A short guide to the Silesian Uprisings

Coal mines, steelworks and their railway connections gave the region importance beyond local politics. The border dispute also concerned access to raw materials, production and markets. Partition of the industrial district had to account for an interdependent economic network.

In 1919 national tensions overlapped with postwar hardship, strikes and disputes over safety in workplaces. Workers demanded, among other things, the removal of people associated with German armed groups.

Maksymilian Iksal’s order, issued during the night of 16–17 August, initially reached some structures in the Pszczyna and Rybnik districts. Fighting began on 17 August and spread to other districts the following day. We therefore date the outbreak to the night of 16–17 August 1919.

The Allies dissolved the Sicherheitspolizei and established a parity-based Plebiscite Police, the Abstimmungspolizei (APO). This significantly changed the conditions of the campaign. It did not settle the region’s state affiliation: the vote still lay ahead.

The Treaty of Versailles, signed on 28 June 1919, provided in Article 88 for a plebiscite in a defined part of Upper Silesia. It did not simply award the whole region to the overall winner. The commission was to report commune results and recommend a border, taking geographical and economic conditions into account.

An IPN account dated 11 January 2022 reports 707,393 votes for Germany and 479,365 for Poland. The chart below uses these totals. Other institutional accounts give slightly different totals. The broad result is consistent: roughly 60% of valid votes for Germany and 40% for Poland.

Full reconciliation requires the commission’s original return. Chart percentages are calculated from the sum of votes for the two options.

Results varied between localities. Large towns generally favoured Germany, while many rural communes in the eastern part had Polish majorities.

After the vote, the Allies failed to agree on a common border proposal. The plan to leave most of the industrial district to Germany was especially adverse to the Polish side. Korfanty decided to use armed action to exert pressure on the international settlement.

Góra Świętej Anny, called Annaberg in German sources, was a major focus of fighting in May 1921. The detailed IPN chronology dates the German offensive and capture of the hill to 21 May. Insurgent counterattacks failed to recover it. This local German success did not amount to control of the whole industrial district.

DHM gives 23 May. The timeline follows the detailed IPN account while retaining the discrepancy.

The Third Uprising ended through negotiations and withdrawal. On 25 June 1921 the German side signed an evacuation agreement. Forces on both sides withdrew between 28 June and 5 July. Thus 5 July marks completion of evacuation, not a single all-purpose ceasefire date.

The partition dispute was referred to the League of Nations. Its recommendation formed the basis of the settlement approved by the Conference of Ambassadors on 20 October 1921. The border decision in 1921 and transfer of administration in 1922 were separate stages.

Poland received the smaller share of the plebiscite territory but an important share of its industry. The University of Silesia interview with Maciej Fic reports 63 of 82 coal mines, 9 of 14 steel plants and 22 of 37 blast furnaces. These count facilities and equipment; they are not percentages of output or economic value.

Household language did not determine national identification or a plebiscite vote. Some inhabitants used Polish or Silesian varieties of speech while favouring Germany. Regional, religious and family attachments could overlap with Polish or German affiliations.

The German–Polish Convention concerning Upper Silesia was signed in Geneva on 15 May 1922. It regulated consequences of partition, including economic matters and minority protection. The new border raised questions of citizenship, language and everyday life on both sides.