Lower Silesia ( German: Niederschlesien , Polish: Dolny Śląsk ) - the province of Prussia as part of Germany. It existed in 1919-1938 and then again in 1941-1945. The capital is the city of Breslau . It was formed by dividing the province of Silesia into two new ones - Lower and Upper Silesia , and included its two western districts. The territory of the province does not fully coincide with the territory of the same historical region. In addition to it, the province included several Upper Luzhniki regions ( Goerlitz , Hoyersverda , etc.), which until 1815 belonged to the kingdom of Saxony .
| Historical province of Prussia | |||||
| Lower Silesia | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| him. Niederschlesien | |||||
| |||||
| A country | Germany | ||||
| Land | Prussia | ||||
| Adm. Centre | Breslau | ||||
| History and Geography | |||||
| Date of formation | November 8, 1919 January 18, 1941 (recreation) | ||||
| Date of Abolition | April 1, 1938 1945 (final) | ||||
| Square | |||||
| Population | |||||
| Population | |||||
 | |||||
| Notes: map within borders of 1925 | |||||
Content
History
Weimar Republic
In 1919, a new province was allocated from the territory of the province of Silesia - Upper Silesia , while the remaining part was renamed Lower Silesia. With this step, an attempt was made to give the Upper Silesian Slavic peoples more autonomy.
The territory of the province of Lower Silesia consisted of two western administrative districts of the former province of Silesia:
- Lignitz administrative district , center - Lignitz
- Breslau Administrative District Center - Breslau
According to the Treaty of Versailles , Germany was forced to transfer to Poland parts of the Lower Silesian regions of Gurau, Milicz, Gross-Wartenberg and Namslau [1] .
Third Reich
After the National Socialists came to power in 1933 and the beginning of the Gleichschaltung policy, the provinces actually lost their importance, and the power of the chief president became increasingly in conflict with the power of the Gauleiter of the party gau . Since 1933, de facto, both the provinces of Lower and Upper Silesia were ruled in one person - Gauleiter Gau Silesia . In 1938, both provinces were officially officially united into a single province of Silesia , but after the occupation of part of Poland and Czechoslovakia in 1939 and the incorporation of large territories into the province of Silesia in January 1941, it was again divided into Lower and Upper Silesia. The Lower Silesia province again consisted of two districts - Lignitz and Breslau.
In 1941, Gau Lower Silesia and Gau Upper Silesia were also created, the Gauleiters of which also assumed the functions of chief presidents of the respective provinces.
Post-war development
After 1945, the province was almost entirely under Polish control. Only a small part remained within Germany and today it is part of the federal states of Saxony ( Goerlitz , Hoyersverda , Rothenburg , Weisswasser , Niski ) and Brandenburg ( Ruland and Ortrand ).
Population
Weimar Republic
Territory and population of the province of Lower Silesia in 1925: [1]
| Administrative District | Area, km² | Population | Number of districts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| rural | urban | |||
| Breslau County | 12.999 | 1.897.172 | 23 | four |
| Lignitz County | 13.617 | 1.235.156 | nineteen | five |
| Provincial total | 26.616 | 3.132.328 | 42 | 9 |
Religious composition in 1925: 67.7% are Protestants; 29.6% are Catholics; 0.2% - other Christian denominations; 1.0% are Jews; 1.6% - other faiths [1] .
As of 1925, about 13.2% of the provincial population lived in cities with a population of more than 100 thousand people. At the same time, about 52.0% of the population lived in settlements with less than 2 thousand inhabitants. The largest cities in the province were (the population was also indicated for 1925): [1]
- Breslau ( Breslau County) - 557.139 people.
- Goerlitz (Lignitz district) - 85.920 people.
- Lignitz ( Lignitz district) - 73.123 people.
- Waldenburg (Breslau district) - 44.111 people.
- Schweidnitz (Breslau district) - 30.758 people.
Third Reich
The area and population of Breslau and Lignitz counties as of May 17, 1939 within the borders of January 1, 1941 and the number of districts as of January 1, 1941 (at that time, both the Upper and Lower Silesia provinces were again united for a short time into a single province of Silesia ): [2]
| Administrative District | Area, km² | Population | Number of districts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| rural | urban | |||
| Breslau County | 12.957.64 | 1.971.829 | 18 | four |
| Lignitz County | 14,023,41 | 1.314.710 | 17 | four |
| Total in districts | 26.981,05 | 3.286.539 | 35 | eight |
Presidential Presidents
The post of chief president was introduced in Prussia according to the decree of April 30, 1815 on improving the provincial government ( German: Verordnung wegen verbesserter Einrichtung der Provinzial-Behörden ).
| Years | Ober President | The consignment |
|---|---|---|
| 1919-1920 | SPD | |
| 1920-1928 | SPD | |
| 1928-1932 | SPD | |
| 1932-1933 | NNNP | |
| 1933-1934 | Helmut Bruckner | NSDAP |
| 1935-1938 | Joseph Wagner | NSDAP |
| 1938-1941 | (the province did not exist) | |
| 1941-1945 | Karl Hanke | NSDAP |
Helmut Bruckner in 1933-1935 and Joseph Wagner in 1935-1938 were also also the Ober Presidents of the Upper Silesia province and the Gauleiter of the party Gau Silesia . Wagner also headed the united province of Silesia in 1938-1941.
See also
- Lower Silesian Upper Puddle (district)
- Upper Spreewald-Lausitz
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Die Provinz Niederschlesien im Überblick (German)
- ↑ Fläche und Bevölkerung der größeren Verwaltungsbezirke (S. 8), Zahl der Gemeinden und Kreise (S. 21), Bevölkerung nach Gemeindegrößenklassen (S. 22) (German) . Statistisches Jahrbuch für das Deutsche Reich 1939/40 (Digitalisat).
Links
- Deutsche Verwaltungsgeschichte: Preußische Provinz Schlesien (German)
- Territoriale Veränderungen in Deutschland: Provinz Niederschlesien (German)
- Provinz Schlesien (Herzogtum Schlesien) (German)