Cieszyn Silesia - History

History

For the history before the division of 1920, see Duchy of Teschen. For the history of the eastern part of the Czech part of Cieszyn Silesia, see Zaolzie. See also: Polish–Czechoslovak border conflicts

Cieszyn Silesia covers the area of the former Duchy of Cieszyn, which existed from 1290 to 1918. From 1290 to 1653 it was ruled by the local branch of the Piast dynasty. In 1327 Casimir I, Duke of Cieszyn, swore homage to the Bohemian king John of Luxembourg, and the duchy became an autonomous fiefdom of the Kingdom of Bohemia and later the Bohemian Crown. Piast rule continued until 1653 and the death of the last Piast descendant, Elizabeth Lucretia, Duchess of Cieszyn, after which it lapsed directly to the Kings of Bohemia, at that time from the Habsburg dynasty. From 1722, the dukes of Teschen hailed from the Dukes of Lorraine dynasty, from 1767 to 1822 from the Wettin dynasty, and from 1822 to 1918 from the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty.

Cieszyn Silesia was cemented as a uniform historic, geopolitical, socio-cultural and economic entity during the period of Habsburg rule. It is distinct from the rest of Silesia because after the First Silesian War between the Austrian Empire and Prussia it remained part of Austria, whereas most of Silesia became a part of Prussia.

After the end of World War I, both of the two newly created independent states of Poland and Czechoslovakia claimed the area. Czechoslovakia claimed the area partly on historic and ethnic grounds, but especially on economic and strategic grounds. The area was important for the Czechs, as the crucial railway line connecting Czech Silesia with Slovakia crossed the area (the Košice-Bohumín Railway, which was one of only two railroads that linked the Czech provinces to Slovakia at that time). The western area of Cieszyn Silesia is also very rich in coal. Many important coal mines, facilities and metallurgy factories are located there. The Polish side based its claim to the area on ethnic criteria: a majority of the area's population was Polish according to the last (1910) Austrian census.

Two local self-government councils, Polish and Czech, were created. Initially, both national councils claimed the whole of Cieszyn Silesia for themselves, the Polish Rada Narodowa Księstwa Cieszyńskiego in its declaration "Ludu śląski!" of 30 October 1918 and the Czech Národní výbor pro Slezsko in its declaration of 1 November 1918. On 31 October 1918, in the wake of World War I and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, most of the area was taken over by local Polish authorities. The short-lived interim agreement of 2 November 1918 reflected the inability of the two national councils to come to final delimitation, and on 5 November 1918 the area was divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia by another interim agreement. In 1919 the councils were absorbed by the newly created and independent central governments in Prague and Warsaw.

The former was not satisfied with the situation and on 23 January 1919 invaded the area while both parties were engaged in much larger conflicts elsewhere, Poland in its war against the West Ukrainian National Republic and Czechoslovakia in the war with the Hungarian Soviet Republic over Slovakia. The impetus for the Czech invasion in 1919 was Poland's organising of elections to the Sejm (parliament) of Poland in the disputed area. The elections were to be held in the whole of Cieszyn Silesia. The Czechs claimed that the polls must not be held in the disputed area, as the delimitation was only interim and no sovereign rule should be executed there by any party. The Czech demand was rejected by the Poles and, following the rejection, Czechs decided to resolve the issue by force. Czech units led by Colonel Josef Šnejdárek and Polish units commanded by General Franciszek Latinik clashed after the swift Czech advance near Skoczów where a battle took place on 28–30 January. It was inconclusive, and before the reinforced Czech forces could resume the attack on the town, they were pressed by Entente to stop operations and a cease-fire was signed on 3 February.

In this tense climate it was decided that a plebiscite would be held in the area asking its people which country the territory should join. Plebiscite commissioners arrived there at the end of January 1920 and after analyzing the situation declared a state of emergency in the territory on 19 May 1920. The situation in the territory remained very tense. Mutual intimidation, acts of terror, beatings and even killings affected the area. A plebiscite could not be held in this atmosphere. On 10 July both sides renounced the idea of plebiscite and entrusted the Conference of Ambassadors with the decision. Eventually 58.1% of the area of Cieszyn Silesia, along with 67.9% of the population, was taken over by Czechoslovakia on 28 July 1920 by decision of the Spa Conference. This decision divided a historically unified region, leaving a sizeable Polish minority in Czechoslovakia and in practice created Zaolzie, the eastern part of the Czech part of Cieszyn Silesia. Zaolzie literally means "the land beyond the Olza River" (looking from Poland). The division of 1920 had an immediate impact on the life of the region. Many families were divided by the new border. Several municipalities were divided between the two states—Cieszyn (PL) / Český Těšín (CS), Leszna Górna (PL) / Horní Líštná (CS), and Marklowice Górne (PL) / Dolní Marklovice (CS), to name a few.

On 1 October 1938 Zaolzie was annexed by Poland following the Munich Conference. On 1 September 1939 Zaolzie was annexed by Nazi Germany after it invaded Poland. During World War II Cieszyn Silesia was a part of Nazi Germany. Immediately after World War II, its borders were returned to their 1920 state. Poland signed a treaty with Czechoslovakia in Warsaw on 13 June 1958 confirming the border as it had existed on 1 January 1938. The Czech part of Cieszyn Silesia continued to be part of Czechoslovakia until the latter's dissolution in 1993 and since then has been part of the Czech Republic.