Everything about Third Silesian Uprising totally explained
The
Silesian Uprisings (; ) were a series of three armed
uprisings of the
Poles of
Upper Silesia, from 1919–1921, against
Weimar 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. In the latter-day history of Poland after
World War II, the
insurrections were celebrated as centrepieces of national pride.
Historical background
Silesia had belonged to
Poland in early
medieval times, but passed to the Kings of
Bohemia in the
XIV 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 a
Slavic ethnic group of their own called
Silesians.. as well as creating a category of "bilingual inhabitants" for the purpose of the census, which reduced the number of Polish-speaking Silesians. The Treaty mandated a plebiscite within two years in the whole of Silesia, although the Polish government only wanted one a part of Silesia East of the
Oder river.
Eventually the deteriorating situation resulted in the first two Silesian Uprisings in
1919 and
1920.
The plebiscite took place as arranged on March 20, two days after the signing of the
Treaty of Riga, on
March 18 1921, which ended the
Polish-Soviet war of 1919-1920.
In the
plebiscite, around 707,605 votes were cast for Germany, while 479,359 for Poland. The German outvoters numbering 179,910; the Polish numbering over 10,000. The revolting miners demanded that the police and local government authorities be both German and Polish in the future.
The uprising was slowly brought to an end in September by a combination of allied military operations and negotiations between the parties. The Poles obtained the disbanding of the
Sipo police and the creation of a new police (
Abstimmungspolizei) for the area which would be 50% Polish.
Poles were also admitted to the local administration. The
Polish Military Organisation in Upper Silesia was supposed to be disbanded though in practice this didn't happen.
Third Silesian Uprising (1921)
The
Third Silesian Uprising was the last and largest and longest of the three uprisings.
It begun in the aftermath of
the plebiscite which yielded mixed results. The British and French governments disagreed on the interpretation of the plebiscite.
The main bone of contention was the "Industrial Triangle," that's the coal and steel producing district east of the
Oder river bounded by the cities of
Bytom (Beuthen),
Gliwice (Gleiwitz) and
Katowice (Kattowitz).
The French wanted it to go to Poland, to give the latter an industrial base and weaken Germany; the British, supported by the Italians, wanted it to stay in Germany because the Germans claimed they couldn't pay war reparations without Upper Silesia.
In late April 1921, rumors flew that the British and Italians would prevail over the French, so Upper Silesia would stay in Germany.
The insurrection began on the date planned early in
May. Unlike the Second uprising, the third was carefully organized and planned in advance under the leadership of
Wojciech Korfanty.
The insurrection began on the date planned early in
May with Polish attack on German rail connections (see:
Wawelberg Group), because the population had already been terrified by many acts of
violence of German
paramilitary groups,
Freikorps, formally created to support the border protection
police (
Grenzschutz). The Freikorps consisted mostly of
demobilised German soldiers and
volunteers.
The
Inter-Allied Commission, in which General
Henri Le Rond was the most influential personage, waited rather a long time before taking any steps to end the violence. The
French troops of
occupation generally favored the insurrection. In some cases
British and
Italian contingents actively cooperated with Germans. On the other hand UK Prime Minister
Lloyd George's speech in the
British Parliament, strongly disapproving of the insurrection, aroused the hopes of some Germans. But the
Entente appeared to have no troops ready and available for dispatch. The only action the 'Inter-Allied Military Control Commission' and the
French government made was demanding immediate prohibition of the recruiting of German volunteers from outside Upper Silesia, and this was promptly made
public.
After an initial success of the
insurgents, taking over a large portion of the area of Upper Silesia, the German
Grenzschutz several times resisted the attacks of
Wojciech Korfanty's Polish troops, some cases in cooperation with British and Italian troops. An attempt on the part of the
British troops to take steps against the Polish forces was prevented by General
Jules Gratier, the French
commander-in-chief of the Allied troops. Eventually, the insurgents kept most of territory they'd won, including the local
industrial district. They proved that they could
mobilize large amounts local support, while the German forces based outside Silesia were barred from taking an active part in the conflict.
Twelve days after the outbreak of the insurrection Korfanty offered to take his troops behind a line of demarcation (the "Korfanty Line"), conditional upon the released territory not being re-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 withdrawn and disbanded.
Aftermath
Agreements between the Germans and Poles in Upper Silesia and appeals issued by both sides, as well as the dispatch of six
battalions of Allied troops and the disbandment of the local guards, contributed markedly to the
pacification of the district.
The Allied Supreme Council was however still unable to come to an agreement on the partition of the Upper Silesian territory on the lines of the plebiscite.
The British and the French could only agree on one solution: turning the question over to the Council of the
League of Nations.
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. The commission gathered its own data, interviewed Poles and Germans from the region, and made its decision on the basis of
self-determination.
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,
for example, 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 tonnes, 24,600,000 tonnes fall to Poland. All iron mines with an output of 61,000 tonnes fell to Poland. Of 37 furnaces 22 went to Poland, 15 to Germany. Of a pig-iron output of 570,000 tonnes, 170,000 tonnes remained German, and 400,000 tonnes became Polish. Of 16 zinc and lead mines, which produced 233,000 tons in 1920, only 4 with an output of 44,000 tonnes remained German. The main towns of
Chorzow (Königshütte),
Katowice (Kattowitz), and
Tarnowskie Gory (Tarnowitz), were given to Poland.
In the Silesian territory which Poland regained the Germans were a significant minority. Similarly, a significant minority of Poles
(about half a million Poles) was still left on the German side, most of them in Oppeln (
Opole).
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.
In May 1922, the Upper Silesian or Geneva Convention, was worked out by the League of Nations to preserve the economic unity of the area. It also set up a tribunal to arbitrate disputes. Furthermore, since Germany claimed she couldn't do without Upper Silesian coal, she was allowed to import 500,000 tons per year at reduced prices. However, when the coal agreement ran out in 1925, Germany refused to import the coal, and tried to use this as economic pressure to make Poland agree to a revision of the whole Polish-German frontier. Then Germany started a tariff war with Poland with the same intent, but failed to reach her goal.
Epilogue
Last surviving veteran Silesian Uprisings - 103-years old Wilhelm Meisel, born
7 january 1904Further Information
Get more info on 'Third Silesian Uprising'.
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