The German minority of Opole Silesia in parliamentary elections of the 3rd Republic of Poland

Abstract

Throughout the entire period of the so-called People’s Republic of Poland (1944-1989), the German minority living in Opole Silesia was recognized by the state authorities as Poles. With the beginning of the political transformation, the “non-existent minority” started to manifest its presence spontaneously, demanding legal recognition and being granted full civil rights. United around the above demands, it participated in elections, for the first time in 1990. As the postulated expectations were achieved, the interest in elections among its members decreased significantly. The main aim of this article was to characterize the participation of German minority committees in the parliamentary elections after 1989. The research tools and methods used included: historical, comparative and statistical ones, as well as source study (also the Internet).