Inventing a Nation: The Birth and Development of the Silesian Minority in Poland

Abstract

Abstract This article describes the ethnic revival in Upper Silesia in Poland, and the struggle faced by regional organisations to formally recognise the Silesian people as an ethnic minority in Poland. After years of having their culture repressed by the homogenising inclinations of the communist regime, there are a growing number of people identifying themselves as belonging to a separate Silesian national minority. This social change quickly translated into the initial organisations dedicated to preserving the culture and fighting for minority rights. Those organisations then made both judicial (on a national and international level) and legislative attempts at the formal recognition of the Silesian nationality, and have been undertaking actions aimed at stirring up and building feelings of national identity among the people living in Silesia.