Silesian Voivodeship (1920–39)

Silesian Voivodeship Województwo Śląskie
Voivodeship of Poland
← 1920–1939 →
Coat of arms
Location of the Silesian Voivodeship within Poland (1930).
Capital		Katowice 50°15′N 19°00′E / 50.250°N 19.000°E / 50.250; 19.000Coordinates: 50°15′N 19°00′E / 50.250°N 19.000°E / 50.250; 19.000
Government		Autonomous voivodeship
Voivode
•	since 1922	Józef Rymer
•	until 1939	Michał Grażyński
Legislature		Silesian Sejm
History
•	Established	15 July 1920
•	Annexed by Germany	8 October 1939
Area
•	1921	5,100 km2(1,969 sq mi)
Population
•	1921	1,125,528
	Density	220.7 /km2  (571.6 /sq mi)
•	1939	1,533,500'
Political subdivisions		See list

Coat of arms

The Silesian Voivodeship (Polish: Województwo Śląskie) was an autonomous province (voivodeship) of the interwar Second Polish Republic. It became part of the newly reborn Poland as a result of the 1921 Upper Silesia plebiscite, the Geneva Conventions, three Upper Silesian Uprisings, and the eventual partition of Upper Silesia between Poland, Germany and Czechoslovakia. At the time of its founding, it was inhabited by 110,659 ethnic Poles, 29,010 ethnic Germans, and 4,429 Jews according to Polish census of 1921. The capital of the voivodeship was Katowice.

The voivodeship was dissolved on October 8, 1939 following the German invasion of Poland, and its territory was incorporated into the German Province of Silesia. After the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, its territory was incorporated into a new, larger Silesian Voivodeship which existed until 1950.

The Silesian Voivodeship was one of the richest and best developed provinces of inter-war Poland. It owed its wealth to rich deposits of coal, which resulted in construction of numerous coal mines and steelworks. For this reason, this Voivodeship was crucial to Polish armaments production. However, its location on the border with Germany made it vulnerable. In mid-1930s, the Polish government decided to move some sectors of heavy industry to the nation's heartland, creating the Central Industrial Region. Due to efficient agricultural practices, the Silesian Voivodeship also was a major producer of food, in spite of its small size.

...
Wikipedia