Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship
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The Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship (Polish: Autonomiczne Województwo Śląskie, German: Autonome Woiwodschaft Schlesien) was an autonomous region of Poland created as the result of the popular Upper Silesia plebiscite in 1921, the treaty in Geneva, three Upper Silesian Uprisings, and the partition of Upper Silesia between Poland, Germany and then-Czechoslovakia.
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[edit] General description
Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship was the richest and best developed of all provinces of interbellum Poland. It owed its wealth to rich deposits of coal, which resulted in construction of numerous coal mines and steelworks. For this reason, this Voivodeship was crucial to Polish armament production. However, its location - right on the border with Germany, made it vulnerable. So, in mid-1930s, Polish government decided to move some sectors of heavy industry to the nation's heartland, creating Centralny Okreg Przemyslowy. With highly effective agriculture, Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship also was a major producer of food, despite its small size.
According to the 1931 Polish census, 92.3% of population stated Polish as their mother tongue, which made it the most "Polish" of all Voivodeships. Germans made up 7% and Jews - only 0.5%, which was the lowest percentage in the whole Polish state territory. 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).
Population density (299 persons per 1 km²) was the highest in the country (by comparison - in Polesie Voivodeship the density was only 31 persons per 1 km²). On January 1, 1937, forested was 27.9% of area (with the national average of 22.2%). Rail density was the highest in the country (18.5 km. per 100 km², by comparison - in Polesie Voivideship it was only 3.1 km. per 100 km²) In 1931, illiterate was only 1.5% of population (with the national average of 23.1%, in Polesie Voivodeship - 48.4%).
[edit] History
After the First World War a dispute arouse aboute the future of Upper Silesia. This part of the Silesia region was the least affected by the ages of germanisation of its Slavic inhabitants. Due to this fact a strong West Slavic majority still inhabited those lands, though mostly in its rural parts. Many of them considered themselves Poles and some Czechs. The rest did not feel any strong connections with neither of those nations; according to Wojciech Korfanty's estimations this group could number up to 1/3 of whole population of voievodship [1].
In this complex situation Treaty of Versailles resolved that a plebiscite should be carried over in which the Upper Silesian people schould themselves decide in which country they would like to live - in Poland or in Germany. Before the plebiscite actually took place two Silesian Uprisings, in favour of the Polish option, broke out. And after the plebiscite a third one took place.
After that Upper Silesia was divided between Poland and Germany and the Polish part formed the Autonomous Silesian Voivodeship.
In the interbellum period the Voivodship was one of the best economically developed parts of Poland. The autonomy of the Voivodship was secure until the May Coup in 1926. Since then there were various attempts to limit the autonomy because it was against the new authorities idea of a strong and centralised state.
The special status of the voivodeship was enacted on July 15, 1920 by the Polish Sejm. The act was not in use since 1939 due to the German occupation of Poland. On October 8, 1939 Adolf Hitler officially dissolved the voivodship. Its territories were then, in 1941, incorporated by the Nazi Germany into the reestablished Province of Upper Silesia. The voivodship was not recreated after the war and the special status was eventually forcibly renounced in May 6, 1945 by the ruling Polish Workers' Party.
[edit] Politics
This region possessed wide autonomy, including having its own Silesian Parliament with 48 MPs (24 since 1935) elected in democratic elections, as well as its own national treasury - the Silesian Treasury (Polish: Skarb Śląski). Only around 10% of taxes were transferred to Polish national treasury. The voievodeship's parliament had competence over all domestic law, excluding foreign policy and military laws; however, its legislations had to maintain accordance with Constitution. President of Poland designated a Silesian Voievode as the head of voievodeship administration, and represantive of central government.
[edit] Administrative divisions
[edit] Counties (powiaty)
In mid-1939 the population of the Voivodeship was 1,533,500 (together with Zaolzie, annexed in October 1938) and its area was 5 122 sq. km. The Voivodeship was divided into these counties:
| Powiaty | Population | Area |
|---|---|---|
| Katowice county (powiat katowicki) | 357,300 | 213 km² |
| Rybnik county (powiat rybnicki) | 212,900 | 890 km² |
| Cieszyn county (powiat cieszyński) | 176,600 | 1 305 km² |
| Pszczyna county (powiat pszczyński) | 151,500 | 1 046 km² |
| Fryštát county (powiat frysztacki) | 143,000 | 262 km² |
| City of Chorzów | 128,900 | 32 km² |
| City of Katowice | 126,200 | 42 km² |
| Tarnowskie Góry county (powiat tarnogórski) | 107 000 | 268 km² |
| Bielsko county (powiat bielski) | 59,500 | 339 km² |
| Lubliniec county (powiat lubliniecki) | 45,200 | 715 km² |
| City of Bielsko | 25,400 | 10 km² |
[edit] Cities
Biggest cities of the Voivodeship within its 1939 boundaries were (population based on the 1931 census):
| Cities | Population |
|---|---|
| Chorzów¹ | 128,900 |
| Katowice | 126,200 |
| Siemianowice Śląskie | 37,800 |
| Cieszyn | 28,000 |
| Bielsko | 25,400 |
| Rybnik | 23 000 |
| Mysłowice | 22,700 |
| Karwina | 22,300 |
| Tarnowskie Góry | 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. Additionally, on April 1, 1939, the commune of Wielkie Hajduki also became incorporated into the city of Chorzów.
[edit] Voivodes
- Józef Rymer 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
[edit] See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Silesian Parliament |
- Poland's current Silesian Voivodeship
- Silesia
[edit] References
- ^ Historia Śląska, page 395, Wrocław, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego, 2002
- "Mały rocznik statystyczny" nakładem Głównego Urzędu Statystycznego - 1939, (Concise Statistical Year-Book of Poland, Warsaw 1939).
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