Partition of Upper Silesia decided

Even after the conclusion of the Versailles Peace Treaty the Polish minority in Upper Silesia protested against the political and territorial dominance of the German ethnic majority.

Against this background the League of Nations Commission, on 20 October 1921, follows a recommendation of the League of Nations Council and decides that the portion of Upper Silesia belonging until then to the German Reich should be partitioned between Germany and Poland.

© gonschior Map and flag of Upper Silesia

In doing so the Commission ignores the results of a plebiscite carried out according to Article 88 of the Versailles Peace Treaty. A large majority in the plebiscite had voted for affiliation with the German Reich. From now on Upper Silesia’s industrial region, with ca. a million inhabitants, will belong to Poland. The portion of the region left to the Reich is larger in surface area but also predominantly agricultural in structure. The partition of Upper Silesia unleashes a wave of indignation in Germany. The government under Reich Chancellor Joseph Wirth (Centre) has to resign. However, the decision of the League of Nations Commission is confirmed in the German-Polish Treaty of 15 May 1922.