The Return of Emigrants from Germany to Upper Silesia: Reality and Prospects

Abstract

This chapter deals with external migration flows to and from Upper Silesia, during the recent period of transition in Poland (1989–95). The explanation for this movement is sought in recent history and in the contemporary socio-political and ethnic situation of the region, as well as in regional emigration patterns. The potential of emigrants from Upper Silesia in Germany to be the basis for a return movement will be considered. The demographic, economic and political reasons for this prospective return movement will also be examined to some extent. The general economic and social situation in the region forms the background to the study. Special attention will be paid to the process of ethnic transformation in the period during and after the Second World War, and this will be considered from the point of view of both the region itself and the country as a whole. The chapter brings into focus the effect of migration processes on population trends in Upper Silesia, as well as on the regional socio-economic structure. In addition to this, some basic factors of the economic transformation and of major obstacles hindering the processes of emigration and of the return of people to the country, are also highlighted.