Poles in Breslau (until 1939)

For centuries, Poles were part of the history of Wrocław, the capital city of Silesia.

Krzysztof Ruchniewicz / Porta Polonica 2018

For centuries, Poles were part of the history of Wrocław, the capital city of Silesia. That did not change, even when its borders and its nationality did. For a long time, you could still hear Polish being spoken on the city’s streets and in the surrounding villages. However, the situation changed around the turn of the 18th and 19th century: The Polish-speaking population began to adapt and the German language, which was taught in schools and used by the authorities, gradually replaced the Polish language. But Wrocław retained its appeal as a centre of economic and cultural life and the city’s appeal increased as it enjoyed significant development in the 19th century. More and more Poles came from Wielkopolska, Upper Silesia and Pomerania to the metropolis on the banks of the Oder. For many generations of Poles, the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Silesia, which was founded in 1811, was the place where they received their education. After the Polish state was founded in 1918, the situation for the Poles changed radically. Some of them decided to live inside the new Polish borders and left Wrocław. A Polish consulate was opened in Wrocław. After the war, the Polish secular and church organisations resumed their work in the city. The Union of Poles in Germany, whose branch was established in the city in 1923, played a key role in organisational life. The outbreak of the Second World War, the arrest of Polish activists and the seizure of Polish property brought the history of Poles in Breslau to an end.

Mediathek Sorted

For centuries, Poles were part of the history of Wrocław, the capital city of Silesia.

Krzysztof Ruchniewicz / Porta Polonica 2018

Spiritual life in the 19th century

Taking part in church services was not just of a strictly religious dimension, it was an important manifestation of spiritual life. Poles were already taking part in church services in Polish around the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. They were organised on a regular basis for the worshippers of the Evangelical and Catholic churches. Evangelical services were held in the church of St. Christopher, whilst catholic services were held in the churches of St. Kreuz and St. Adalbert.

“(….) The German and Polish languages”, wrote Hugo Kołłątaj at the beginning of the 19th century, “are so familiar to the residents that church services for all religions are even held in both languages”.

After 1820, an order passed by church authorities restricted services in Polish in churches belonging to both confessions. This was an extremely serious turn of events. As there were no Polish organisations at the time, using the Polish language in religious practice offered the only possibility to maintain the language. This new situation meant that Polish was soon no longer on an equal footing with German.

“Wrocław’s residents”, wrote Friedrich Nösselt, the author of a city guide from 1825, “are predominantly of German heritage. There are only a few Poles and so it is not easy to hear any language other than German being spoken. Many may perhaps be of Slavic origin but the residents have intermixed for so long now that it is not possible to differentiate between those who are of Old German origin and those who are Slavs”. (F. Nösselt, Breslau ..., Breslau 1825, p. 225).

In the middle of the 19th century, sermons and songs in Polish could only be heard in the collegiate church of the Holy Cross.