Warsaw Voice - A Place of One's Own

31 July 2003

A verdict is yet to be passed regarding the suit brought against Poland by the Association of People of Silesian Nationality (ZLNŚ). The judges of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights heard from both sides July 2, postponing their decision as to whether Silesians have the status of a national minority.

During the case's first session, the Grand Chamber's 17 judges asked questions about the election regulations in force in Poland and the number of people speaking the Silesian language, or dialect.
"I am still assessing the chance for a settlement in favor of the Silesians, but I am prepared for either scenario," said the leader of the Silesia Autonomy Movement (RAŚ), Jerzy Gorzelik, following the trial.

RAŚ activists have been working to register the ZLNŚ as a nationality since 1996. The Polish authorities did not consent to the registration. In 1997, the Provincial Court in Katowice registered the ZLNŚ. However, three months later, an appellate court-on the petition of Katowice Governor Eugeniusz Cisak-rejected the motion for registration, arguing that the Silesian nationality does not exist.

Gorzelik submitted a cessation motion to the Supreme Court. In 1998, the Supreme Court turned down the cessation motion, upholding the argument of the appellate court. In 2001, the first instance court in Strasbourg ruled that, by refusing the registration, the Polish authorities had violated the right of association. Prof. Krzysztof Drzewicki argued on behalf on Poland that the organization's name unlawfully suggested the existence of the Silesian national minority, which consequently would impose on the government the obligation to grant election privileges to Silesians. They would thereby be exempt from the mandatory 5-percent election minimum. The Strasbourg court then unanimously voiced the opinion that the refusal to register the association was justified. RAŚ activists appealed against the judgment. In 2002, the tribunal agreed to consider the appeal.

In court, the Silesians quoted the results of the census in 2002, when over 173,000 individuals declared Silesian nationality. The representatives of the Polish government argued that the Silesian nationality did not exist, one could speak only of the linguistic and cultural distinctions of Silesians. "The group does not meet the prerequisites specified for defining a national minority," said Drzewicki. He also pointed out that the registration of the Silesian national minority association could trigger an avalanche of similar demands on the part of highlanders, Kashubians and Mazurians. "We would then have a parliament composed of these kinds of local groups, not of parties," he said.

Political scientists enumerate the following constitutive elements of a nation: common language, history, territory and tradition. Silesians do not use a codified language but a local dialect preserving some archaic features of Polish, German and Moravian. The history of the Silesians is not a distinct history of one state, but forms part of the history of the Polish, Czech and German states. The territory of old Silesia is today divided between Poland and the Czech Republic. So, Silesians meet only one of the four conditions: they have the tradition. Silesia has always been a region of ethnic, religious and cultural intermingling. Silesian culture was shaped by Polish, Czech, Austrian and German influences and by various religions-Judaism, Catholicism and Protestantism.

For over 600 years, residents of Silesia lived outside Poland's borders. In the wake of the disintegration of the country in the 12th century, Silesian princes took an oath of fealty to the Czech country. In 1335, Kazimierz the Great finally relinquished the right of Poland to Silesia. Two centuries later, the region went to the Hapsburgs. The Austrian rule ended in the mid-18th century, when Frederick the Great incorporated Silesia into Prussia. Under Prussian rule, the region experienced economic development. However, when Poland regained independence in 1918, a considerable part of Upper Silesians opted for Poland. The most determined of them participated in the three Silesian Uprisings.

In the plebiscite in 1921, 40 percent of the region's inhabitants voted for Silesia to belong to Poland. Finally, 30 percent of Upper Silesia (in fact, it included the most economically developed regions) was incorporated into Poland in 1922.

Currently, Silesia province has 4.83 million residents-or 12.5 percent of Poland's population. The majority of them are newcomers from other regions, while many native Silesians emigrated, largely to Germany.

Professor of ethnology at Opole University, Senator Dorota Simonides, does not correlate the census results with a sense of national identity. "This is a protest of the population against the lack of interest on the part of the government concerning Silesia, against unemployment and the closing of mines," she said.

Senate deputy speaker and film director, Kazimierz Kutz, contrarily compared the Silesians' motion to a manifestation of freedom. "The motion shows that there exists an awareness of the region's autonomy, a sense of Silesian identity, and it is an attempt to stimulate civic activity, to rouse Poles from a torpor," stressed Kutz. "Silesians wrestle with irreconcilable dilemmas. In their heart, they have a deep-rooted conviction that they are better than the rest of Poland. But they also know that they are never going to convince those outside Silesia to like them," he added.

Politicians linked to the RAŚ, whose goal is to institute economic and financial autonomy in Silesia, began talking of a Silesian nationality in the mid-1990s. According to Gorzelik, "everybody has the right to choose a homeland that suits them. We, Silesians, do as well. We have a distinct language, culture, and a community spirit. So, we are a nation." However, according to some commentators, choosing one's homeland and the right of self-determination is being used as a means of gaining independence from Poland.