On 20 March 1921 the Upper Silesian Plebiscite was held where the inhabitants of Upper Silesia had to decide if they wanted to be part of Poland or Germany.
A large part of this area had been part of Poland before the eighteenth century partitions in the country. Due to the growth of heavy industry and mineral deposits, particularly coal, iron ore and to a lesser extent zinc and other metals, this area was strongly desired by both sides. In the summer of 1920, there had been a plebiscite in East Prussia where the inhabitants could decide if they wanted to live in Poland or Germany. The result was an overwhelming victory for the German side with only some very small areas going over to Poland. East Prussia, however did not have the economic clout of Upper Silesia. Upper Silesia was the second highest producing heavy industrial area in Germany before World War One.
There were also other major differences between a plebiscite in this area as opposed to East Prussia.
In East Prussia there was a Polish speaking population, but on the whole they were Protestants and strongly resented the idea of being taken over by Catholics who came from what had been Russia. Thus they were far more assimilated with their German neighbours. They resented people coming in from the south telling them what to do.
The plebiscite in East Prussia had occurred at a time when Poland was in dire straights in the war against the Soviets. The Red Army was closing down on the Polish capital and people were afraid of the reports of Soviet bestiality which had been widely published. A vote for Poland was thus seen as potentially ending up in a communist country.
However there were also other things which were common to both. People were afraid of losing their pensions, Germany after all had an advanced social welfare system and the potential of a much stronger economy. Poland was a leap in the dark although the Polish government had promised to maintain social security benefits including benefits. There may also have been fear of harmonising vastly different legal systems which had hitherto existed in the Russian, Austrian and German empires out of which the new Poland was being created.
In Upper Silesia, the census returns showed many areas with a majority Polish speaking population. Unlike in East Prussia, those campaigning for the Polish side were locals and not Poles from what had been Russia.
To make it more complicated, there were those that considered themselves neither Polish nor German but Silesians.
Unlike in East Prussia, both Germans and Poles were Catholics.
The western Allies took a keen interest in the fate of Upper Silesia because of its economic potential. It seems as though France wanted to weaken Germany so was happy to support Polish claims whereas the British and Italian governments feared that Germany would not be able to pay reparations without it.
It is quite clear that there was a strong Polish majority in some areas and others had an overwhelming German majority. It is often claimed that the Polish government wanted the plebiscite to take place only in the territory to the east of the Oder river, however as you can see from this map presented to the Paris Peace Conference by the Polish delegation, that was not true. The Polish side was proposing a border which would have taken in the entire plebiscite area. Had the plebiscite been held only in those areas which had a Polish majority then the result would have been much clearer.
During the period leading up to the plebiscite, the German police and administration remained in place which was clearly advantageous to the German side when there was increasing unrest.
The right to vote was granted to all aged 20 and older who either had been born in or lived in the plebiscite area.
The vote took place on 20 March 1921. A total of 707,605 votes were cast for Germany and 479,359 for Poland. At a cursory glance, it seems a major victory for the German side. However when one looked at the breakdown of how the vote went, then it became clear that a more detailed examination was necessary. Unhappy that predominantly Polish areas were to remain in Germany, the Third Silesian Uprising broke out shortly afterwards.
The matter was brought before the League of Nations. In 1922, a six-week debate decided that Upper Silesia should be divided. This was accepted by both countries. Approximately 736,000 Poles and 260,000 Germans thus found themselves now in Polish (Upper) Silesia, and 532,000 Poles and 637,000 Germans remained in German (Upper) Silesia. As there were far more Poles in Germany than vice versa, these figures suggest that Germany got a rather good deal, despite losing the economically richest area. That however is a story for another time.
