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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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