Silesia: in the course of a millennium of history under the rule of different states and empires, unites the cultural heritage of numerous peoples and dynasties. Initially, it belonged to the Great Moravian Empire during the 9th century. In the late 10th century Silesia was conquered by the Piast prince Mieszko I., who established the region under Polish rule. In this epoque the establishment of the Wratislaw episcopate (today: Wrocław) was noteworthy in Silesian history.


In the middle of the 12th century, Poland was divided among the

Depiction: St. Hedwig of Andechs founding the Trebnitz monastery

Piast heirs into duchies. Thus began the first independent historical break with Poland, i.e. Silesia was now more autonomous. In the 13th century the Piast dukes of Silesia invited German settlers to come in, whose advanced skills in agriculture and craftsmanship could help the economic development of the country.

When the Polish king Kazimierz the Great ceded Silesia to the kingdom of Bohemia in 1335, the region entered the German sphere of influence. In the cities and in the Lower Silesian countryside, German slowly became the common language. In Upper Silesia however, Slavic dialects, Polish and German coexisted side by side.

In 1526, Bohemia with its Silesian provinces fell under rule of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty and remained for 200 years under the influence of Vienna. This period of Silesian baroque with all its castles, churches and religious monuments, ended after the Prussian king Frederick the Great conquered Silesia in 1740. Under Prussian predominance, Upper Silesia experienced a faster,

The Eichendorff-Castle in Lubowitz during the 18th century

economic development and approached the level of the more advanced region of Lower Silesia. Industrialisation, which foremost took place in the mining area around Gleiwitz (Gliwice) and Kattowitz (Katowice), also had its impact on the Opole region, which profited from better infrastructure and rising population settlement. However, Prussian Protestant rule led to cultural differences in the mostly Catholic Upper Silesia. After the establishment of the German Empire in 1871 this was typified by the policy of Kulturkampf. Though, hhe old Slavic dialect spoken in the Eastern part of the Opole region (also known as Wasserpolnisch or Shlonsakian) survived among the highly integrated population and can still be heard today. Polish nationalists seized upon these restrictive Prussian policies and demanded the reestablishment of an independent Poland which should now contain Silesia.

After World War I, the League of Nations called for a referendum to

Upper Silesian industrial zone

decide which country would govern Upper Silesia. The eastern part including Kattowitz and the majority of the mining area was ceded to Poland, the western part remained in Germany as a new administrative district with Opole as capital. The Hultschin district in the South of Upper Silesia was ceded to the new state of Czechoslovakia without referendum. The arbitrary fixation of border lines caused national conflicts among the population and led to armed uprisings of Polish nationalists. In the end they were defeated by German Silesian militias. In the years to follow, the minorities on both sides of the border were subjected to extreme pressure.

Expelled Germans on the Autobahn near Breslau (Wrocław), 1945

As the destructive German war upon the Soviet Union failed and the Red Army moved to the West, the question of a post-war European order was forced upon the agenda of the Allied powers. The German territories east of the Oder and the Lusatian Neisse rivers were to be put under Polish administration, Silesia included. It was also decided to resettle all Germans living in these territories towards the West, thereby finally attempting to create more defined ethnic borders throughout Central Europe. Millions of Silesians were victims of expulsion from their native homes. Many of them did not survive the process.

While nearly all of the Germans in Lower Silesia were forcibly expelled, the Polish administration engaged in a different policy in Upper Silesia. Specialists, urgently needed to rebuild the economy, were held back in the country. Many German Silesians, still convinced, that the status quo would only be a temporary arrangement, opted under pressure for Polish citizenship to save their lives and belongings. A further expression of German culture, however, was not tolerated. The Polish administration prohibited the use of the German language, German inscriptions were removed from public life and monuments were defaced. The Germans that remained in Poland had to learn the new language and subsequently integrated into the new society, their neighbors now being mostly expelled Poles from the former Polish East.

German Silesians demonstrating during the Polish-German Summit in Krzyżowa, 1989

Emigration to West Germany was difficult in the years of Socialism. For some, family reunion became the only legal way to cross the border, others attempted to flee illegally. Finally, after the political changes of 1989, much of German cultural life reestablished itself in the public life of the Opole region.

Today, the administrative district (Voivodeship) of Opole counts 1.1 million inhabitants. Approximately one third belong to the German minority.