15. Refusing to resort to acts of terror or armed conflict in an attempt to secure independence, the Union of Upper Silesians was unable to bring either Germany or Poland to the table and recognize their political movement
With political support for an independent Silesia dating to the widespread revolutions of 1848, these aspirations were carried into the twentieth century by the Silesian People’s Party. Aiding in the formation of the Union of Upper Silesians on November 27, 1918, the founding committee declared the entity to possess an “independent political stance” and offered guarantees of neutrality akin to that of Switzerland. Despite this, German authorities moved to silence the separatist enterprise, arresting prominent supporters on charges of high treason. Seeking to rally support at the Paris Peace Conference, the movement was left frustrated by the general lack of interest among Western powers for the cause.
Despite this absence of support, with only the United States interested and forced to back down in the face of French opposition, a plebiscite was nevertheless held to determine the borders of Germany and Poland in the region of Upper Silesia. Provoking outrage within the Union – which at the time of the vote enjoyed a peak membership of more than 500,000 – that they had been so blatantly ignored, in spite of these strong passions the leadership issued a clear statement condemning violence as a means to achieve their ends. Honorably fading without the use of force, the movement diminished into obscurity in the face of the European political upheavals of the mid-century.