The 1921 Vote in Upper Silesia: Course, Result and Consequences
The plebiscite in Upper Silesia in 1921 was meant to settle whether the disputed territory would remain with Germany or pass to Poland. It took place on March 20, 1921, on the basis of the Treaty of Versailles of 1919. Its result alone, however, did not determine the later border. The overview below explains how the vote was run, how the ballots were distributed and which decisions followed. It also makes clear how the vote relates to the Silesian Uprisings and the partition of Upper Silesia.
How Did the Vote in Upper Silesia Proceed?
The legal basis for the vote of March 20, 1921 was the Treaty of Versailles of 1919. Eligible voters included both people who lived in Upper Silesia and those who had been born there but now lived outside the region. Because of this rule, many people returned to Upper Silesia specially to cast their ballot.
An Allied commission based in Oppeln (Opole) supervised the proceedings. French, British and Italian troops were stationed in the region. Their presence was linked to the tense situation: two Silesian Uprisings had already taken place in 1919 and 1920, before the vote. These conflicts shaped the starting point of the 1921 vote and must be kept in mind when judging how it went.
How Did People Vote, and What Was the Result?
Around sixty percent of the votes went to Germany and around forty percent to Poland. Behind this overall result, however, lay considerable local differences. The distribution of votes varied from place to place. These very differences later became a point of dispute when the border was drawn.
In some of the rural districts in the west, votes for Germany predominated. In the eastern part of the industrial area, by contrast, support for Poland was higher. The overall result therefore did not point to a clear course for the new border. It offered a starting point for looking at the region as a whole but was not sufficient on its own to decide its partition.
Anyone who wants to trace these differences more closely can turn to archival material on the vote in individual districts. These include Kreuzburg (Kluczbork), Rosenberg (Olesno) and Groß Strehlitz (Strzelce Opolskie). The figures documented there allow a comparison between local results and the overall result for Upper Silesia. Looking at each district separately shows how differently people in the various parts of the region voted.
Silesian Uprisings and the Partition of the Region
The vote was embedded in a longer series of conflicts. Three Silesian Uprisings broke out before and after it, in 1919, 1920 and 1921. They showed how contested the region's state affiliation was. The vote did not end the tensions either. Its course and consequences can therefore be understood only in connection with the uprisings.
In October 1921, the Council of the League of Nations proposed dividing the disputed territory. A year later, in 1922, the Geneva Convention on Upper Silesia was signed, and it remained in force for fifteen years. In the partition, Poland received the smaller part of the area but the larger part of the industrial district. The later border therefore did not directly match the distribution of votes across the whole voting area.
What Followed?
The result of the vote and the decision on partition must be considered separately. Around sixty percent of the votes for Germany did not mean that the whole region stayed with Germany. What determined the border was the proposal of the League of Nations Council and the Geneva Convention of 1922.
To place the 1921 vote in Upper Silesia in context, it is therefore necessary to look at the Silesian Uprisings and the later partition of the region. In addition, archived results from individual districts make it possible to compare voting patterns in different parts of Upper Silesia and to follow the local differences.