In the draft peace treaty with Germany of 7 May 1919, Articles 87 and 88 provided that, 15 days after the treaty came into force, the rights to full sovereignty over Upper Silesia, within the borders set out in the draft, would pass from the Reich (Germany) to Poland. The Supreme Council, however, abandoned this idea. In the final version of the treaty, signed by the parties on 28 June 1919, the text of Article 88 read: ...
“In a part of Upper Silesia, the inhabitants will be called upon to state by vote whether they wish to be joined to Germany or to Poland”
Poland's protest
The “Silesian Uprisings” were a protest against the terms of the treaty, which required a plebiscite among the population of the three southernmost districts. The first broke out in mid-August 1919 and ended in defeat for Poland (its centre was Rybnik, and it lasted eight days, from 16 to 24 August 1919). It led to the arrival of an Allied garrison made up of British, French and Italian troops.
The Second Uprising also broke out in the summer months, in 1920, and lasted from 19 to 25 August, coinciding with the decisive phase of the Polish-Soviet War. The situation in the plebiscite area became tense. The Polish and German plebiscite commissariats took up the organisation of propaganda, and neither side was scrupulous about its methods. After the Second Uprising ended, Poland's chances in the coming plebiscite began to be judged more optimistically than before it.
The Upper Silesia plebiscite was held on 20 March 1921 under Article 88 of the Treaty of Versailles. It covered the Opole regency, excluding the counties of Grodków, Nysa and Niemodlin, the western part of Prudnik county and part of Racibórz county. The decision to hold the plebiscite was the result of a compromise towards defeated Germany and assumed that the plebiscite areas were inhabited mostly by a Polish population. 1 221 274 people were entitled to vote. 1 190 637 of them took part (97.5%).
- Votes for Poland: 479 365 (40.3%).
- Votes for Germany: 707 393 (59.4%).
The distribution of votes in our area was very striking, so the results may be of interest:
| Place, official name | Place, Polish name | Total votes | For Poland | For Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kattowitz | Katowice | 28 531 | 3 900 | 22 774 |
| Beuten | Bytom | 42 990 | 10 101 | 29 890 |
| Gleiwitz | Gliwice | 41 949 | 8 558 | 32 029 |
| Leobschutz | Głubczyce | 10 371 | 60 | 9 896 |
| Oppeln | Opole | 22 930 | 1 098 | 20 816 |
| Krappitz | Krapkowice | 2 526 | 92 | 2 369 |
| Proskau | Prószków | 1 781 | 151 | 1 587 |
| Schimnitz Kl. | Zimnice M. | 276 | 85 | 187 |
| Ochotz | Ochodze | 464 | 121 | 338 |
| Rogau | Rogów Op. | 672 | 83 | 569 |
| Vogstdorf | Wójtowa Wieś | 738 | 305 | 421 |
| Winau | Winów | 346 | 254 | 84 |
| Zlonitz | Źlinice | 445 | 358 | 80 |
| Boguschutz | Boguszyce | 338 | 178 | 149 |
| Chrząszczyce parish | total | 2 236 | 934 | 1 302 |
| individual villages: | ||||
| Chrzumczutz | Chrząszczyce | 351 | 116 | 235 |
| Zlattnik | Złotniki | 352 | 174 | 178 |
| Dometzko | Domecko | 687 | 220 | 467 |
| Gorrek | Górki | 387 | 164 | 223 |
| Nowa Kuźnia | 172 | 80 | 92 | |
| Chrzowitz | Chrzowice | 108 | 60 | 48 |
| Follwark | Folwark | 179 | 120 | 59 |
The table is very revealing. The highlighted places are neighbouring villages on the River Oder, and in all of them the votes for Poland prevailed. The results were signed by:
- Oppeln (Opole), 24 April 1921
- the representatives of:
- Italy: A. De Marinis
- France: Le Rond
- Great Britain: H.F.P. Percival
According to the tables above and the overall results for the whole of Silesia, the plebiscite was a defeat for Poland. It turned out that, despite the majority of the population feeling Polish and the “spontaneous” Silesian Uprisings in favour of Poland (I, II), the results of 20 March 1921 were unfavourable for Wojciech Korfanty (1873-1939). In this situation he decided to take Silesia by force, launching the Third Uprising on the night of 2 to 3 May 1921.
His speeches inspired about 40 000 workers and partisans, many of them members of Piłsudski's Polish Military Organisation, who took up arms. Wojciech Korfanty declared himself dictator and took full responsibility for the outbreak of the uprising. Opinions on the purpose of the Third Uprising are divided. It turned out that the leadership had no social changes in mind and that the promises were demagogic. The aim was to secure popularity in Upper Silesia, in Poland and in Western Europe. The uprising lasted until 5 July 1921. The armed clashes that were to pass into legend were fought from 21 to 25 May around Góra Świętej Anny (Annaberg) and for two days, from 4 to 5 June, on the banks of the Kanał Kłodnicki.
Korfanty's words:
... “no one but I gave the signal for the outbreak of the third uprising, on the eve of the conference of the Council of Ambassadors in London, where we were to be awarded only Pszczyna and part of Rybnik county.”
... “When Poland received Silesia, no one thanked me for my work with so much as a word, no one spoke a single word of recognition to me”
Cutting Silesian industry off from its traditional German market proved disastrous in its consequences, as the Communists and Socialists had foreseen, taking no part in the Third Uprising.
As a result of secret negotiations, on 20 October 1921 the International Commission (Council of Ambassadors) divided the plebiscite area into two parts. 61% of the whole plebiscite area was to remain with Germany, while the larger part of the coal basin, with Katowice (Kattowitz) and Chorzów (Koenigshutte), passed to Poland. The historic act of joining Katowice county to Poland took place on 17-20 June 1922.
Śląsk Opolski, with Follwark, remained with Germany.