The Silesian Autonomy Movement (, , ), abbreviated as RAŚ, is a movement that seeks the creation of an autonomous Silesia including a separate Silesian Treasury, a Silesian Parliament, as well as a Silesian constitution and an elected president. The party envisions an autonomous Silesia either within Poland, or as part of the Europe of 100 Flags, where the competences and sovereignty of modern states will be transferred to the regions.
In 2002, RAŚ became a member of the European Free Alliance. In 2007, RAŚ activists reestablished football club 1. FC Katowice. Also, since 2007 RAŚ has organized annual "Autonomy Marches" in Poland.
Nationally, the party is considered left-wing, The two parties continued to cooperate afterwards, and the secretary of RAŚ, Jacek Tomaszewski, is also a member of the Civic Coalition.
History
Silesia had been well known for its regional sense of identity and both separatist as well as autonomists ambitions. In 1869, Polish linguist Lucjan Malinowski wrote: "Silesian people shun from the Polish population". In Silesia at the end of the 19th century, the term Pole was offensive, and associated with groups of 'vagabonds' to the inhabitants of towns. Stereotypically, Poles were associated with migrant workers from Galicia, employed for manual labour in Silesian mines and factories - they had a bad reputation and were associated with brawls, drunkenness and theft, which alienated the local Silesian population. Silesians believed that they were a nation on their own and distanced themselves from Poland, often arguing that Silesian people have more in common with Germany than Poland. Szerzej Dobrowolski observed: "Our people are more similar to the German people with whom they neighbour to the west than to the Polish people in Galicia [...]. This mixed Silesian nationality is the necessary result of the historical development which our people have undergone; centuries ago they were separated from Poland, came under much better German rule, and, preserving their original language, acquired through contact with high German civilisation those qualities which make them superior to the people still under Polish rule".
In the Polish literature on the subject, such an attitude of the Silesian people was explained by "a lack of normal bonds with the Polish nation", which resulted, according to some authors, in "a stronger attachment to the region, regional pride". Despite the intensive activities of the Polish national movement at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries in Silesia, and Polonisation in the interwar period, there was still a large group of Silesians who thought of themselves as a separate nation. Wojciech Korfanty believed that this was over 30% of the population of the Silesian Voivodeship. While Silesians did not manage to create a state, they formed a clearly defined cultural and linguistic community.
One of the first political organisations of separatist Silesians was the social-democratic Silesian People's Party (SPL), founded in 1909 by Józef Kożdoń, whose political goal was to promote regional culture and defend against Polish nationalism. After the First World War, states began to make claims to Silesian lands on the international arena. Silesian politicians did not look passively at the development of events, and in 1919, on the initiative of Edward Latacz and brothers Tomasz and Jan Regink, the Union of Upper Silesians was established in Bytom, which postulated the creation of an independent state in Upper Silesia with two official languages, Polish and German. After establishing contacts with Kożdoń's supporters, they wanted to include the lands of Cieszyn Silesia, Opava Silesia and the Sudetenland. The new state was to have a system similar to Switzerland. The project of the Silesian separatists was supported by industrialists and landowners including the Prince von Pless Alexander Hochberg, whose intention was to create a free Silesian state (Freistaat Schlesien). Independence and territorial integrity were to be guaranteed by the world powers, in particular the United States.
After a part of Upper Silesia was annexed to Poland, separatist activity waned. The newly created Silesian Voivodeship became an arena of struggle between German and Polish influences, with no room for a third force. Silesians were forced to take one side or the other, because, as the then Silesian Voivode Michał Grażyński stated: "we Poles like clear-cut situations and value defined characters. That is why we respect honest Czechs and Germans, but we cannot tolerate any intermediate types". However, the policy of Polonisation was not appreciated by some Upper Silesians, which was reflected in the results of the municipal elections of 19 November 1926, also known as the second Silesian plebiscite. At that time, the majority of seats were won by German groupings, e.g. in Katowice - 56.7%, in Świętochłowice - 54.3%, and in Królewska Huta (Chorzów) - as much as 70.3%. Upper Silesians voted for German minority groupings (the German minority accounted for approximately 7% of the population of the Silesian Voivodeship).
The Silesian Autonomy Movement, as an organisation claiming to represent the interests of the region and the ethnic group, initially demanded in its political programme that the organic statute of the Silesian Voivodeship from 1920 be restored. The statute was abolished in 1945 by a decision of the National National Council. The party argued that this was done in violation of the provisions of the March Constitution in force at the time. The activists of the Silesian Autonomy Movement demanded in 1995, in an open letter to the president of the Republic of Poland Lech Wałęsa, that the decision of the KRN abolishing the organic statute of the Silesian Voivodeship be annulled. Referring to the law of 15 July 1920, RAŚ wanted to establish the Silesian Treasury, which was to be funded from local taxes. Most of the tax revenue from the Silesian Voivodeship (up to 60%) was to remain in the region. Another initiative was the idea of reactivating the Silesian Sejm as a regional legislature and a popularly elected provincial governor - the regional executive. All but the last of these postulates was in fact a demand for a return to the 1920 legal status. A new idea was the direct election of a voivode, who in the pre-war Silesian Voivodeship was appointed by the president of the Republic of Poland upon the proposal of the Prime Minister.
In the elections to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland and to the Senate of the Republic of Poland held on 25 September 2005, the Silesian Autonomy Movement placed its candidates on the lists of the agrarian Polish People's Party (PSL). This took place, among others, in the constituency comprising the districts of Mikołów, Racibórz, Rybnik and Wodzisław. As a result of an agreement concluded by the autonomists with the PSL as well as the Trade Union of Volunteer Fire Brigades, three candidates of the Silesian Autonomy Movement were on the lists for the Senate, and two for the Sejm. In the Opole Voivodeship, autonomy supporters ran from the lists of the German minority. The strategy of the autonomists did not bring the expected results, as none of the candidates was elected. Polish political scientist Grzegorz Węgrzyn noted that polls conducted by the media in the 1990s showed a somewhat similar proportion of support, with support for autonomy reaching 70% of those surveyed. He also stated that "just as the census made many inhabitants of Upper Silesia aware of the possibility of an option other than Polish or German, the activities of the RAŚ introduced the issue of autonomy into the social discourse, both regionally and nationally."
Polish parliamentary elections
The movement participated in the 1991 parliamentary elections and received 40,061 votes (0.36%) and two seats, one of its MPs was Kazimierz Świtoń.
In the 2001 parliamentary elections, two candidates of the movement were included on the lists of the Civic Platform (PO).
In the elections of 2005, several candidates from the movement, including its vice president Krzysztof Kluczniok, took part in the list of the Polish People's Party (PSL).
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |Election year
! colspan="2" |Seats won
! rowspan="2" |+/–
|-
!Sejm
!Senate
|-
!1991
|
|—
| 2
|-
!1993
|
| rowspan="6" |
| 2
|-
!1997
| rowspan="5" |—
|
|-
!2001
|
|-
!2005
|
|-
!2007
|
|-
!2011
|
|-
!2015
|
|—
|
|}
Ideology
thumb|Pin of the party.
The main representative of the party and its ideology is Jerzy Gorzelik, known for his controversial statements regarding the historical relations between Silesia and Poland. One of his most known statements include "To give Poland Silesia is like giving a monkey a watch, and after eighty years one can see that the monkey broke the watch." (paraphrase of a statement by David Lloyd George from Paris Peace Conference) and "I am a Silesian, not a Pole, and I have not pledged to Poland, so I have not betrayed her and I do not feel obliged to be loyal to this country."
According to party's programme, autonomy should not be the exclusive prerogative of Upper Silesia, but a right of all regions, distributed according to the principles of a regional state, citing the territorial system of Spain and its tradition of localism known as Fuero as a model to follow.
Foreign policy
The party has an ambiguous stance on the European Union. On one hand, it is considered pro-European with German political scientist Reinhard C. Heinisch writing: "RAŚ and ŚPR have adopted a more pro-European and cosmopolitan approach, although this does not involve abandoning their promotion of the traditional values of the region." However, the party also criticized support for the European Union - in its newspaper Jaskółka Śląska, RAŚ stated: "Among Upper Silesian autonomists, this sympathy is often reinforced by the conviction that the EU is exceptionally pro-regional, contrasted in this narrative with the more supposedly centralist nation-states. Reality, however, prompts a revision of this view." The party argues that the European Union has failed to put any pressure on its nation states to share power more equally with the regions and respect the aspirations of regional cultures, and instead autonomous regions only exists because of some member states having and retaining their tradition of pluralism and power dispersion. RAŚ believes that the European Union has amassed too much power and control over the member states' sovereignty, which runs contrary to the demands of Silesian regionalism:
In its publications, RAŚ compares Silesia to Bavaria, especially in terms of unique cultures and national separation, as well as in that the party believes that Silesia should have autonomy comparable to that of Bavaria. It cites the old programs of Polish parties, such as that of the Civic Platform, which in its 2011 program included a proposal to significantly decentralise the disposal of public funds to local governments, as well as one to cede various powers of the central government to local ones. The Silesian Autonomy Movement argues that just like Bavaria, Silesia should have a separate and unique political partisan system, have its own, separate constitution that would be approved by Silesians in a referendum, have freedom to determine its own judicial and devolution systems, as well as have rights to influence the constitution and Sejm of Poland itself.
Some of the party's statements on international matters sparked controversy. The Silesian Autonomy Movement supported Russia in the Russo-Georgian War and appealed to Polish government to recognize independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. RAŚ also supported the 2017 Catalan independence referendum, endorsed the Catalan declaration of independence, and supports the broader Catalan independence movement.
Ideological spectrum
The party is placed on the left side of the Polish political spectrum - Katarzyna Stelmach wrote that "in its election appeal, the party used 'equality' arguments that brought it close to the rhetoric presented by SLD Left Together." In 2012, liberal conservative newspaper Rzeczpospolita argued that RAŚ incorporates far-left elements into its rhetoric, such as the vehement opposition to Polish nationalism. The party was also compared to left-wing nationalist movements in Catalonia in terms of both program and rhetoric. Silesian Autonomy Movement did declare its support for nationalist Catalan movements, and also supports Catalan separatism. In Polish politics, RAŚ consistently aligns with the Civic Coalition and formed coalition government in Upper Silesia with the Civic Platform in 2010 and then again in 2015. Both parties took their cooperation further in 2019 by forming joint electoral lists for the 2019 Polish parliamentary election.
Political commentators also highlighted the rhetoric used by the party, such as its pledge to end the "colonial treatment of Silesia" by Warsaw. Polish political scientist Magdalena Solska argued that the Silesian Autonomy Movement is a left-wing populist party, being an example of a "left-wing, progressive regionalist populism" as contrasted with the "right-wing national conservative" populism of Law and Justice, a party that ruled Poland between 2015 and 2023. She also noted that together with other left-wing parties such as the Polish Initiative and Polish Greens, the party included plans to phase out coal in its election program, despite the economic reliance of Silesia on this resource. In addition, the Silesian Autonomy Movement campaigned against unjust wealth redistribution in the socioeconomic sense, while also postulating regional redistribution. For the latter, the party used the slogan "Silesian Money for Silesian People”, inspired directly by the slogan “It’s Scotland’s Oil!” used by left-leaning Scottish National Party. The party also called for clean coal technology, soil detoxification and renewable energy.
The party itself also noted sharing many similarities with the proposals of left-wing parties, with RAŚ highlighting, amongst others, its fierce opposition to conscription and draft, instead arguing for a strictly voluntary army. The party also stated that after the downfall of the socialist system in Poland, Silesia and Poland at large found itself in slow decline, characterized by "emigration, environmental degradation, the selling off of assets and the death of hundreds of industrial plants industries". The party believes that the "central management" of Poland had been a "spectacular failure", and that "all attempts to rebuild a regional identity are sought to disgust the people of Silesia, because a mob without its own convictions is easier to steer to keep the tax stream flowing in the right direction." RAŚ is also critical of what it described as attempts to deflect the culpability of Silesian oppression from Poland to communism. According to RAŚ, it was Polish nationalism rather than communism that fuelled the anti-Silesian policies, arguing that Polish communism was mixed with nationalism in varying proportions, and because of that pursued a nationally homogenous state, which the capitalist Poland continues to pursue. The party also noted that communism recognizes the existence of nations and their relevance to class conflicts, and that in itself communism is not cosmopolitan either.
Religion
The Silesian Autonomy Movement is supportive of the Roman Catholic Church, and the party was founded by 15 Silesian priests and Catholic activists in January 1990.
International contacts
Since its inception, the Silesian Autonomy Movement has established cooperation with other European regionalists. Already in the 1990s, the Silesian Autonomy Movement cooperated with regional movements from the Czech Republic (Movement for Self-Governing Democracy - Association for Moravia and Silesia HSD-SMS) and Italy (Piedmont League and Lombard League). RAŚ is also a co-founder of the European Free Alliance (2004), co-author of the group's political programme - the Barcelona Declaration. Within this organisation, Silesian autonomists cooperate with regionalists from EU countries, mainly Scotland, Wales, Friesland, South Tyrol and Spain (Basques, Catalans). In 2008, the vice-president of Bilbao, Ibon Areso Mendiguren, a member of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), came to Katowice at the invitation of the RAŚ. During the visit, the future of Katowice was discussed, and comparisons were made between the path that the two industrial cities have travelled and the impact that the acquisition of political and fiscal autonomy has had on the development of Bilbao. A group of RAŚ youth activists visited the Basque Country in 2010, where they represented Silesia at a convention of youth organisations on the 'Right to self-determination of communities in contemporary Europe'. The event was organised by Euzko Gaztedi, the youth branch of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV). Where the Silesian Autonomy Movement does not have legal representation, its members set up organisations and websites dedicated to the idea of autonomy in Upper Silesia: Initiative für Autonomie Schlesiens e.V. (Germany), Silesian Autonomy Movement UK (UK) and Bevegelsen for Autonomia Silesia (Norway). RAŚ in comparison with the other parties did not have a developed election campaign, moreover, RAŚ is not a political party but a social organization.
Silesian Regional Assembly
{| class="wikitable"
! width=5 |
! Political groups
! Mandates
|-
| style="background:"|
| Platforma Obywatelska
| align="center" | 22
|-
| style="background:"|
| Prawo i Sprawiedliwość
| align="center" | 11
|-
| style="background:"|
| Sojusz Lewicy Demokratycznej
| align="center" | 10
|-
| style="background:"|
| Ruch Autonomii Śląska
| align="center" | 3
|-
| style="background:"|
| Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe
| align="center" | 2
|- bgcolor="#ececec"
!
! | Total
! align="center" | 48
|}
Polish local elections, 2014
Silesian Regional Assembly
{| class="wikitable"
! width=5 |
! Political groups
! Mandates
|-
| style="background:"|
| Platforma Obywatelska
| align="center" | 17
|-
| style="background:"|
| Prawo i Sprawiedliwość
| align="center" | 16
|-
| style="background:"|
| Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe
| align="center" | 5
|-
| style="background:"|
| Ruch Autonomii Śląska
| align="center" | 4
|-
| style="background:"|
| SLD Lewica Razem
| align="center" | 3
|-
|- bgcolor="#ececec"
!
! | Total
! align="center" | 45
|}
Polish local elections, 2018
The 2018 local elections were considered an electoral defeat for the party, as the party finished 8th and captured 3.10% of the popular vote in the Silesian voivodeship, which was not enough to win any seat. That election, the Silesian Autonomy Movement ran on the behalf of the Silesian Regional Party; after the election, the leadership of the Silesian Autonomy Movement acknowledged that it was a mistake, as while the move was an attempt to unite the Silesian regionalists, it ended up confusing voters. Political commentators also noted the presence of the Silesians Together party, which ran separately and won 3.23% of the popular vote.
Silesian Regional Assembly
{| class="wikitable"
! width=5 |
! Political groups
! Mandates
|-
| style="background:"|
| Prawo i Sprawiedliwość
| align="center" | 22
|-
| style="background:"|
| Platforma Obywatelska
| align="center" | 20
|-
| style="background:"|
| SLD Lewica Razem
| align="center" | 2
|-
| style="background:"|
| Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe
| align="center" | 1
|-
|- bgcolor="#ececec"
!
! | Total
! align="center" | 45
|}
Polish local elections, 2024
In the 2024 elections, the party tried to enter the Silesian Regional Assembly and thus gain at least one seat. The Silesian Autonomy Movement did not run on the list of the Silesian Regional Party and instead registered its own electoral committee and electoral lists. However, the party failed to gain any seats, winning 3.21% of the popular vote, which was only slightly more than its 2018 result. The Silesian Autonomy Movement was also unable to reach angreement with Silesians Together, who again ran independently and won 2.34% of the popular vote. The media attributed the electoral failure of Silesian regionalists to the fact that most Polish mainstream parties pledged to recognize the Silesian language as an official regional language in Poland, which undermined the appeal of the Silesian Autonomy Movement.
Silesian Regional Assembly
{| class="wikitable"
! width=5 |
! Political groups
! Mandates
|-
| style="background:"|
| Koalicja Obywatelska
| align="center" | 20
|-
| style="background:"|
| Prawo i Sprawiedliwość
| align="center" | 18
|-
| style="background:"|
| Trzecia Droga
| align="center" | 5
|-
| style="background:"|
| Nowa Lewica
| align="center" | 2
|-
|- bgcolor="#ececec"
!
! | Total
! align="center" | 45
|}
thumb|Autonomy March in 2012
Controversies
- In 2000 the Polish Office For State Protection warned in its report that RAŚ may be a potential threat to Poland's interests.
- In 2007, reestablishment of the 1. FC Kattowitz soccer club by the RAŚ activists caused controversy. 1. FC Kattowitz was a soccer club established in 1905 by Germans, the club played in the German football league. Following the Silesian Uprisings in 1921 and a subsequent League of Nations plebiscite, part of the region – including Kattowitz – was granted to Poland and the name of the city was changed to Katowice. With the transfer of the city of Katowice to Poland, the name of the club was Polonized in 1922 to 1. Klub Sportowy Katowice. That same year, the membership of the club successfully challenged the change in court and won the right to play as 1. FC Kattowitz. By 1924, the team was part of regional Polish competition and playing as 1. FC Katowice. Katowice faltered in 1929 and was relegated from first division Polish football, descending to play in the regional Silesian league where they became champions in 1932.
:In June 1939, the club's activities were suspended by Polish authorities when they were accused of promoting and supporting the interests of Nazi Germany (through the 1930s, club was overtaken by the radical pro-Nazi nationalists from the Jungdeutsche Partei). After the German invasion of Poland which began World War II in September 1939, the team resumed play with German authorities looking to hold up 1. FC Kattowitz as a model side in Upper Silesia for propaganda purposes.
- In 2010, controversy sparked over the controversial photo on the official RAŚ site. The photo itself showed a young man who held a trophy in his hand and diploma in the other while behind him was a commemorative plaque with words in German "Zum gedenken den gefallenen" (In memory of the fallen), above the plaque was the Iron Cross with dates 1939-1945. On the sides of the commemorative plaque were Silesian and modern Germany flags. When the scandal broke, the Silesian Autonomy Movement has been accused by some of being a "Volksdeutsche organization which real goal is to break the Silesia region from Poland and return it to Germany" and also a "German fifth column in Poland". The photo vanished from the RAŚ site as soon as it was acknowledged in the media. Ryszard Czarnecki, a Polish politician who is a Member of the European Parliament for the Lower Silesian and Opole constituency from Law and Justice, stated on his official Europarliament site that: "On the one hand it proves how contumely and effrontery are Silesian separatists, on the other Polish media can play a positive role only if they want to oppose such iniquity, such defamation of the fallen Poles [who died] from the German hands during the II World War. One must want and can place a dam on this pro-German effrontery."
:Meanwhile, writing in a party document entitled "The State of the Nation", the Law and Justice (PiS) leader, Jarosław Kaczyński, said “Being a Silesian is a simple way to cut ties [with a Polish identity], and indeed could be a way to camouflage a German identity”. At a later press conference, the former Prime Minister said that anybody who declared their Silesian nationality was in some way “declaring their Germaness”.
- Jerzy Gorzelik, the current leader and representative of the Silesian Autonomy Movement, has claimed numerous times that he is not Polish by nationality but rather "Upper Silesian". He once stated: I'm Silesian, not Polish. My fatherland is Upper Silesia. I did not pledge anything to Poland nor I promised anything to it so it means that I did not betray it. The state called the Republic of Poland, of which I'm a citizen, refused to give me and my friends a right to self-determination and so that's why I do not feel obligated to loyalty towards this country.
:In 2010, Gorzelik was elected to the Sejmik of Silesian Voivodeship. Upon taking a councillor's seat in the Sejmik, he swore an oath (as is mandatory for every councilor of each Voivodeship Sejmik), and thus automatically pledged loyalty to the Republic of Poland (before Gorzelik was elected, oaths were always sworn collectively in the Sejmik of the Silesian Voivodeship). The oath reads as follows:
:I do solemnly swear to honestly and diligently carry out my duties to the Polish nation, to protect the sovereignty and the interests of the Polish State, to do everything for the prosperity of the Fatherland, for the community of the autonomous government of the Voivodeship and for the good of its citizens, and to abide by the Constitution and other laws of the Republic of Poland.
- Fear of separatism, instead of officially declared autonomy, was flamed up by some publications in "Jaskółka Śląska" - RAŚ's official magazine. Articles were published that openly called for a sovereign, independent Silesian state.
Leadership
thumb|dr Jerzy Gorzelik
- Paweł Musioł (1991–1995)
- Zenon Wieczorek (1995–1999)
- Krzysztof Kluczniok (1999–2003)
- Jerzy Gorzelik (since 2003)
See also
- Union of Upper Silesians
- Silesian People's Party
- Silesian Regional Party
- German Minority (political party)
- Silesians Together
References
External links
- Konrad Pędziwiatr, “Silesian autonomist movement in Poland and one of its activists”, Tischner European University, 2009
- Helen Pidd, Upper Silesia flags up its call for autonomy, The Guardian Friday 8 April 2011