In 1918, the newly restored Polish state grappled with numerous problems, one of them being the fluid character of Poland’s borders. Their final shape had to be either negotiated or established by force, whereby diplomatic demands had to be supported with armed action. Such is the background to the three Silesian uprisings.

 

Upper Silesia was a remarkable part of the German state – most of its inhabitants spoke Polish, or rather a local dialect of the language. This, however, did not unequivocally determine their nationality. The national identity of Upper Silesians kept tending, alternately, towards the Polish or the German element. Germany’s defeat in World War I and the surge of revolutionary sentiment in its wake left a deep mark on Upper Silesia. Ethnic clashes, which had been mounting for some time, got a fresh impulse from the emergence of a Polish state with claims to this industrialized region with vast potential.

By 1922, as a result of a division of Upper Silesia instituted after the uprising, 70% of the territory remained on the German side of the border. At the same time, the bulk of the local mining and metal industry fell to Poland. When Upper Silesia joined Poland, it became its exceptionally rich part.