Polish Army enters Katowice

On Tuesday 20 June 1922, at about 8.15 a.m., the head of a Polish army column appeared on the frontier bridge over the Brynica at Szopienice (PL). It was led by General Stanisław Szeptycki, army inspector in Kraków. The river marked the old Russian–Prussian border, and on the Silesian side crowds were waiting, together with the authorities of the new province and Wojciech Korfanty. About an hour later the soldiers were parading in the market square of Katowice (PL). Eight months after the decision of the Conference of Ambassadors, Poland began to take over its share of Upper Silesia.

The transfer of power

The takeover had been prepared by Polish–German talks in Opole, held under the supervision of the Inter-Allied Governing and Plebiscite Commission (PL), and by the convention on Upper Silesia (PL) signed in Geneva on 15 May. On 15 June the Commission notified the governments of Poland and Germany that they were to take over the territories awarded to them within a month. This was done in stages: Allied troops and officials withdrew zone by zone, and in their place came the administration, police and army of one state or the other. The Katowice district came first.

In Katowice, designated capital of the autonomous Silesian Voivodeship (PL), the plebiscite police was disbanded on 17 June and its place was taken by the State Police arriving from Poland. On 19 June the French troops stationed in the town held a last parade in the market square and marched out, and the Polish district head Jan Mildner signed the act taking over the district from the French controller. Until the morning the border posts were guarded, instead of by the French, by Silesian insurgents decked out in the national colours.

On the bridge at Szopienice

From early morning people gathered at the bridge. They included the first Voivode of Silesia, Józef Rymer, the deputy foreign minister Zygmunt Seyda (PL), the Polish consul in Opole Daniel Kęszycki (PL), and Korfanty. Szeptycki had under his command, among others, the 23rd Infantry Division (PL) of General Kazimierz Horoszkiewicz (PL) and the 8th Uhlan Regiment (PL) from Kraków. The way to the welcome gate was barred by a chain painted in the Prussian colours, black and white. Speeches were made by Rymer, by Monsignor Jan Kapica (PL) on behalf of the clergy, and by the general himself; “Rota” was sung, and then a disabled veteran of the uprising named Chowaniec (sources give his first name differently) stepped out of the crowd and broke the chain with a single blow of a hammer. According to dzieje.pl he said as he did so: “Burst, fetters of bondage, Upper Silesia is free, Polish army, march in and unite it with Poland.”

The market square in Katowice

The column, headed by an honour company of former insurgents, marched to Katowice through Szopienice and Zawodzie for about an hour, passing under some thirty triumphal arches. In the market square the general was welcomed by the mayor, Alfons Górnik (PL): “Brave Polish soldiers! Show that the disciplined Polish Army is a protective wall for citizens who love work, for loyal and peaceful citizens.” The chairman of the town council, Max Reichel, spoke in German, because Katowice had voted for Germany in the plebiscite, and Szeptycki answered him in German, promising peace and security to the local Germans too. Mass was celebrated on the steps of the theatre, which according to the inscription on its facade was meant to serve “the German word and German custom”. Then Korfanty spoke, and insurgents from Walenty Fojkis (PL)’s group presented the general with a commemorative sword 180 centimetres long. At 5 p.m. soldiers took over the guard in the market square from the insurgents.

In the following days Polish units entered further zones: the Królewska Huta district on 23 June, Tarnowskie Góry on 26 June, the Pszczyna district on 29 June and the Rybnik district on 4 July. On 16 July the act by which the Republic took possession of Upper Silesia was solemnly signed in Katowice. The Ilustrowany Kuryer Codzienny wrote that Poland had gained “the richest stretch of country”.