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 Silesiaby Anna Marcol If you have heard anything about Silesian history, then you know it has not always belonged to Poland. It had been placed in Polish borders since 990, but after 1138 (the year of Boleslaus the Wrymouth's, Polish king, death) it had been divided into small duchies. In the first half of fourteenth century it got under Czech's superiority. Since 1526 it had been ruled by the Habsburgs, which was just the beginning of German reign. Poland got part of Silesia back in 1922, after Silesian uprisings, and the rest of it in 1945. The most important events in Silesian history, concerning the present ones, were Silesian uprisings. It is not quite clear why did Silesians want to become Polish. German industry was much more progressive than Polish, so that the possibilities of development were greater. According to economic point of view, the choice could have been only one - Germany. But it did not happen. Why? Well, Silesians were not a group of businesspersons dreaming about industrial development. And most of all they were sick of 'Kulturkampf', the policy ran by German government and citizens. They were looking for peace and freedom and they hoped to find it in new born Poland, the first historical country they belonged to. They had spoken Polish language, had Polish ancestors and believed to find what they were looking for among the people who shared their worries (Poland was divided into three parts for 123 years and Polish had never accepted it. They fought to get back their country, and so did Silesians). Was the choice correct? I think it was. Silesia gained many privileges, like its own parliament and its own educational system. Do Silesians still think it was correct? I am not so sure about it. Today things look different. The privileges are gone. Silesia is more integrated with Poland, but it's citizens feel uneasy about it. Want proof? Here is one. Silesians have recently founded Population of Silesian Nationality Union. There were problems with its registration, because of one paragraph in its statue, which says: "The union is organisation of Silesian national minority". The union was registered by district court in Katowice, but the decision is not legally valid yet. (If you have access to Polish magazines, you can learn something more details about it in Polityka No.24, June 14th 1997.) But what was and still is a problem here? I guess people are afraid that this is the very beginning of Silesian secession. Well, telling the truth, I do not believe this could happen. Silesians don't long for their own country; they would just like treating them with a bit more respect and interest. (Don't forget it's Silesians who have chosen Poland, not the other way.) You see we have some national myths here, like everywhere I guess, and there's one about how much the citizens of central Poland don't like us. I don't know if it's truth, if they really treat us worse, but the fact stays in our minds, causing unpleasant feelings. We are also said to be stupid, meaning uneducated coal-miners.Well, I cannot deny, there are a lot of miners in Silesia, as mining is the main branch of industry here. But can you really call stupid someone who wanted to get job as soon as possible? So, maybe the miners know nothing about poetry and painting, but there's a lot of artists in Poland who come from Silesia. We are simply the nation like many others. You could ask are we 'a nation'? Well, the language we speak is not a language in fact, it's just a dialect. So in that way we don't have writings in our own national language. But we have our own history and historical territory. It's hard to give a clear answer, unless you ask do Silesians consider themselves a nation? But to learn that you have to ask them all. Someone did in 1994 and the results are: 66% of Silesians said they are Polish. And believe me I'm one of them. One more thing is important when you mention Silesia - the pollution. The truth is the conditions we live in are not good, to say the least. The mines are our main source of income, but they are also the main producer of gases, ashes, carbon dioxide, etc. And the story here goes like: we give a lot to the country budget and we get back little to satisfy our needs like education, health-care and ecology. So tell me, can you blame Silesians for trying to get what they feel they deserved? P.S. God save Silesia from the flood. I'm asking those who have read this to pray for all Silesians who have lost their homes during the tragedy of flood in July 1997. You can reach Anna Marcol at: ziga@free.polbox.pl For more information on the Polish floods visit: http://www.flooding.pl/ All content © Foreign Correspondent 1996 - 2007 |
