Silesia (Schlesien) Historical Geography FamilySearch The Reformation turned Silesia almost entirely Protestant, and Silesia aligned itself with Protestant Bohemia and Saxony in rebellion against the Habsburgs in the Thirty Years War (161848). In total, between 1940 and 1944, around 50,000 Poles were forcibly removed from the area and replaced with German settlers from Eastern Galicia and Volhynia. Historia Grnego lska, Gliwice 2011, p. 114-115, Conrads, Norbert, Deutsche Geschichte im Osten Europas: Schlesien, Siedler Verlag, Berlin 1994, p.89. Max Hastings, "Armageddon. [81][82] The planned plebiscite was not organised in the Cieszyn Silesia but was held in most other parts of Upper Silesia. Silesia was originally a Polish province, which became a possession of the Bohemian crown in 1335, passed with that crown to the Austrian Habsburgs in 1526, and was taken by Prussia in 1742. Lower Silesia features large copper mining and processing between the cities of Legnica, Gogw, Lubin, and Polkowice. Frederick based his claims on the Treaty of Brieg, and his 1740 invasion began the First Silesian War (part of the War of the Austrian Succession). In many cases the Slavic root of the German name was restituted, in some cases a literal translation of the German name was agreed upon, and in cases where an original Slavic name could not be determined, names were taken the new settlers' former native area. [54], The economy declined, caused by the Hussite destruction and because trade avoided both Bohemia and Silesia due to the general insecurity. After the death of Ferdinand I in 1564 only the bishop of Breslau, the rulers and lordships of Loslau, Ple and Trachenberg and 10% of the population remained Catholic. Uniwersytet Wrocawski. He appointed Czech peers as governors of Silesian hereditary principalities and thus made Czech the official language for large parts of Silesia.[50]. Sieciech however retained power until 1099 and fled the country in 1101. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. 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 nation-states, resulting in an abundance of castles, especially in the Jelenia Gra valley. Thereafter all Silesian Piasts became vassals of the Bohemian Crown. On 28 July 1920, the Spa Conference divided Cieszyn Silesia between Poland and Czechoslovakia along the present-day border. Even more problems for Czechoslovakia. [49] The Hussite menace lasted until 1434, when they were defeated by the more moderate Ultraquists at Lipany in Bohemia. Why Does Germany Always Puppet Poland Like This? : r/hoi4 - Reddit This was without practical consequences as the expanding Polish state of Mieszko I conquered Silesia at the same time. The Silesian Germans and Protestants welcomed Prussian rule, which brought a more efficient administration and great attention to the regions economic development. The virus of nationalism rages most fiercely in the Soviet republics, whose citizens, even women, children and the aged, are being killed simply because they belong to a different ethnic group.. Already in the Middle Ages, various German dialects of the new-come settlers became widely used throughout Lower Silesia and some Upper Silesian cities. In Silesia, Nazi Germany operated the Gross-Rosen concentration camp, several prisoner-of-war camps for Allied POWs (incl. Silesia also housed one of the two main wartime centers where medical experiments were conducted on kidnapped Polish children by Nazis. Towns were chartered with the codified German town law, most of the time either Magdeburg law or local Silesian variants like roda lska/Neumarkt law (Latin: ius Theutonicum Srodense, ius Theutonicum Noviforense ), which was a variant of Halle law. Corrections? According to the wishes of the House of Luxembourg Breslau, Silesia's main emporium, established new contacts with Budapest and Venice to the south, Toru and Gdask to the north and became a member of the Hanseatic League. ][24] Settlements consisted of small hamlets, each inhabited by only a few peasants. In their efforts to exterminate the Jews through murder and ethnic cleansing Nazi established in Silesia province the Auschwitz and Gross-Rosen camps. Silesia has a diverse culture, including architecture, costumes . Historia Grnego lska, Gliwice 2011, p. 140. repeated wars between the two countries. Industry that was damaged or destroyed (mostly in Opole and Lower Silesia) was rebuilt after the war. WI:Silesia given to Czechoslovakia instead of Poland In October 1938, Trans-Olza (part of Cieszyn Silesia, the disputed area west of the Olza River: 876km2 or 338sqmi with 258,000 inhabitants), was taken by Poland from Czechoslovakia following the Munich Agreement that surrendered border areas of Czechoslovakia to Nazi Germany. About 500 BC Scyths arrived, and later Celts in the South and Southwest. In 1327 John of Bohemia invaded. Colonization affected the mountains in the south of Lower and Middle Silesia, the Lower and Middle Silesian regions to the right of the Oder and Upper Silesia. Upon the death of gedei Khan, the Mongols chose not to press forward further into Europe, but returned east to participate in the election of a new Grand Khan. Province of Silesia - Wikipedia Anthony Read, David Fisher, "The Fall of Berlin", Da Capo Press, 1995, page 18. These democratic efforts were oppressed by the Prussian state. The economic prosperity supported the development of a rich municipal culture,[47] which found its expression in important religious and secular buildings as well as the attendance of many Silesians at the surrounding universities of Krakw, Leipzig and Prague (the most popular until the 1409 decree of Kutn Hora). I'm basing this off of the fact that it starts off as a bohemian vassal state in EU4. Many died in the war or fled before the oncoming front. After acquiring papal consent for his coronation, all nine dukes of Silesia declared twice (in 1319 before and in 1320 after the coronation) that their realms lay inside the borders of the Polish Kingdom. According to his will, Greater Poland was to be inherited by Duke Henryk III gogowski, (a Silesian duke of Gogw) who also aspired to unite Poland and even claimed the title Duke of Poland. According to conventional historians, Hitler hated the Poles and wanted to destroy them as his first step on the road to world conquest. This changed with the accession of Rudolf II to the throne and with the help of archduke Carl, bishop of Breslau. This led to negotiations between Polish and Habsburg emperors concerning Upper Silesia. 2007. t. XXVI. These towns had a typical architecture being centered around a central square, the Ring, which became known in Polish as Rynek. The post-war border between Germany and Poland along the Oder-Neisse line was defined in August 1945 by the Potsdam Agreement of the leaders of the three main Allies of World War II, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States; and was formally recognized by East Germany in 1950, by the Treaty of Zgorzelec, under pressure from St. The Moravian Church, a Protestant denomination, established several new settlements, among them Gnadenfrei (Polish: Pilawa Gorna), Gnadenberg (Polish: Godnow) and Gnadenfeld (Polish: Pawlowiczki). A new exodus to surrounding countries started, which led to the foundation of several new towns. Gdask (Danzig) was declared a free city. Read More; Wehlau. The power struggle between the two was predominantly carried out in Silesia and Moravia. The Polish speaking territories of Lower and Middle Silesia, commonly described until the end of the 19th century as the Polish side were mostly Germanized in the 18th and 19th centuries, except for some areas along the northeastern frontier.[33][38]. [30] Silesia was also the home of Czech and Jewish minorities. The region was treated equally with other Polish regions, which was criticized by some inhabitants. In August 1945 the Allied powers agreed to assign nearly all of Silesia to Poland and to transfer the regions German population to Allied-administered Germany. On the night of August 1617, 1919, Poles in Silesia who were disappointed that Upper Silesia had not been granted outright to Poland staged the first of three Silesian Uprisings against the Germans. The Polish government was more resistant to acknowledging Silesian ethnicity, which was forwarded by the founding of the Silesian Autonomy Movement (Ruch Autonomii lska) in 1990 and the Union of People of Silesian Nationality (Zwizek Ludnoci Narodowoci lskiej) in 1996. Sometimes these advocates were split between Upper and Lower Silesia; these terms appeared for the first time in the 15th century. In 1945, after World War II, most of the German-held Silesia was transferred to Polish jurisdiction by the Potsdam Agreement between the victorious Allies and became again part of Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime. Zagada ydw na polskich terenach wcielonych do Rzeszy Page 53 Aleksandra Namyso, Instytut Pamici NarodowejKomisja cigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu 2008 During the 1st century BC Silingi and other Germanic people settled in Silesia. [citation needed], Before the war Czech Silesia was settled by large German and Polish-speaking populations. Ideological and Territorial Cohesion of the Historical Region of Silesia (c. 1000-2000) vol. R5: Going for NWO achievement and joined Axis, Germany declares war on Poland and takes everything but Zaolzie and Stanislawow (Russians take Stanislawow due to Molotov-Ribbentrop). A network of almost 130 towns covered the country almost evenly, with a distance from town to town of approximately 18km (11mi) . why was the region of silesia in poland important? - Reddit The region is known for stone quarrying to produce limestone, marl, marble, and basalt. Poles, who were mostly Roman Catholic, were resettled in their place. In the second half of the 2nd millennium B.C. Examples include Wrocaw, Oawa, Sobtka and roda lska. Afterwards it was divided between Piast dukes, descendants of Wadysaw II the Exile, High Duke of Poland. Rudolf ek [in:] J. Bahlacke, D. Gawrecki, R. Kaczmarek (red.) Mieszko at the same time expanded his own duchy with parts of the Duchy of Krakw around Bytom and Owicim, which were given to him by Casimir II in 1178, and Opole, which he received after Bolesaw's death. Mining and metallurgy reached special importance in the middle of the 18th century. Why do bad things happen to good people? Jews in the region were thus swept into a unique zone of protection by the fortuitous crosswinds of German-Polish and German-League relations. During the War of the Austrian Succession, Prussia installed its own administration which met the needs of a modern state. However, as neighbouring Saxony sought peace in 1635, the Silesians lost this important ally, forcing them to again submit to the emperor. Simultaneously, peasant revolts happened all over the country. The Polish king Bolesaw I consolidated this possession by founding a bishopric in 1000 with its seat first at Smogorzw and later at Wrocaw. [33][38], After the death of Henry II the Pious his realm was divided between various Piast dukes. Updates? The Celts migrated to parts of Silesia in at least two waves. At a stroke he had doubled the population of Prussia, increase her territory by one third, and demonstrated to Europe the power of the Prussian army. The region was affected by the 1997 Central European flood. [23] His activity in this field was continued by his son and successor Henry II the Pious, until his sudden death in 1241 (Battle of Legnica). The industry had grown while Silesia was part of Germany, and peaked in the 1970s under the People's Republic of Poland. These remaining Protestant duchies were re-Catholicized, but as Swedish king Charles XII pressed Joseph I to accept the treaty of Altranstdt (1707) the religious freedom in these duchies was restored. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. 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; however, a number of duchies remained under the rule of Polish dukes from the houses of Piast, Jagiellon and Sobieski as formal Bohemian fiefdoms, some until the 17th18th centuries. Those claims were reserved for the Crown, which in theory still covered all of the territories that were part of or dependent on the Polish Crown in 1138.[41]. From June 1945 to January 1947, 1.77million Germans were expelled from Lower Silesia, and 310,000 from Upper Silesia. It resulted in 60% of votes being cast for Germany and 40% for Poland. Its most important representatives were Martin Opitz, Friedrich von Logau, Andreas Gryphius or Christian Hoffmann von Hoffmannswaldau, along with writers and mystics including Angelus Silesius, Abraham von Franckenberg or Christian Knorr von Rosenroth. The Polish and Jewish population of the then Polish part of Silesia was subjected to genocide involving expulsions, mass murder and deportation to Nazi concentration camps and forced labour camps, while Germans were settled in pursuit of Lebensraum. Only the towns of Opava (Troppau), Kietrz (Katscher) and Bielsko (Bielitz) remained largely German. To stimulate the economy Protestant Czechs, Germans and Poles were invited to settle in the country, particularly in Upper Silesia. They then defeated the combined Polish and German forces under Henry II at the Battle of Legnica, which took place at Legnickie Pole near Legnica. Modern Silesia contained about one-fourth of the total population of Poland in the early 21st century. Poland held elections in the entire disputed area, and on 23 January 1919, Czech troops invaded the lands of Cieszyn Silesia, stopping on 30 January 1919 on the Vistula River near Skoczw. What if Pomerania, Silesia, and East Prussia weren't given to Poland The royal family moved to Breslau and Frederick William III published the letter An mein Volk (to my people) which called the German people to arms. [citation needed], In 1946 territories were incorporated into existing Voivodeships or divided into new ones. Other principal towns were: Cieszyn/Tn (Teschen); Slezsk Ostrava (Polnisch-Ostrau), the eastern part of Ostrava; Krnov (Jgerndorf); Karvin (Karwin); Bruntl (Freudenthal); Jesenk (Freiwaldau); and Horn Beneov (Bennisch). What Is Silesia? | Article | Culture.pl Slavs arrived in this territory around the 6th century. During this time, German cultural and ethnic influence increased as a result of immigration from German-speaking states of the Holy Roman Empire. [56] Attempts to repopulate Silesia proved unsuccessful in the 1940s and 1950s,[57] and Silesia's population did not reach pre-war levels until the late 1970s. In 1742, most of Silesia was seized by King Frederick the Great of Prussia in the War of the Austrian Succession and subsequently made the Prussian Province of Silesia. Historia lska, Wrocaw 2007, p. 114-115, "Mapy narodowociowe Grnego lska od poowy XIX wieku do II Wojny wiatowej" Dorota Borowiecz Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocawskiego 2005. Contemporary sources record 8 markets in Silesia, but the real number was probably much higher. Flag of Prussian Upper Silesia province (19191938 and 19411945), Flag of the Austrian Silesia (17421918), and Czech Silesia, Flag of Prussian Lower Silesia province (19191938 and 19411945), "Schlesien" and "lsk" redirect here. During this period, Silesia became one of the world's largest producers of coal, with a record tonnage in 1979. With the death of Charles IV in 1378 and the following disputes in the house of Luxemburg, Bohemia's protection of Silesia ended; strife spread and robber barons devastated the country. Matthias affirmed the Letter of Majesty and granted the Silesian estates an independent German chancellery in Prague (also responsible for both Lusatias). History of Poland | Britannica 24 athompson3977 5 yr. ago They should puppet them like I do.. In 1742, most of Silesia was seized by King Frederick II 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. The population declined after the late 14th century because of an agricultural crisis, later intensified by the Hussite wars. Historia lska, Wrocaw 2007, p. 184. The part of Silesia awarded to Poland was by far the best-developed and richest region of the newly formed state, producing most of Poland's industrial output. He died in 1034, succeeded by his oldest son Casimir the Restorer. In 990 in the Polish-Bohemian War Mieszko annexed Middle Silesia and its main township Niemcza with the help of the Holy Roman Empire, which supported Poland in order to weaken Bohemia. The Order was supported by John of Bohemia who dominated the dukes of Masovia and Lower Silesia. In 1327/29 the majority of the dukes of Silesia became dukes of Bohemia, while in 1331 the Duchy of Gogw and in 1336 the Duchy of Mnsterberg were directly annexed by Bohemia. The monks received permission to settle Germans on their possessions, which in turn were excluded from Polish law "for all time" and instead encouraged to use their own German law. In 1241, after raiding Lesser Poland, the Mongols invaded Silesia and caused widespread panic and mass flight. German mass tourism started in the Silesian mountain region (Hirschberg, Schneekoppe). AD Slavic tribes settled here c.AD 500, and Silesia was an integral part of Poland by the 11th cent. Henry failed in his attempt to achieve the Polish crown. These districts were united to Moravia until 1849 and afterward made a separate crown land of the Austrian Empire. In the early 19th century the population of the Prussian part of Silesia was between 2/3 and 3/4 German-speaking, between 1/5 and 1/3 Polish-speaking, with Sorbs, Czechs, Moravians and Jews forming other smaller minorities (see Table 1. below). The Bohemian rulers also tried to evangelize the region and opened up Silesia for international trade. After Prussias victory, Austria retained only the Silesian districts of Krnov (Jgerndorf), Opava (Troppau), and Cieszyn (Teschen), which constituted extreme south-southeastern Silesia. 5., Permanent Change: The New Region(s) of Silesia 1945-2015, The Dynamics of the Policies of Ethnic Cleansing in Silesia in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, Schlesien: eine Landeskunde fr das deutsche Volk. There were many regions with Silesia in their names. [16] Deposits in Lower Silesia have proven to be difficult to exploit and the area's unprofitable mines were closed in 2000. [16] The same period had lead, copper, silver, and gold mining. Silesia subsequently became a possession of the Crown of Bohemia under the Holy Roman Empire in the 14th century, and passed with that Crown to the Habsburg monarchy in 1526. In Upper Silesia, Protestants were concentrated in larger cities and often identified as German. [39] Geographically speaking, Lower Silesia was mostly Lutheran except for the Glatzer Land (now Kodzko County). Due to the Thirty Years' War, diseases and emigration, Silesia lost large parts of its population. After his death in 1419 the Czechs refused to accept Sigismund as their new king as they held him responsible for Hus's death. When Rudolf tried to withdraw from these agreements in 1611, the estates of Bohemia and Silesia declared allegiance to Matthias, who already owned the Archduchy of Austria, the Margraviate of Moravia and the Kingdom of Hungary. In 1037 a nobles' revolt took place and Casimir fled. In 1421 a Silesian army repeatedly invaded northeastern Bohemia, but was defeated by the Hussites. "Maybe it's a miracle," says Jarosaw Obremski, governor of Lower Silesia, one of Poland's larger regions, which has taken in at least . Zbigniew Babik, "Najstarsza warstwa nazewnicza na ziemiach polskich w granicach redniowiecznej Sowiaszczyzny", Uniwersitas, Krakw, 2001. [25] Some marketplaces existed without an accompanying castle, like roda lska or Sobtka. Onomastica slavogermanica. During the Fragmentation of Poland, Silesia and the rest of the country were divided into many smaller duchies ruled by various Silesian dukes. Geography Czech Silesia now lies across several of the northern regions Czech Silesia borders Moravia in the south, Poland (Polish Silesia) in the north (in the northwest the County of Kladsko, until 1742/48 an integral part of Bohemia) and Slovakia in the southeast. After the death of King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia in 1526, Ferdinand I of Austria was elected King of Bohemia and thus ruler of the Crown of Bohemia (including Silesia). Historia lska, Wrocaw 2007, s. 290. At the same time, the areas of Ostrava and Karvin in Austrian Silesia became increasingly industrialized. [citation needed], Since 1998 the Polish area has been divided between the Lubusz, Lower Silesian, Opole and Silesian Voivodeships. [19] It endangered the newly established Christian church also in Silesia where it ousted the bishop of Wrocaw. The Red Army and the Poles then forcibly expelled Silesian Germans to the west, in the process committing atrocities as serious as those previously perpetrated by the Germans on the Silesian Poles. The group reached 10.4% of votes in the BieruLdziny county in the 2006 local elections. Existing since the 12th century,[40] Silesia's Jewish community was concentrated around Wrocaw and Upper Silesia, and numbered 48,003 (1.1% of the population) in 1890, decreasing to 44,985 persons (0.9%) by 1910. Why and how were east Brandenburg, Pomerania and Silesia taken away They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Ethnic German Genocide: Neutral Sources Document Why - WEARS WAR The International Jewish Labor Bund After 1945: Toward a Global History David Slucki, page 63, A narrow bridge to life: Jewish forced labor and survival in the Gross-Rosen camp system, 19401945, page 229 Belah Guerman, Kochavi, AJ (2001)Post-Holocaust politics: Britain, the United States & Jewish refugees, 19451948, University of North Carolina Press P 176. This time only the duchies of Liegnitz, Brieg, Wohlau, Oels and the town of Breslau kept their religious liberty. What will its side effects be? These Cistercian monks from the Saxon abbey of Pforta were brought into the country by the duke to establish Lubi Abbey. Silesia travel - Lonely Planet | Poland, Europe The names all relate to the name of a river (now lza) and mountain (Mount la) in mid-southern Silesia, which served as a place of cult for pagans before Christianization.
Visa Event Sponsorship Request,
Best Careers To Go Back To School For 2023,
Sherwood Village Assisted Living,
Articles W