Zaolzie

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Zaolzie
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Territorial changes of Germany

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

Zaolzie was made up of the former districts of Těšín and Fryštát and since the 1960 reform of administrative divisions it has been made up of Karviná District and the eastern part of Frýdek-Místek District. It is de facto eastern part of the western portion of Cieszyn Silesia.

Historically, the largest ethnic group inhabiting this area were the Poles.[1] Under Austrian rule, the Cieszyn area was divided into four districts. One of them, Friedeck, had a mostly Czech population, the other three were mostly inhabited by Poles.[2] During the 19th century the number of Germans grew. After decline at the end of the 19th century,[3] at the beginning of the 20th century and later from 1920 to 1938, the Czech population grew significantly (mainly as a result of immigration and the assimilation of locals) and Poles became a minority, which they are to this day. Another significant ethnic group were the Jews, but almost the entire Jewish population was exterminated during World War II.

Contents

[edit] History

Map of Zaolzie with territorial changes
Map of Zaolzie with territorial changes

Initially a part of Poland, from 1327 the whole area of the Duchy of Cieszyn became an autonomic fiefdom of the Bohemian crown.[4] Upon the death of Elizabeth Lucretia, its last ruler from the Polish Piast dynasty in 1653, it passed to the Habsburgs together with the rest of the Duchy of Cieszyn.[5]

From 1848 to the end of the 19th century, local Polish and Czech people co-operated, united against the Germanization tendencies of the Austrian Empire and later of Austria-Hungary.[6] At the end of the century, ethnic tensions appeared as the area's economic significance grew. This growth caused an immigration wave from Galicia. About 60,000 people arrived between 1880 and 1910.[7][8] The new immigrants were Polish and poor, about half of them being illiterate. They worked in coal mining and metallurgy. For these people the most important factor was material well-being; they cared little about the homeland from which they had fled. Almost all of them assimilated into the Czech population.[9] Many of them settled in Ostrava (west of the ethnic border), as the heavy industry was spread in the whole western part of Cieszyn Silesia. Even today, etnographers traced about 25 thousands Polish surnames in Ostrava (about 8% of the population).[10] Czech population (settled mainly in the northern part of the area, Oderberg, Orlau etc.) numerically declined at the end of the 19th century,[3] assimilating into the prevalent Polish population. This process shifted with the industrial boom in the area.

[edit] Decision time (1918-1920)

For more details on this topic, see Polish-Czechoslovak border conflicts.

Originally, both national councils (the Polish Rada Narodowa Księstwa Cieszyńskiego in its declaration "Ludu śląski!" of 30 October 1918 and the Czech Národní výbor pro Slezsko in its declaration of 1 November 1918) claimed the whole Cieszyn Silesia for themselves.[11]

On 31 October 1918, at the dusk of World War I and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the majority of the area was taken over by local Polish authorities supported by armed forces.[12] The interim agreement of 2 November 1918 reflected the inability of the two national councils to come to final delimitation.[11] On 5 November 1918, the area was divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia by an interim agreement of two local self-government councils (Czech Národní výbor pro Slezsko and Polish Rada Narodowa Księstwa Cieszyńskiego).[13] Before that, 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 this compromise and on 23 January 1919 invaded the area[14][15] while Poland was engaged in its war against the West Ukrainian National Republic.

The reason for the Czech invasion in 1919 was primarily the organisation of elections to the Sejm (parliament) of Poland in the disputed area.[16] The elections were to be held in the whole Cieszyn Silesia. Czechs claimed that the polls must not be held in the disputed area as the delimitation is only interim and no sovereign rule should be executed there by any party. Czech demand was rejected by the Poles and, following the rejection, Czechs decided to solve the issue with force.[11]

Czech units were stopped near Skoczów and a cease-fire was signed on 3 February. The new Czechoslovakia claimed the area partly on historic and ethnic grounds, but especially on economic grounds.[17] The area was important for the Czechs as the crucial railway line connecting Czech Silesia with Slovakia crossed the area (the Košice-Bohumín Railway, which was one of only two railroads that linked the Czech provinces to Slovakia at that time).[17] The area is also very rich in black coal. Many important coal mines, facilities and metallurgy factories are located there. The Polish side based its claim to the area on ethnic criteria: a majority of the area's population was Polish according to the last (1910) Austrian census.[18]

In this very tense climate it was decided that a plebiscite would be held in the area asking people which country this territory should join. Plebiscite commissioners arrived there at the end of January 1920 and after analyzing the situation declared a state of emergency in the territory on 19 May 1920. The situation on the territory remained very tense. Mutual intimidation, acts of terror, beatings and even killings affected the area.[19] A plebiscite could not be held in this atmosphere. On 10 July both sides renounced the idea of plebiscite and entrusted the Conference of Ambassadors with the decision.[20] Eventually 58.1% of the area of Cieszyn Silesia and 67.9% of the population was taken over by Czechoslovakia on 28 July 1920 by a decision of the Spa Conference.[20] This division practically created Zaolzie.

[edit] Richard M. Watt

Historian Richard M. Watt gives an account on the situation in 1918-1919. He writes that "On November 5, 1918, the Poles and the Czechs in the region disarmed the Austrian garrison (...) The Poles took over the areas that appeared to be theirs, just as the Czechs had assumed administration of theirs. Nobody objected to this friendly arrangement (...) Then came second thoughts in Prague. It was observed that under the agreement of November 5, the Poles controlled about a third of the duchy's coal mines. The Czechs realized that they had given away rather a lot (...) It was recognized that any takeover in Teschen would have to be accomplished in a manner acceptable by the victorius Allies (...), so the Czechs cooked up a tale that the Teschen area was becoming Bolshevik (...) The Czechs put together a substantial body of infantry - about 15,000 men - and on January 23, 1919, they invaded the Polish-held areas. To confuse the Poles, the Czechs recruited some Allied officers of Czech background and put these men in their respective wartime uniforms at the head of the invasion forces. After a little skirmishing, the tiny Polish defense force was nearly driven out.[21]

According to Watt, the Allies were not fooled by this, even Lloyd George (who as a rule was not appreciative of the Poles), was in this case on Polish side (on April 16, 1919, Lloyd George complained to the Commons: "How many members have ever heard of Teschen? I do not mind saying that I have not" .[22]). During 1919 the matter of Cieszyn Silesia was studied by the Allies, they wanted to draw a just frontier line. Both Poles and Czechs were invited to Paris to present their views. The Poles based their claims on etnographical reasons and the Czechs had a more difficult task. They stated that they needed the Teschen coal in order to influence the actions of Austria and Hungary, whose capitals were fueled by coal from the duchy. Also, the Czechs held that the large Polish population in Teschen should not influence its partition. They claimed that these Poles were only relatively recent arrivals in a territory that was historically Bohemian.[23]

The Allies finally decided that the Czechs should get 60 percent of the coal fields, and the Poles were to get most of the people and the stategic rail line. Then something unusual happened - Czech envoy Edvard Beneš proposed a plebiscite. The Allies were shocked, arguing that the Czechs were bound to lose it. However, Beneš was insistent and a plebiscite was announced in September 1919. As it turned out, Beneš knew what he was doing. A plebiscite would take some time to set up, and a lot could happen in that time -particularly when a nation's affairs were conducted as cleverly as were Czechoslovakia's.[24]

In July 1920, while the Allies held a meeting in Spa in Belgium, Polish Prime Minister Władysław Grabski came there asking for help in Poland's war with Soviet Russia (see: Polish-Soviet War). It was obvious that a country so desperate as Poland would accept any dictate of the Allies. And this was the moment Beneš had been waiting for.[24]

As Watt writes, "Over the dinner table, Beneš convinced the British and French that the plebiscite should not be held and that the Allies should simply impose their own decision in the Teschen matter. More than that, Beneš persuaded the French and the British to draw a frontier line that gave Czechoslovakia most of the territory of Teschen, the vital railroad and all the important coal fields. With this frontier, 139,000 Poles were to be left in Czech territory, whereas only 2,000 Czechs were left on the Polish side".[24]

"The next morning Beneš visited the Polish delegation at Spa. By giving the impression that the Czechs would accept a settlement favorable to the Poles without a plebiscite, Beneš got the Poles to sign an agreement that Poland would abide by any Allied decision regarding Teschen. The Poles, of course, had no way of knowing that Beneš had already persuaded the Allies to make a decision on Teschen. After a brief interval, to make it appear that due deliberation had taken place, the Allied Council of Ambassadors in Paris imposed its "decision". Only then did it dawn on the Poles that at Spa they had signed a blank check. To them, Beneš' stunning triumph was not diplomacy, it was a swindle (...) As Polish Prime Minister Wincenty Witos warned: "The Polish nation has received a blow which will play an important role in our relations with the Czechoslovak Republic. The decision of the Council of Ambassadors has given the Czechs a piece of Polish land containing a population which is mostly Polish... The decision has caused a rift between these two nations which are ordinarily politically and economically united" (...).[25]

The Cieszyn Silesia affair was indeed a tragedy. It poisoned relations between two nations that had every reason to act in concert. The Poles could never forget how they had been duped. They swore that the day would come when the Czechs would find themselves in the same desperate position as the Poles had been in Spa. Then, there would be a different end to the story of Teschen. And eventually that day did come.[26]

[edit] Victor S. Mamatey

A different account on the situation in 1918-1919 is given by historian Victor S. Mamatey. He writes that "When the French government recognised Czechoslovakia's right to the "boundaries of Bohemia, Moravia, and Austrian Silesia" in its note to Austria of December 19, the Czechoslovak government thought it had French support for its claim to Teschen. However, the French government gave that assurance only against German-Austrian claims, not Polish. It viewed both Czechoslovakia and Poland as potential allies against Germany, but regarded Poland as more important than Czechoslovakia. It refused to back the Czechoslovak claim. ... [After the Czech invasion the Poles] brought the matter before the peace conference that had opened in Paris on January 18. On January 29, the Council of Ten summoned Beneš and the Polish delegate Roman Dmowski to explain the dispute, and on February 1 obliged them to sign an agreement redividing the area pending its final disposition by the peace conference. Czechoslovakia thus failed to gain her objective in Teschen.".[27]

With respect to the arbitration decision itself, Mamatey writes that "On March 25, to expedite the work of the peace conference, the Council of Ten was divided into the Council of Four (The "Big Four") and the Council of Five (the foreign ministers). Early in April the two councils considered and approved the recommendations of the Czechoslovak commission without a change - with the exception of Teschen, which they referred to Poland and Czechoslovakia to settle in bilateral negotiations. When the Polish-Czechoslovak negotiations failed, the Allied powers proposed plebiscites in the Teschen area and also in the border districts of Orava and Spiš in Slovakia to which the Poles had raised claims. In the end, however, no plebiscites were held. Instead, on July 28, 1920 ... the Conference of Ambassadors divided each of the three disputed areas between Poland and Czechoslovakia, leaving them both somewhat unhappy.".[28]

[edit] Part of Czechoslovakia (1920-1938)

The local Polish population felt that Warsaw had betrayed them and they were not satisfied with the division of Cieszyn Silesia. About 12,000 to 14,000 Poles emigrated to Poland by choice or forcibly.[29] It is not quite clear how many Poles were in Zaolzie in Czechoslovakia. Estimates (depending mainly whether the Silesians are included as Poles or not)[29] range from 110,000 to 140,000 people in 1921.[30] The 1921 and 1930 census numbers are not accurate since nationality depended on self-declaration and many Poles filled in Czech nationality mainly as a result of fear of the new authorities and as compensation for some benefits. Czechoslovak law guaranteed rights for national minorities but reality in Zaolzie was quite different.[31] Local Czech authorities made it more difficult for local Poles to obtain citizenship, while the process was expedited when the applicant pledged to declare Czech nationality and send his children to a Czech school.[32] Newly built Czech schools were often better supported and equipped, thus inducing some Poles to send their children there. Czechs schools were built in ethnically almost entirely Polish municipalities.[33] This and other factors contributed to the cultural assimilation of Poles and also to significant emigration to Poland. After few years, the heightened nationalism typical for the years around 1920 receded and local Poles increasingly co-operated with Czechs. Still, Czechization was supported by Prague, which did not follow certain laws related to language, legislative and organizational issues.[31] Polish deputies in Czechoslovak National Assembly frequently tried to put that issues on agenda. One way or the other, increasingly local Poles thus assimilated into the Czech population.

[edit] Part of Poland (1938-1939)

A military band walks under a sign made by the Polish people of Karwina during the 1938 annexation of Zaolzie by Poland. The sign reads, "We've been waiting for you for 600 years".
A military band walks under a sign made by the Polish people of Karwina during the 1938 annexation of Zaolzie by Poland. The sign reads, "We've been waiting for you for 600 years".
Polish people from Czeski Cieszyn welcome Polish troops during the 1938 annexation of Zaolzie by Poland.
Polish people from Czeski Cieszyn welcome Polish troops during the 1938 annexation of Zaolzie by Poland.

On 1 October 1938 the area was annexed by Poland following the Munich Conference.[34] The Polish Army, commanded by General Władysław Bortnowski, annexed an area of 801.5 km² with a population of 227,399 people. Within the region originally demanded by Nazi Germany was the important railway junction city of Bohumin. The Poles regarded the city as of crucial importance to the area. Polish leader, Colonel Józef Beck believed that he must act rapidly to forestall the German occupation of the city. At noon on September 30, Poland gave an ultimatum to the Czech government. It demanded the immediate evacuation of Czech troops and police and gave Prague time until noon the following day. At 11:45 A.M. on October 1 the Czech foreign ministry called the Polish ambassador in Prague and told him that Poland could have what it wanted. The Germans were delighted with this outcome. They were happy to give up a provincial rail center to Poland, it was a small sacrifice indeed. It spread the blame and confused the issue, Poland was accused of being an accomplice of Germany - a charge that Warsaw was hard put to deny.[35]

The Polish side argued that Poles in Zaolzie deserved the same rights as Germans in the Munich Agreement. The vast majority of the local Polish population enthusiastically welcomed the change, seeing it as a liberation and a form of historical justice.[36] But they quickly changed their mood. The new Polish authorities appointed people from Poland to various key positions from which Czechs were fired.[37] The Polish language became the sole official language.[citation needed] Using Czech (or German) by Czechs (or Germans) in public was prohibited and Czechs and Germans were being forced to leave the annexed area.[37] Rapid Polonization followed. Czech organizations were dismantled and their activity was prohibited.[37] Czech education ceased to exist.[38] About 35,000 Czechs emigrated to Czechoslovakia by choice or forcibly.[39] The behaviour of the new Polish authorities was different but similar in nature to that of the Czech ones before 1938. Two political factions appeared: socialists (the opposition) and rightists (loyal to the new authorities). Leftist politicians and sympathizers were discriminated against and often fired from work.[40] The Polish political system was artificially implemented in Zaolzie. Local Polish people continued to feel like second-class citizens and a majority of them were dissatisfied with the situation after October 1938.[41] Zaolzie remained a part of Poland for only 11 months.

Richard M. Watt describes Polish capture of Teschen in these words: "Amid the general euphoria in Poland - the acquisition of Teschen was a very popular development - no one paid attention to the bitter comment of the Czech general who handed the region over to the incoming Poles. He predicted that it would not be long before the Poles would themselves be handing Teschen over to the Germans".[42]

Watt also writes that "The Polish 1938 ultimatum to Czechoslovakia and its acquisition of Teschen were gross tactical errors. Whatever justice there might have been to the Polish claim upon Teschen, its seizure in 1938 was an enormous mistake in terms of the damage done to Poland's reputation among the democratic powers of the world".[43]

[edit] World War II

On 1 September 1939 Zaolzie was annexed by Germany after it invaded Poland. During World War II Zaolzie was a part of Nazi Germany. During the war, strong Germanization was introduced by the authorities. The Jews were in the worst position, followed by the Poles.[44] Poles received lower food rations, they were supposed to pay extra taxes, they were not allowed to enter theatres, cinemas, etc.[44] Polish and Czech education ceased to exist, Polish organizations were dismantled and their activity was prohibited. The German authorities introduced terror into Zaolzie. The Nazis especially targeted the Polish intelligentsia, many of whom died during the war. Mass killings, executions, arrests, taking locals to forced labour and deportations to concentration camps all happened on a daily basis.[44] The most notorious war crime was a murder of 36 villagers in and around Żywocice on 6 August 1944.[45] This massacre is known as Tragedia Żywocicka (the Żywocice tragedy). The resistance movement, mostly comprised of Poles, was fairly strong in Zaolzie. Volkslists - a document in which a non-German citizen declared that he had some German ancestry by signing it; refusal to sign this document could lead to deportation to a concentration camp - were introduced. Local people who took them were later on enrolled in the Wehrmacht. Many local people with no German ancestry were also forced to take them. The World War II death toll in Zaolzie is estimated at about 6,000 people: about 2,500 Jews, 2,000 other citizens (80% of them being Poles)[46] and more than 1,000 locals who died in the Wehrmacht (those who took the Volksliste).[46] Also a few hundred Poles from Zaolzie were murdered by Russians in the Katyń massacre.[47] Percentage-wise, Zaolzie suffered the worst human loss from the whole of Czechoslovakia–about 2.6% of the total population.[46]

[edit] Since 1945

Immediately after World War II, Zaolzie was returned to Czechoslovakia within its 1920 borders, although local Poles hoped it would again be given to Poland.[48] The local Polish population again suffered discrimination, as many Czechs blamed them for the discrimination by the Polish authorities in 1938-1939.[49] Polish organizations were banned, and Czech authorities conducted many arrests and firings from work.[50] Situation had somehow improved when the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia took the power in February 1948. Polish properties stolen by the Germans during the war were never returned. Poland signed a treaty with Czechoslovakia in Warsaw on 13 June 1958 confirming the border as it existed on 1 January 1938. After the Communist takeover of power, industrial boom continued and many immigrants arrived to the area (mostly from the other parts of Czechoslovakia, mainly from Slovakia). Arrival of Slovaks significantly changed ethnical structure of the area when almost all Slovak immigrants assimilated into the Czech majority in the course of time.[51] Number of self-declared Slovaks is rapidly declining. Last Slovak elementary school was closed in Karviná several years ago.[52] Zaolzie continued to be part of Czechoslovakia until the latter's dissolution in 1993, and since then has been part of the Czech Republic.

Significant Polish minority in Zaolzie still persist to date.

[edit] Census data

Ethnic structure of Zaolzie based on census results:

Year Total Poles Czechs Germans Slovaks
1880[3] 94,370 71,239 16,425 6,672 -
1890[3] 107,675 86,674 13,580 7,388 -
1900[3] 143,220 115,392 14,093 13,476 -
1910[3] 179,145 123,923 32,821 22,312 -
1921[53] 177,176 68,034 88,556 18,260 -
1930[54] 216,255 76,230 120,639 17,182 -
1939[55] 213,867 51,499 44,579 38,408 -
1950[56] 219,811 59,005 155,146 - 4,388
1961[56] 281,183 58,876 205,785 - 13,233
1970[57] 350,825 56,075 263,047 - 26,806
1980[56] 366,559 51,586 281,584 - 28,719
1991[56] 368,355 43,479 263,941 706 26,629

Sources: Zahradnik 1992, 178-179. Siwek 1996, 31-38.

[edit] See also

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 16-17.
  2. ^ Watt 1998, 161.
  3. ^ a b c d e f The 1880, 1890, 1900 and 1910 Austrian censuses asked people about the language they use. (Siwek 1996, 31.)
  4. ^ Panic 2002, 7.
  5. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 13.
  6. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 40.
  7. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 48.
  8. ^ Baron, Roman. "Czesi i Polacy - zaczarowany krąg stereotypów". Zwrot 8 (2007): 32-34. 
  9. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 51.
  10. ^ Siwek, Tadeusz (not dated). Statystyczni i niestatystyczni Polacy w Republice Czeskiej. Wspólnota Polska.
  11. ^ a b c Gawrecká 2004, 21.
  12. ^ Kovtun 2005, 51.
  13. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 52.
  14. ^ Długajczyk 1993, 7.
  15. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 59.
  16. ^ Gawrecká, 23, in particular the quotation of Dąbrowski: "Czesi uderzyli na nas kilka dni przed 26 stycznia 1919, w którym to dniu miały się odbyć wybory do Sejmu w Warszawie. Nie chcieli bowiem między innemi dopuścić do przeprowadzenia tych wyborów, któreby były wykazały bez wszelkiej presyi i agitacyi, że Śląsk jest polskim.".
  17. ^ a b Mamatey 1973, 34.
  18. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 178-179.
  19. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 62-63.
  20. ^ a b Zahradnik 1992, 64.
  21. ^ Watt 1998, 161-162.
  22. ^ Watt 1998, 160.
  23. ^ Watt 1998, 162-163.
  24. ^ a b c Watt 1998, 163.
  25. ^ Watt 1998, 164.
  26. ^ Watt 1998, 163-164.
  27. ^ Mamatey 1973, 34.
  28. ^ Mamatey 1973, 36.
  29. ^ a b Gabal 1999, 120.
  30. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 72.
  31. ^ a b Zahradnik 1992, 76-79.
  32. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 76.
  33. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 75-76.
  34. ^ Nowa Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN 1997, vol. VI, 981.
  35. ^ Watt 1998, 386.
  36. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 86.
  37. ^ a b c Gabal 1999, 123.
  38. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 87.
  39. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 89-90.
  40. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 88-89.
  41. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 96.
  42. ^ Watt 1998, 386.
  43. ^ Watt 1998, 458.
  44. ^ a b c Zahradnik 1992, 99.
  45. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 102-103.
  46. ^ a b c Zahradnik 1992, 103.
  47. ^ Borák, Mečislav and Petra Všelichová. (2007). Zločin jménem Katyň [documentary]. Czech Republic: Česká televize.
  48. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 116.
  49. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 111.
  50. ^ Zahradnik 1992, 116-120.
  51. ^ Hannan 1996, 163-164.
  52. ^ Photo of the school
  53. ^ The 1921 Czechoslovak census asked people about their native language. (Siwek 1996, 32.)
  54. ^ People could declare a nationality other than that indicated by their native language. (Siwek 1996, 32.)
  55. ^ The German occupational census based nationality on self-declaration of citizens. The census was distorted by the occupational regime. (Siwek 1996, 32.)
  56. ^ a b c d The 1950, 1961, 1980 and 1991 Czechoslovak censuses based nationality on self-declaration of citizens. (Siwek 1996, 37-38.)
  57. ^ The 1970 Czechoslovak census asked people about their native language. (Siwek 1996, 37.)

[edit] References

  • Długajczyk, Edward (1993). Tajny front na granicy cieszyńskiej. Wywiad i dywersja w latach 1919-1939. Katowice: Śląsk. ISBN 83-85831-03-7. 
  • Hannan, Kevin (1996). Borders of Language and Identity in Teschen Silesia. New York: Peter Lang. ISBN 0-8204-3365-9. 
  • Gabal, Ivan; and collective (1999). Etnické menšiny ve Střední Evropě. Praha: G plus G; supported by the Nadace rozvoje občanské společnosti of the European Commission. ISBN 80-86-103-23-4. 
  • Gawrecká, Marie (2004). Československé Slezsko mezi světovými válkami 1918-1938. Opava: Silesian University in Ostrava. ISBN 80-7248-233-5. 
  • Kovtun, Jiří (2005). Republika v nebezpečném světě; Éra prezidenta Masaryka 1918-1933. Praha: Torst; published in co-operation with Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. ISBN 80-7215-254-8. 
  • Zahradnik, Stanisław; and Marek Ryczkowski (1992). Korzenie Zaolzia. Warszawa - Praga - Trzyniec: PAI-press. 

[edit] Further reading

  • Badziak, Kazimierz; Giennadij Matwiejew and Paweł Samuś (1997). "Powstanie" na Zaolziu w 1938 r.: Polska akcja specjalna w świetle dokumentów Oddziału II Sztabu Głównego WP. Warszawa: ADIUTOR. ISBN 83-86100-21-4. 

[edit] External links