s i l e s i a
TRANSCRIPT
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Silesia Polish: Śląsk
Czech: Slezsko German: Schlesien
Silesian: Ślůnsk / Ślōnsk Lower Silesian: Schläsing
Coat of arms
Austrian Silesia, before 1740 Prussian annexation
Prussian Silesia, 1871
Oder riverBasemap shows modern national
borders.Coordinates: 51.6°N 17.2°E
Country Poland Czech
Republic Germany
Largest city Wrocław
Area • Total 40,000 km2
(20,000 sq mi)
Population • Total 8,000,000 • Density 200/km2
SilesiaSilesia (/sɪˈliːʒә, ʃә, saɪ/;[1] Polish: Śląsk [ɕlɔsk]; Czech: Slezsko;German: Schlesien [ˈʃleːziәn]; Silesian German: Schläsing; Silesian:Ślůnsk [ɕlonsk]; Lower Sorbian: Šlazyńska; Upper Sorbian: Šleska; Latin:Silesia) is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland,with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is about
40,000 km2 (15,444 sq mi), and its population about 8,000,000. Silesia
is located along the Oder River. It consists of Lower Silesia and Upper
Silesia.
The region is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several
important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is
Wrocław. The biggest metropolitan area is the Upper Silesian
metropolitan area, the centre of which is Katowice. Parts of the Czech city
of Ostrava fall within the borders of Silesia.
Silesia's borders and national affiliation have changed over time, both
when it was a hereditary possession of noble houses and after the rise of
modern nationstates. The first known states to hold power there were
probably those of Greater Moravia at the end of the 9th century and
Bohemia early in the 10th century. In the 10th century, Silesia was
incorporated into the early Polish state, and after its division in the 12th
century became a Piast duchy. In the 14th century, it became a
constituent part of the Bohemian Crown Lands under the Holy Roman
Empire, which passed to the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy in 1526.
Most of Silesia was conquered by Prussia in 1742 and transferred from
Austria to Prussia in the Treaty of Berlin. Later, Silesia became, as a
province of Prussia, a part of the German Empire and the subsequent
Weimar Republic. The varied history with changing aristocratic
possessions resulted in an abundance of castles in Silesia, especially in
the Jelenia Góra valley. After World War I, the easternmost part of this
region, i.e. an eastern strip of Upper Silesia, was awarded to Poland by the
Entente Powers after insurrections by Poles and the Upper Silesian
plebiscite. The remaining former Austrian parts of Silesia were partitioned
to Czechoslovakia, forming part of Czechoslovakia's Germansettled
Sudetenland region, and are today part of the Czech Republic. In 1945,
after World War II, the bulk of Silesia was transferred, on demands of the
Polish delegation, to Polish jurisdiction by the Potsdam Agreement of the
victorious Allied Powers and became part of Poland. The small Lusatian
strip west of the Oder–Neisse line, which had belonged to Silesia since
1815, remained in Germany. The largest town and cultural centre of this
region is Görlitz.
Coordinates: 51.6°N 17.2°E
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(520/sq mi)
Time zone UTC+1 (CET) • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Most inhabitants of Silesia today speak the national languages of their
respective countries, while before the population shifts after 1945, the
majority of Silesia's population spoke German. The population of Upper
Silesia is native (with some immigrants from Poland who came in the
19th to 20th centuries), while Lower Silesia was settled by a Germanspeaking population before 1945. An ongoing debate
exists whether Silesian speech should be considered a dialect of Polish or a separate language. Also, a Lower Silesian
German dialect is used, although today it is almost extinct. It is used by expellees who relocated to the remaining parts of
Germany, as well as by Germans who stayed in their Lower Silesian home.
EtymologyHistoryGeography
Natural resourcesDemographics
EthnicityReligionConsequences of World War II
Cities
Flags and coats of armsWorld Heritage SitesSee alsoFootnotesReferencesExternal links
The names of Silesia in the different languages most likely share their etymology—Latin and English: Silesia; Polish:Śląsk; Old Polish: Ślążsk[o]; Silesian: Ślůnsk; German: Schlesien; Silesian German: Schläsing; Czech: Slezsko; Slovak:Sliezsko; Kashubian: Sląsk; Upper Sorbian: Šleska; Lower Sorbian: Šlazyńska. The names all relate to the name of a river(now Ślęza) and mountain (Mount Ślęża) in midsouthern Silesia. The mountain served as a cultic place.
Ślęża is listed as one of the numerous PreIndoEuropean topographic names in the region (see old Europeanhydronymy).[2]
According to some Polish Slavists, the name Ślęża [ˈɕlɛʐa] or Ślęż [ˈɕlɛʐ] is directly related to the Old Slavic words ślęg[ˈɕlɛɡ] or śląg [ˈɕlɔɡ], which means dampness, moisture, or humidity.[3] They disagree with the hypothesis of an origin forthe name Śląsk [ˈɕlɔsk] from the name of the Silings tribe, an etymology preferred by some German authors.[4]
Contents
Etymology
History
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In the fourth century BC, Celts entered Silesia, settling around Mount Ślęża
near modern Wrocław, Oława, and Strzelin.[5] Germanic Lugii tribes were first
recorded within Silesia in the 1st century. Slavic peoples arrived in the region
around the 7th century,[6] and by the early ninth century, their settlements
had stabilized. Local Slavs started to erect boundary structures like the
Silesian Przesieka and the Silesia Walls. The eastern border of Silesian
settlement was situated to the west of the Bytom, and east from Racibórz and
Cieszyn. East of this line dwelt a closely related Slav tribe, the Vistulans. Their
northern border was in the valley of the Barycz River, north of which lived the
Polans.[7]
The first known states in Silesia were Greater Moravia and Bohemia. In the
10th century, the Polish ruler Mieszko I of the Piast dynasty incorporated
Silesia into the Polish state. During the Fragmentation of Poland, Silesia and
the rest of the country were divided among many independent duchies ruled
by various Silesian dukes. During this time, German cultural and ethnic
influence increased as a result of immigration from Germanspeaking parts of
the Holy Roman Empire. In 1178, parts of the Duchy of Kraków around
Bytom, Oświęcim, Chrzanów, and Siewierz were transferred to the Silesian
Piasts, although their population was primarily Vistulan and not of Silesian
descent.[7]
Between 1289 and 1292, Bohemian king Wenceslaus II became suzerain ofsome of the Upper Silesian duchies. Polish kings had not renounced their
hereditary rights to Silesia until 1335.[8] The province became part of the
Bohemian Crown under the Holy Roman Empire, and passed with that crown
to the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria in 1526.
In the 15th century, several changes were made to Silesia's borders. Parts of the
territories which had been transferred to the Silesian Piasts in 1178 were
bought by the Polish kings in the second half of the 15th century (the Duchy of
Oświęcim in 1457; the Duchy of Zator in 1494). The Bytom area
remained in the possession of the Silesian Piasts, though it was a
part of the Diocese of Kraków.[7] The Duchy of Crossen was
inherited by the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1476, and with
the renunciation of King Ferdinand I and the estates of Bohemia
in 1538, became an integral part of Brandenburg.
In 1742, most of Silesia was seized by King Frederick the Great of
Prussia in the War of the Austrian Succession, eventually
becoming the Prussian Province of Silesia in 1815; consequently,
Silesia became part of the German Empire when it was
proclaimed in 1871.
After World War I, a part of Silesia, Upper Silesia, was contested
by Germany and the newly independent Second Polish Republic.
The League of Nations organized a plebiscite to decide the issue
in 1921. It resulted in 60% of votes being cast for Germany and
Silesia in an early period of Poland'sfragmentation, 1172–1177
Lands of the Bohemian Crown until1742 when most of Silesia wasceded to Prussia
1905 administrative map of Province of Silesiashowing the historical locations of Upper Silesia(Oppeln District) in red, Lower Silesia (BreslauDistrict) in yellow, and Lower Silesia (LiegnitzDistrict) in green
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40% for Poland. Following the third Silesian Uprising (1921), however, the easternmost portion of Upper Silesia
(including Katowice), with a majority ethnic Polish population, was awarded to Poland, becoming the Silesian
Voivodeship. The Prussian Province of Silesia within Germany was then divided into the provinces of Lower Silesia and
Upper Silesia. Meanwhile, Austrian Silesia, the small portion of Silesia retained by Austria after the Silesian Wars, was
mostly awarded to the new Czechoslovakia (becoming known as Czech Silesia), although most of Cieszyn and territory to
the east of it went to Poland as Zaolzie.
Polish Silesia was among the first regions invaded during Germany's 1939 attack on Poland. One of the claimed goals of
Nazi occupation, particularly in Upper Silesia, was the extermination of those whom Nazis viewed as subhuman, namely
Jews and ethnic Poles. The Polish and Jewish population of the then Polish part of Silesia was subjected to genocide
involving ethnic cleansing and mass murder, while German colonists were settled in pursuit of Lebensraum.[9] Twothousand Polish intellectuals, politicians, and businessmen were murdered in the Intelligenzaktion Schlesien[10] in 1940as part of a Polandwide Germanization program. Silesia also housed one of the two main wartime centers where medical
experiments were conducted on kidnapped Polish children by Nazis.[11]
The Potsdam Conference of 1945 defined the OderNeisse line as the border between Germany and Poland. Millions of
Germans in Silesia either fled or were expelled, and were replaced by Polish population forcibly resettled by the Soviet
Union from other regions. After 1945 and in 1946, nearly all of the 4.5 million Silesians of German descent fled, or were
interned in camps and forcibly expelled, including some thousand German Jews who survived the Holocaust and had
returned to Silesia; 634,106 Silesians died in the expulsion, nearly 14% of the population. The newly formed Polish United
Workers' Party created a Ministry of the Recovered Territories that claimed half of the available arable land for staterun
collectivized farms. Many of the new Polish Silesians who resented the Germans for their invasion in 1939 and brutality in
occupation now resented the newly formed Polish communist government for their population shifting and interference in
agricultural and industrial affairs.[12]
The administrative division of Silesia within Poland has changed several times since 1945. Since 1999, it has been divided
between Lubusz Voivodeship, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Opole Voivodeship, and Silesian Voivodeship. Czech Silesia is
now part of the Czech Republic, forming the MoravianSilesian Region and the northern part of the Olomouc Region.
Germany retains the SilesiaLusatia region (NiederschlesienOberlausitz or Schlesische Oberlausitz) west of the Neisse,which is part of the federal state of Saxony.
Most of Silesia is relatively flat, although its southern border is generally
mountainous. It is primarily located in a swath running along both banks of
the upper and middle Oder (Odra) River, but it extends eastwards to the upper
Vistula River. The region also includes many tributaries of the Oder, including
the Bóbr (and its tributary the Kwisa), the Barycz and the Nysa Kłodzka. The
Sudeten Mountains run along most of the southern edge of the region, though
at its southeastern extreme it reaches the Silesian Beskids and Moravian
Silesian Beskids, which belong to the Carpathian Mountains range.
Historically, Silesia was bounded to the west by the Kwisa and Bóbr Rivers,
while the territory west of the Kwisa was in Upper Lusatia (earlier Milsko).However, because part of Upper Lusatia was included in the Province of Silesia
in 1815, in Germany Görlitz, Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis and neighbouring areas are considered parts of historical
Silesia. Those districts, along with Poland's Lower Silesian Voivodeship and parts of Lubusz Voivodeship, make up the
geographic region of Lower Silesia.
Geography
First map of Silesia by MartinHelwig, 1561; north at the bottom
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Silesia has undergone a similar notional extension at its eastern extreme. Historically, it extended only as far as the
Brynica River, which separates it from Zagłębie Dąbrowskie in the Lesser Poland region. However, to many Poles today,
Silesia (Śląsk) is understood to cover all of the area around Katowice, including Zagłębie. This interpretation is givenofficial sanction in the use of the name Silesian Voivodeship (województwo śląskie) for the province covering this area. Infact, the word Śląsk in Polish (when used without qualification) now commonly refers exclusively to this area (also calledGórny Śląsk or Upper Silesia).
As well as the Katowice area, historical Upper Silesia also includes the Opole region (Poland's Opole Voivodeship) and
Czech Silesia. Czech Silesia consists of a part of the MoravianSilesian Region and the Jeseník District in the Olomouc
Region.
Silesia is a resourcerich and populous region.
Since the middle of the 18th century, coal has been mined. The industry had grown while Silesia was part of Germany, and
peaked in the 1970s under the People's Republic of Poland. During this period, Silesia became one of the world's largest
producers of coal, with a record tonnage in 1979.[13] Coal mining declined during the next two decades, but has increased
again following the end of Communist rule.
The 41 coal mines in Silesia are mostly part of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin,
which lies in the Silesian Upland. The coalfield has an area of about
4,500 km2.[13] Deposits in Lower Silesia have proven to be difficult to exploit
and the area's unprofitable mines were closed in 2000.[13] In 2008, an
estimated 35 billion tonnes of lignite reserves were found near Legnica, making
them some of the largest in the world.[14]
From the fourth century BC, iron ore has been mined in the upland areas of
Silesia.[13] The same period had lead, copper, silver, and gold mining. Zinc,
cadmium, arsenic,[15] and uranium[16] have also been mined in the region.
Lower Silesia features large copper mining and processing between the cities of
Legnica, Głogów, Lubin, and Polkowice.
The region is known for stone quarrying [13] to produce limestone, marl,
marble, and basalt.
Annual production of minerals in Silesia
Mineral Name Production (tonnes) Reference
Bituminous coal 95,000,000
Copper 571,000 [17]
Zinc 160,000 [18]
Silver 1,200 [19]
Cadmium 500 [20]
Lead 70,000 [21]
Natural resources
Coal Mine Bolesław Śmiały, ŁaziskaGórne
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The region also has a thriving agricultural sector, which produces cereals (wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn), potatoes,
rapeseed, sugar beets and others. Milk production is well developed. The Opole Silesia has for decades occupied the top
spot in Poland for their indices of effectiveness of agricultural land use.[22]
Mountainous parts of southern Silesia feature many significant and attractive tourism destinations (e.g., Karpacz,
Szczyrk, Wisła). Silesia is generally well forested. This is because greenness is generally highly desirable by the local
population, particularly in the highly industrialized parts of Silesia.
Silesia has been historically diverse in every aspect. Nowadays, the largest part of Silesia is located in Poland; it is often
cited as one of the most diverse regions in that country.
Modern Silesia is inhabited by Poles, Silesians, Germans, and
Czechs. The last Polish census of 2002 showed that the Silesians
are the largest national minority in Poland, Germans being the
second; both groups are located mostly in Upper Silesia. The
Czech part of Silesia is inhabited by Czechs, Moravians,
Silesians, and Poles.
Before the Second World War, Silesia was inhabited mostly by
Germans and Poles, with a Czech and Jewish minority. In 1905,
a census showed that 75% of the population were Germans and
25% were Poles. The German population tended to be based in
the urban centres and in the rural areas to the north and west,
whilst the Polish population was generally rural and could be
found in the east and in the south.[24]
Ethnolinguistic structure of Prussian Silesia in the early 19th century (18001825)
Ethnic group acc. G. Hassel[25] % acc. S. Plater[26] % acc. T. Ładogórski[27] %
Germans 1,561,570 75.6 1,550,000 70.5 1,303,300 74.6
Poles 444,000 21.5 600,000 27.3 401,900 23.0
Sorbs 24,500 1.2 30,000 1.4 900 0.1
Czechs 5,500 0.3 32,600 1.9
Moravians 12,000 0.6
Jews 16,916 0.8 20,000 0.9 8,900 0.5
Population ca. 2.1 million 100 ca. 2.2 million 100 ca. 1.8 million 100
Historically, Silesia was about equally split between Protestants (overwhelmingly Lutherans) and Roman Catholics. In an
1890 census taken in the German part, Roman Catholics made up a slight majority of 53%, while the remaining 47% were
almost entirely Lutheran.[28] Geographically speaking, Lower Silesia was mostly Lutheran except for the Glatzer Land
Demographics
Polish names of Silesian cities, from a 1750Prussian official document published in Berlinduring the Silesian Wars.[23]
Ethnicity
Religion
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(now Kłodzko County). Upper Silesia was mostly Roman
Catholic except for some of its northwestern parts, which were
predominantly Lutheran. Generally speaking, the population
was mostly Protestant in the western parts, and it tended to be
more Roman Catholic the further east one went. In Upper Silesia,
Protestants were concentrated in larger cities and often identified
as German. After World War II, the religious demographics
changed drastically as Germans, who constituted the bulk of theProtestant population, fled or were forcibly expelled. Poles, who
were mostly Roman Catholic, were resettled in their place.
Today, Silesia remains predominantly Roman Catholic.
Existing since the 12th century,[29] Silesia's Jewish community
was concentrated around Wrocław and Upper Silesia, and
numbered 48,003 (1.1% of the population) in 1890, decreasing to
44,985 persons (0.9%) by 1910.[30] In Polish East Upper Silesia,
the number of Jews was around 90,000–100,000.[31]
Historically the community had suffered a number of localised
expulsions such as their 1453 expulsion from Wrocław.[32] From 1712 to 1820 a succession of men held the title Chief
Rabbi of Silesia ("Landesrabbiner"): Naphtali haKohen (1712–16); Samuel ben Naphtali (1716–22); Ḥayyim JonahTe'omim (1722–1727); Baruch b. Reuben Gomperz (1733–54); Joseph Jonas Fränkel (1754–93); Jeremiah Löw Berliner
(1793–99); Lewin Saul Fränkel (1800–7); Aaron Karfunkel (1807–16); and Abraham ben Gedaliah Tiktin (1816–20).[33]
After the German invasion of Poland in 1939, following Nazi racial policy, the Jewish population of Silesia was subjected
to Nazi genocide with executions performed by Einsatzgruppe z. B.V. led by Udo von Woyrsch and Einsatzgruppe I led by
Bruno Streckenbach,[34][35] imprisonment in ghettos and ethnic cleansing to the General Government. In their efforts to
exterminate Poles and Jews through murder and ethnic cleansing Nazi established in Silesia province the Auschwitz and
GrossRosen camps. Expulsions were carried out openly and reported in the local press.[36] Those sent to ghettos would
from 1942 be expelled to concentration and work camps.[37] Between 5 May and 17 June, 20,000 Silesian Jews were sent
to Birkenau to gas chambers[38] and during August 1942, 10,000 to 13,000 Silesian Jews were murdered by gassing at
Auschwitz.[39] Most Jews in Silesia were exterminated by the Nazis. After the war Silesia became a major centre for
repatriation of Jewish population in Poland which survived Nazi German extermination[40] and in autumn 1945, 15,000
Jews were in Lower Silesia, mostly Polish Jews returned from territories now belonging to Soviet Union,[41] rising in 1946
to seventy thousand[42] as Jewish survivors from other regions in Poland were relocated.[43]
The majority of Germans fled or were expelled from the presentday Polish and Czech parts of Silesia during and after
World War II. From June 1945 to January 1947, 1.77 million Germans were expelled from Lower Silesia, and 310,000
from Upper Silesia.[44] Today, most German Silesians and their descendants live in the territory of the Federal Republic of
Germany, many of them in the Ruhr area working as miners, like their ancestors in Silesia. To smooth their integration
into West German society after 1945, they were placed into officially recognized organizations, like the Landsmannschaft
Schlesien, with financing from the federal West German budget. One of its most notable but controversial spokesmen was
the Christian Democratic Union politician Herbert Hupka.
The expulsion of Germans led to widespread underpopulation. The population of the town of Glogau fell from 33,500 to
5,000, and from 1939 to 1966 the population of Wrocław fell by 25%.[45] Attempts to repopulate Silesia proved
unsuccessful in the 1940s and 1950s,[46] and Silesia's population did not reach prewar levels until the late 1970s. The
Confessions in the German Empire(Protestant/Catholic; ca. 1890). Lower Silesia wasmostly Protestant, while Glatz and Upper Silesiawere mostly Catholic.
Consequences of World War II
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Wrocław
Katowice
Ostrava
Gliwice
Zabrze
BielskoBiała
Bytom
Ruda Śląska
Polish settlers who repopulated Silesia were mainly from the former Polish Eastern Borderlands, which was annexed by
the Soviet Union in 1939. The former German city of Breslau was repopulated with refugees from the formerly Polish city
of Lwów.
The following table lists the cities in Silesia with a population greater than 30,000 (2015).
Cities
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Rybnik
Tychy
Opole
Zielona Góra
Wałbrzych
Chorzów
Legnica
JastrzębieZdrój
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Name Population Area Country Administrative Historicsubregion
1 Wrocław 632,067 293 km2
(113 sq mi)
LowerSilesian
VoivodeshipLower Silesia
2 Katowice 304,362 165 km2
(64 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
3 Ostrava* 302,968 214 km2
(83 sq mi) Moravian
Silesian RegionCzech
Silesia/Moravia
4 Gliwice 185,450 134 km2
(52 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
5 Zabrze 178,357 80 km2
(31 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
6 BielskoBiała* 173,699 125 km2
(48 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship
UpperSilesia/Lesser
Poland
7 Bytom 173,439 69 km2
(27 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
8 Ruda Śląska 141,521 78 km2
(30 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
9 Rybnik 140,173 148 km2
(57 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
10 Tychy 128,799 82 km2
(32 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
11 Opole 120,146 97 km2
(37 sq mi) Opole
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
12 Zielona Góra 118,405 58 km2
(22 sq mi) Lubusz
Voivodeship Lower Silesia
13 Wałbrzych 117,926 85 km2
(33 sq mi)
LowerSilesian
VoivodeshipLower Silesia
14 Chorzów 110,761 33 km2
(13 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
15 Legnica 101,992 56 km2
(22 sq mi)
LowerSilesian
VoivodeshipLower Silesia
16 JastrzębieZdrój 91,235 85 km2
(33 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
17 Jelenia Góra 81,985 109 km2
(42 sq mi)
LowerSilesian
VoivodeshipLower Silesia
18 Havířov 76,381 32 km2
(12 sq mi) Moravian
Silesian Region Czech Silesia
19 Mysłowice 75,129 66 km2
(25 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
20 Lubin 74,053 41 km2
(16 sq mi) Lower
SilesianLower Silesia
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Voivodeship
21 Głogów 68,997 35 km2
(14 sq mi)
LowerSilesian
VoivodeshipLower Silesia
22 Siemianowice Śląskie 68,844 25 km2
(10 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
23 KędzierzynKoźle 63,194 124 km2
(48 sq mi) Opole
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
24 Żory 62,038 65 km2
(25 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
25 Tarnowskie Góry 60,957 84 km2
(32 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
26 Świdnica 59,182 22 km2
(8 sq mi)
LowerSilesian
VoivodeshipLower Silesia
27 Opava 57,676 91 km2
(35 sq mi) Moravian
Silesian Region Czech Silesia
28 Piekary Śląskie 57,148 40 km2
(15 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
29 FrýdekMístek* 56,945 52 km2
(20 sq mi) Moravian
Silesian RegionCzech
Silesia/Moravia
30 Karviná 55,985 57 km2
(22 sq mi) Moravian
Silesian Region Czech Silesia
31 Racibórz 55,930 75 km2
(29 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
32 Görlitz** 55,255 68 km2
(26 sq mi) Free State
of Saxony
Historically partof Lusatia, Görlitzwas consideredpart of Lower
Silesia in years1319–1329 and1815–1945
33 Świętochłowice 51,824 13 km2
(5 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
34 Wodzisław Śląski 48,731 50 km2
(19 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
35 Nysa 44,899 27 km2
(10 sq mi) Opole
Voivodeship Lower Silesia
36 Mikołów 39,776 79 km2
(31 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
37 Nowa Sól 39,721 22 km2
(8 sq mi) Lubusz
Voivodeship Lower Silesia
38 Bolesławiec 39,603 24 km2
(9 sq mi)
LowerSilesian
VoivodeshipLower Silesia
39 Knurów 39,090 34 km2
(13 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
40 Oleśnica 37,30321 km2
Lower Silesia
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21 km2
(8 sq mi) Lower
SilesianVoivodeship
41 Brzeg 36,980 15 km2
(6 sq mi) Opole
Voivodeship Lower Silesia
42 Cieszyn 35,918 29 km2
(11 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
43 Třinec 35,884 85 km2
(33 sq mi) Moravian
Silesian Region Czech Silesia
44 CzechowiceDziedzice 35,684 33 km2
(13 sq mi) Silesian
Voivodeship Upper Silesia
45 Dzierżoniów 34,428 20 km2
(8 sq mi)
LowerSilesian
VoivodeshipLower Silesia
46 Hoyerswerda/Wojerecy** 33,843 96 km2
(37 sq mi) Free State
of Saxony
Historically partof Lusatia,
Hoyerswerda wasconsidered part ofLower Silesia inyears 1825–1945
47 Oława 32,240 27 km2
(10 sq mi)
LowerSilesian
VoivodeshipLower Silesia
48 Zgorzelec** 31,890 16 km2
(6 sq mi)
LowerSilesian
Voivodeship
Historically partof Lusatia,
Zgorzelec wasconsidered part ofLower Silesia inyears 1319–1329and 1815–1945
49 Bielawa 31,186 36 km2
(14 sq mi)
LowerSilesian
VoivodeshipLower Silesia
* Only part in Silesia
The emblems of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia originate from the emblems of the Piasts of Lower Silesia and Upper
Silesia. The coat of arms of Upper Silesia depicts the golden eagle on the blue shield. The coat of arms of Lower Silesia
depicts a black eagle on a golden (yellow) shield.
Flags and coats of arms
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Coat of arms of thePrussian province ofUpper Silesia (19191938and 19411945
Coat of arms of theSilesian Voivodeship(1920–1939)
Coat of arms of theSilesian Voivodeship
The coat of arms of theOpolskie Voivodeship.
Henryk IV's Probus coatof arms.
Coat of arms of AustrianSilesia (1742–1918)
Prussian province ofLower Silesia (19191938and 19411945)
Coat of arms of theLower Silesia Voivodship(20002009).
Coat of arms of theLower SilesiaVoivodship.
Coat of arms of CzechSilesia.
Flags with their colors refer to the coat of arms of Silesia.
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Flag of Prussian UpperSilesia province. (19191938 and 19411945)
Flag of SilesiaVoivodeship.
Flag of the AustrianSilesia (1742–1918)
Flag of Prussian LowerSilesia province (19191938 and 19411945)
Flag of Lower SilesiaVoivodeship. (20012008)
Flag of Lower SilesiaVoivodeship. (20082000)
Flag of Lower SilesiaVoivodeship.
World Heritage Sites
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Architecture of SilesiaCzech SilesiaMoraviaAustrian SilesiaExpulsion of Germans after World War IIExpulsion of Poles by GermanyList of SilesiansSilesian cuisineSilesian languageSilesian GermanSilesiansSlezak
1. "Silesia" (http://www.dictionary.com/browse/silesia). Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.2. Zbigniew Babik, "Najstarsza warstwa nazewnicza na ziemiach polskich w granicach średniowiecznejSłowiańszczyzny", Uniwersitas, Kraków, 2001.
3. Rudolf Fischer. Onomastica slavogermanica. Uniwersytet Wrocławski. 2007. t. XXVI. 2007. str. 834. Jankuhn, Herbert; Beck, Heinrich; et al., eds. (2006). "Wandalen". Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (inGerman). 33 (2nd ed.). Berlin, Germany; New York, New York: de Gruyter. "Da die Silingen offensichtlich ihren Namenim mittelalterlichen pagus silensis und dem mons slenz – möglicherweise mit dem Zobten gleichzusetzen [...] –hinterließen und damit einer ganzen Landschaft – Schlesien – den Namen gaben [...]"
Churches of Peace, Świdnica and Jawor Centennial Hall, Wrocław
Historic Silver Mine, Tarnowskie Góry Muskau Park, Łęknica and BadMuskau[47]
See also
Footnotes
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5. R. Żerelik(in:) M. Czpliński (red.) Historia Śląska, Wrocław 2007, s. 34–356. R. Żerelik(in:) M. Czpliński (red.) Historia Śląska, Wrocław 2007, s. 37–387. R. Żerelik(in:) M. Czpliński (red.) Historia Śląska, Wrocław 2007, s. 21–228. R. Żerelik(in:) M. Czpliński (red.) Historia Śląska, Wrocław 2007, s. 819. Piotr Eberhardt, Political Migrations in Poland, 1939–1948, Warsaw 2006, p.2510. Maria Wardzyńska "Był rok 1939 Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion" IPN Instytut
Pamięci Narodowej, 200911. Kamila Uzarczyk: Podstawy ideologiczne higieny ras. Toruń: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, 2002, s. 285, 286, 289.
ISBN 8373222871.12. Lukowski, Zawadski, Jerzy, Hubert (2006). A Concise History of Poland. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
pp. 278–280. ISBN 9780521618571.13. "Natural Resources | poland.gov.pl" (http://en.poland.gov.pl/Natural,Resources,310.html). En.poland.gov.pl. Retrieved
20131119.14. "Mamy największe złoża węgla brunatnego na świecie" (http://www.gazetawyborcza.pl/1,82244,4820533.html) (in
Polish). Gazetawyborcza.pl. Retrieved 20131120.15. S.Z. Mikulski, "LateHercynian goldbearing arsenicpolymetallic mineralization within Saxothuringian zone in the Polish
Sudetes, Northeast Bohemian Massif". In: "Mineral Deposit at the Beginning of the 21st Century", A. Piestrzyński etal. (eds). Swets & Zeitinger Publishers (Google books) (https://books.google.com/books?id=DcUk9rlWHuEC&pg=PA787&lpg=PA787)
16. "Wise International | World Information Service on Energy" (http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/index.html?http://www10.antenna.nl/wise/439440/poland.html). 0.antenna.nl. Retrieved 20131120.
17. "Copper: World Smelter Production, By Country" (http://www.indexmundi.com/en/commodities/minerals/copper/copper_t21.html). Indexmundi.com. 20110728. Retrieved 20131120.
18. "Zinc: World Smelter Production, By Country" (http://www.indexmundi.com/en/commodities/minerals/zinc/zinc_table18.html). Indexmundi.com. 20040701. Retrieved 20131120.
19. "Silver: World Mine Production, By Country" (http://www.indexmundi.com/en/commodities/minerals/silver/silver_table08.html). Indexmundi.com. 20040813. Retrieved 20131120.
20. "Cadmium: World Refinery Production, By Country" (http://www.indexmundi.com/en/commodities/minerals/cadmium/cadmium_t5.html). Indexmundi.com. 20120518. Retrieved 20131120.
21. "Lead: World Refinery Production, By Country" (http://www.indexmundi.com/en/commodities/minerals/lead/lead_t16.html). Indexmundi.com. 20050624. Retrieved 20131120.
22. "Samorząd Województwa Opolskiego" (http://umwo.opole.pl/serwis/index.php?id=2009). Umwo.opole.pl. Retrieved20131120.
23. "Śląska Biblioteka Cyfrowa – biblioteka cyfrowa regionu śląskiego – Wznowione powszechne taxaestolaesporządzenie, Dla samowładnego Xięstwa Sląska, Podług ktorego tak Auszpurskiey Konfessyi iak Katoliccy Fararze,Kaznodzieie i Kuratusowie Zachowywać się powinni. Sub Dato z Berlina, d. 8. Augusti 1750" (http://www.sbc.org.pl/dlibra/doccontent?id=26222&from=FBC). Sbc.org.pl. Retrieved 20131120.
24. Hunt Tooley, T (1997). National Identity and Weimar Germany: Upper Silesia and the Eastern Border, 1918–1922,University of Nebraska Press, p.17.
25. Hassel, Georg (1823). Statistischer Umriß der sämmtlichen europäischen und der vornehmsten außereuropäischenStaaten, in Hinsicht ihrer Entwickelung, Größe, Volksmenge, Finanz und Militärverfassung, tabellarisch dargestellt Erster Heft Welcher die beiden großen Mächte Österreich und Preußen und den Deutschen Staatenbund darstellt (inGerman). Weimar: Verlag des Geographischen Instituts. pp. 33–34.
26. Plater, Stanisław (1825). Jeografia wschodniey części Europy czyli opis krajów przez wielorakie narody sławiańskiezamieszkanych obeymujący Prussy, Xięztwo Poznańskie, Szląsk Pruski, Gallicyą, Rzeczpospolitę Krakowską,Królestwo Polskie i Litwę (in Polish). Wrocław: Wilhelm Bogumił Korn. p. 60.
27. Ładogórski, Tadeusz (1966). Ludność, in: Historia Śląska, vol. II: 17631850, part 1: 17631806 (in Polish). Wrocław:edited by W. Długoborski. p. 150.
28. Meyers Konversationslexikon 5. Auflage
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Długajczyk, Edward (1993). Tajny front na granicy cieszyńskiej. Wywiad i dywersja w latach 1919–1939. Katowice:Śląsk. ISBN 8385831037.Zahradnik, Stanisław; Marek Ryczkowski (1992). Korzenie Zaolzia. Warszawa Praga Trzyniec: PAIpress.OCLC 177389723 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/177389723). Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Silesia". Encyclopædia Britannica. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 90–
92.Przemysław, Wiszewski, ed. (2013). The Long Formation of the Region (c. 10001526) (http://www.bibliotekacyfrowa.pl/Content/49790/Cuius_regio_vol_1.pdf) (PDF). Cuius regio? Ideological and Territorial Cohesion of the HistoricalRegion of Silesia. 1. Wrocław, Poland: EBooki.com.pl. ISBN 9788392713210. Retrieved 20180318.
29. Demshuk, A (2012) The Lost German East: Forced Migration and the Politics of Memory, 1945–1970, CambridgeUniversity Press P40
30. Kamusella, T (2007). Silesia and Central European nationalisms: the emergence of national and ethnic groups inPrussian Silesia and Austrian Silesia, 1848–1918, Purdue University Press, p.173.
31. Christopher R. Browning (2000). Nazi Policy, Jewish Workers, German Killers, Cambridge University Press, 2000,p.147.
32. van Straten, J (2011) The Origin of Ashkenazi Jewry: The Controversy Unravelled, Walter de Gruyter P5833. "Silesia" (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7747hirschberg). 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia.
JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved 6 December 2017.34. Popularna encyklopedia powszechna – Volume 10 – Page 660 Magdalena Olkuśnik, Elżbieta Wójcik – 2001
Streckenbach Bruno (1902–1977), funkcjonariusz niem. państwa nazistowskiego, Gruppenfuhrer SS. Od 1933 szefpolicji po lit w Hamburgu. 1939 dow. Einsatzgruppe I (odpowiedzialny za eksterminacje ludności pol. i żydowskiej naŚląsku).
35. Zagłada Żydów na polskich terenach wcielonych do Rzeszy Page 53 Aleksandra Namysło, Instytut PamięciNarodowej—Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu – 2008 W rzeczywistości ludzie Udona vonWoyr scha podczas marszu przez województwo śląskie na wschód dopuszczali się prawdziwych masakr ludnościżydowskiej.
36. Steinbacher, S. "In the Shadow of Auschwitz, The murder of the Jews of East Upper Silesia", in Cesarani, D. (2004)Holocaust: From the persecution of the Jews to mass murder, Routledge, P126
37. Steinbacher, S. "In the Shadow of Auschwitz, The murder of the Jews of East Upper Silesia", in Cesarani, D. (2004)Holocaust: From the persecution of the Jews to mass murder, Routledge, pp.110–138.
38. The Origins of the Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939 – March 1942 – Page 544Christopher R. Browning – 2007 Between May 5 and June 17, 20,000 Silesian Jews were deported to Birkenau to begassed.
39. Christopher R. Browning (2007). The Origins of the Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September1939 – March 1942, University of Nebraska Press, p.544.
40. The International Jewish Labor Bund After 1945: Toward a Global History David Slucki, page 6341. A narrow bridge to life: Jewish forced labor and survival in the GrossRosen camp system, 1940–1945, page 229 Belah
Guṭerman42. Kochavi, AJ (2001)PostHolocaust politics: Britain, the United States & Jewish refugees, 1945–1948, University of
North Carolina Press P 17643. Kochavi, AJ (2001). PostHolocaust politics: Britain, the United States & Jewish refugees, 1945–1948, University of
North Carolina Press, p.176.44. DB Klusmeyer & DG Papademetriou (2009). Immigration policy in the Federal Republic of Germany: negotiating
membership and remaking the nation, Berghahn, p.70.45. Scholz, A (1964). Silesia: yesterday and today, Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, p.69.46. Mazower, M (1999). Dark Continent: Europe's 20th Century, Penguin, p.223.47. Łęknica and Bad Muskau were considered part of Silesia in years 1815–1945.
References
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Harc, Lucyna; Wąs, Gabriela, eds. (2014). The Strengthening of Silesian Regionalism (15261740) (http://www.bibliotekacyfrowa.pl/Content/73766/Cuius_regio_vol_2.pdf) (PDF). Cuius regio? Ideological and Territorial Cohesion of theHistorical Region of Silesia. 2. Wrocław, Poland: EBooki.com.pl. ISBN 9788392713265. Retrieved 20180318.Harc, Lucyna; Kulak, Teresa, eds. (2015). Silesia under the Authority of the Hohenzollerns (17411918) (http://www.bibliotekacyfrowa.pl/Content/79021/Cuius_regio_vol_3.pdf) (PDF). Cuius regio? Ideological and Territorial Cohesion of theHistorical Region of Silesia. 3. Wrocław, Poland: EBooki.com.pl. ISBN 9788394265137. Retrieved 20180318.Czapliński, Marek; Wiszewski, Przemysław, eds. (2014). Region Divided Times of NationStates (19181945) (http://www.bibliotekacyfrowa.pl/Content/64229/Cuius_regio_vol_4.pdf) (PDF). Cuius regio? Ideological and TerritorialCohesion of the Historical Region of Silesia. 4. Wrocław, Poland: EBooki.com.pl. ISBN 9788392713289. Retrieved20180318.Wiszewski, Przemysław, ed. (2015). Permanent Change The New Region(s) of Silesia (19452015) (http://www.bibliotekacyfrowa.pl/Content/76597/Cuius_regio_vol_5.pdf) (PDF). Cuius regio? Ideological and Territorial Cohesion of theHistorical Region of Silesia. 5. Wrocław, Poland: EBooki.com.pl. ISBN 9788394265120. Retrieved 20180318.
Media related to Silesia at Wikimedia Commons
Silesia in Europe page (https://web.archive.org/web/20070727142251/http://brws.silesiaregion.pl/indexang.php) at theWayback Machine (archived 27 July 2007)Map of Silesia in 1763 (http://www.hoeckmann.de/germany/silesia.htm)Old postcards from Silesian towns (http://www.vogelsoya.de/bilder/Schlesphoto.html)Photos from Silesian towns, villages and communities before 1946 (http://www.schlesierland.de/index.html)What is Silesia? (http://culture.pl/en/article/whatissilesia)
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