Province of Upper Silesia
| Province of Upper Silesia Provinz Oberschlesien |
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| Province of Prussia | ||||||
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 within the Free State of Prussia (dark blue). |
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| Capital | Oppeln (1919–1938) Kattowitz (1941–1945) |
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| History | ||||||
| • | Established | 1919 | ||||
| • | Merged with Lower Silesia | 1938–1941 | ||||
| • | Disestablished | 1945 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| • | 1925 | 9,702 km2(3,746 sq mi) | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| • | 1925 | 1,379,408 | ||||
| Density | 142.2 /km2 (368.2 /sq mi) | |||||
| Political subdivisions |
Kattowitz region Oppeln region |
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The Province of Upper Silesia (German: Provinz Oberschlesien; Silesian German: Provinz Oberschläsing; Polish: Prowincja Górny Śląsk; Silesian: Prowincyjŏ Gůrny Ślůnsk) was a province of the Free State of Prussia from 1919 to 1945. It comprised much of the region of Upper Silesia and was eventually divided into two administrative regions (Regierungsbezirke) called Bezirk Kattowitz, and Oppeln. The provincial capital was Oppeln (1919–1938) and Kattowitz (1941–1945), while other major towns included Beuthen, Gleiwitz, Hindenburg O.S., Neiße, Ratibor and Auschwitz (the place of future extermination of Jews in World War II). Between 1938 and 1941 it was reunited with Lower Silesia as the Province of Silesia.
Perhaps the earliest exact census figures on ethnic or national structure (Nationalverschiedenheit) of Regierungsbezirk Oppeln (Regierungsbezirk Kattowitz did not yet exist) are from year 1819.
In year 1819 Regierungsbezirk Oppeln had 561,203 inhabitants, including the following "Nationalverschiedenheit":
Poles (Polen) ------------- 377,100 (67,2%)
Germans (Deutsche) --- 162,600 (29,0%)
Moravians (Mährer) ----- 12,000 (2,1%)
Jews (Juden) ------------- 8,000 (1,4%)
Czechs (Tschechen) --- 1,600 (0,3%)
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