German minority in Poland

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Germans are a notable national minority in Poland, consisting of almost 150,000 people. The German language is used in certain areas in Opole Voivodship (Oppeln), where most of the minority resides. Two seats are guaranteed for representatives of the German minority in the Polish parliament (Sejm) under current Polish Election Law (there were four from 1993 to 1997) ^[1] At the end of World War II, the territories of southern East Prussia, Lower Silesia, Upper Silesia, East Brandenburg and the largest part Pomerania were transferred to Poland. The vast majority of Germans were expelled, but some remained. Recently some Germans acquired land and property in the areas where they or their ancestors formerly lived, and moved there.

There are 325 Polish schools who use German language as the first language of instruction, with over 37 thousand students attending them. Most of the Germans in Poland declare their religion to be Roman Catholicism. A number of German language newspapers and magazines are issued in Poland.

1 Statistic Data
2 German media in Poland
3 See also
4 External links
5 References

[edit] Statistic Data

Most Germans in Poland live in Silesia (93% of all Germans in Poland): Opole Voivodship - 104,399 i.e. approx. 69,9% all Germans in Poland, and approx. 10% of the population of this Voivodeship and Silesia Voivodeship - 31,882 i.e. approx. 20.8% of all Germans in Poland. In the other Voivodeships, the percentage of Germans in the population lies between 0.632–0.007%.

region	population	German	% German
Poland	38557984	147094	0.381
Opole Voivodship	1055667	104399	9.889
Śląsk Voivodship	4830000	30531	0.632
Warmian-Masurian Voivodship	1428552	4311	0.302
Pomeranian Voivodship	2192000	2016	0.092
Dolny Śląsk Voivodship	2898000	1792	0.062
West Pomeranian Voivodship	1694865	1014	0.060
Greater Poland Voivodship	3365283	820	0.024
Kujawy-Pomorze Voivodship	2068142	636	0.031
Lubusz Voivodship	1009005	513	0.051
Mazowsze Voivodship	5136000	351	0.007
Łódź Voivodship	2597000	263	0.010