1924 (acting till 3 March 1924)
Mieczysław Bilski 6 May 1924 – 3 September 1926
Michał Grażyński 6 September 1926 – 5 September 1939

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