Zaolzie

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This article is part of the series: Territorial changes of Poland in the 20th century History of Poland
Lines
Curzon Line
Oder-Neisse line
Areas
Kresy Wschodnie
Kresy Zachodnie
Recovered Territories
Historical Eastern Germany
Zaolzie
See also
History of Poland

Military band walks under the sign made by Polish people of Karwina during the 1938 annexation of Zaolzie by Poland. The sign reads "We've been waiting for you 600 years".

Polish people of Czeski Cieszyn welcome Polish troops during the 1938 annexation of Zaolzie by Poland.

Zaolzie (Czech Zaolší (Zaolží), Polish: Zaolzie, Śląsk zaolziański literally: Trans-Olza River Silesia) was an area disputed between Poland and Czechoslovakia, west of Cieszyn, with some 906 km² and a population of 258,000. The term "Zaolzie" is used predominantly in Poland (literally meaning, 'lands beyond the Olza River') and also commonly by Polish minority living on this territory. In Czech language it is more frequently referred to with the term České Těšínsko/Českotěšínsko or the neutral Těšínské Slezsko (meaning Cieszyn Silesia).

1 History
2 Present times
3 See also
4 Footnotes
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

Initially a part of Poland, since 1343 the area belonged to Czech Silesia and upon the death of its last ruler from the Polish Piast dynasty in 1653, it was passed to Habsburgs together with the rest of Duchy of Cieszyn.

In October 1918, in the wake of World War I and the fall of Austro-Hungary, the area was divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia by two local self-government councils (Czech Národní Výbor pro Slezsko and Polish Rada Narodowa Księstwa Cieszyńskiego). The majority of the area was taken over by Polish local authorities. In 1919 both councils were absorbed by the newly created and independent central governments in Prague and Warsaw. The former was not satisfied with the compromise and on 23 January 1919 invaded Zaolzie^[1]^[2] while Poland was engaged in its war against with West Ukrainian People's Republic and also with Bolshevist Russia. Czech units were stopped near Skoczów and a ceasefire was signed on 3 February. Czechs maintained that Zaolzie was important for them as the crucial railway line connecting Czech Silesia with Slovakia crossed the area (railway Bohumín-Košice). Eventually 66% of the area was taken over by Czechoslovakia and according to the Spa conference in July 1920 the territory was officially annexed by Czechoslovakia.

In October 1938 the area was annexed by Poland^[3] without German consent, arguing that Poles in Zaolzie deserved the same rights as Germans in the Munich Agreement, but on September 1, 1939 it was annexed by Germany after they invaded Poland. During the World War II Zaolzie was a part of Nazi Germany.

[edit] Present times

After the World War II Zaolzie returned in its 1920 borders to Czechoslovakia and it now remains a part of the Czech Republic. Poland signed a treaty with Czechoslovakia in Warsaw on the 13 June 1958 confirming the border on the line of 1 January 1938.

There is a small but lively Polish minority in Zaolzie today.

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

^ Długajczyk 1993, 7.
^ Zahradnik 1992, 59.
^ Nowa Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN 1997, vol. VI, 981.

[edit] References

Długajczyk, Edward (1993). Tajny front na granicy cieszyńskiej. Wywiad i dywersja w latach 1919-1939. Katowice: Śląsk. ISBN 83-85831-03-7.
Zahradnik, Stanisław, and Marek Ryczkowski (1992). Korzenie Zaolzia. Warszawa - Praga - Trzyniec: PAI-press.
"Zaolzie". Nowa Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN VI. (1997). Warszawa: PWN. ISBN 83-01-11969-1.