Początki akademickiej edukacji humanistycznej i prawniczej na Górnym Śląsku w okresie II Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej

Abstract

After the 1921 plebiscite which led to the division of Upper Silesia and the need for the then II Polish Republic to create a self-governing (autonomous) Voivodship in the region, overcoming the results of Germanisation was one of the most important problems to be faced by those responsible for forming the state. The principles of shaping a modern public administration and earlier traditions of a well organised Prussian system, considerably influenced the Polish administrative model selected, imposing strict requirements for future Polish administrative staff. A legal environment had to be involved in the process of creating the framework of the Voivodship’s political system, while the Polish Constitution assumed the preference for clerks to be employed that were native to the region. Content-related and legal preparation of local staff was considered one of the most important factors at the time. This required the establishment of a Polish education system up to and including university level. The delay that occurred in creating such a systemwas largely due to the predominant German population in Upper Silesia. Other weakening factors included: social differences, lack of staff and tradition in university education in the region and local traits relating to the expected aspirations of children, or lack of; a dire situation that was further exacerbated by the appalling condition of the nation’s economy. Steps were taken to change all of this but the founding of a university with its universal idea, failed to materialise through the haze of local conditions and for all intents and purposes appeared to have been a lost cause. Eventually, and after a lapse of almost fifty years, the original idea finally reached fruition in 1968 with the founding of the University of Silesia in Katowice.