Silesian Voivodeship (1920–39)

Silesian Voivodeship Województwo Śląskie
Voivodeship of Poland
← 1920–1939 →
Coat of arms
Location of the Silesian Voivodeship within Poland (1930).
Capital		Katowice
Government		Autonomous voivodeship
Voivode
•	since 1922	Józef Rymer
•	until 1939	Michał Grażyński
Legislature		Silesian Sejm
History
•	Established	15 July 1920
•	Annexed by Germany	8 October 1939
Area
•	1921	5,100 km2 (1,969 sq mi)
Population
•	1921	1,125,528
	Density	220.7 /km2  (571.6 /sq mi)
•	1939	1,533,500'
Political subdivisions		See list

Katowice's Silesian Parliament building as it looks today.

The Silesian Voivodeship (Polish: Województwo Śląskie) was an autonomous province (voivodeship) of the interwar Second Polish Republic. It consisted of territory which came into Polish possession as a result of the 1921 Upper Silesia plebiscite, the Geneva Conventions, three Upper Silesian Uprisings, and the eventual partition of Upper Silesia between Poland, Germany and Czechoslovakia. The capital of the voivodeship was Katowice.

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. After the war the 1920 act granting its autonomous powers was formally repealed by the Polish government, and its territory was incorporated into a new, larger Silesian Voivodeship which existed until 1950.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, 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 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 made up 7% and Jews 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).

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. This part of the Silesia region was the least affected by centuries of germanisation. The population was predominately Slavic, especially in rural areas. Many of them considered themselves Poles, and some Czechs. The rest did not feel any strong connections to either of those nations; according to Wojciech Korfanty's estimations, this last group represented up to a third of the total whole population of the region.

The Treaty of Versailles resolved that a plebiscite be conducted so that the local population could decide whether Upper Silesia should be assigned to Poland or to Germany. Before the plebiscite took place, two 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 and 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 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. 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 and Opole Voivodeship. (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 Parliament 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 (Polish: Skarb Śląski). 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

Administrative divisions

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 km². The voivodeship was divided into these counties:

Powiat	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
Frysztat 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

Cities

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

Cities	Population
Chorzówa	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

a. 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.

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 until 3 March 1924)
• Mieczysław Bilski 6 May 1924 – 3 September 1926
• Michał Grażyński 6 September 1926 – 5 September 1939

See also

• Silesia

References

• "Mały rocznik statystyczny" nakładem Głównego Urzędu Statystycznego - 1939 (Concise Statistical Year-Book of Poland, Warsaw 1939).