Politycy i żołnierze : spór Karla Hoefera i Bernharda Hülsena o znaczenie bitwy o Górę św. Anny podczas III powstania śląskiego w 1921 roku

Abstract

After World War I, a conflict broke out between Poland and Germany over Upper Silesia. It was to be settled, according to the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, by a plebiscite. However, on May 3, 1921, the Polish uprising broke out. Insurgent troops occupied the eastern part of the plebiscite area. On May 21, 1921, German troops of the so-called Upper Silesia Self-Defense (Selbstschutz Oberschlesiens) carried out an effective counteroffensive, known as the Battle of St. Anne’s Mountain. In this article, Ryszard Kaczmarek discusses the dispute that has been going on for many years among historians about who had planned and who commanded this military operation. The main opponents in this operation were: Karl Hoefer, the commander-in-chief of the Self-Defense, and Bernhard Hülsen, the commander of one of the Self-Defense’s units. For many years, until the outbreak of World War II, both these officers claimed victory in the Battle of St. Anne’s Mountain. On the basis of the extant correspondence stored in the military section of the Federal Archives in Freiburg, Kaczmarek reconstructs the course of events during the operation. He author shows the political conditions of military decisions and the complicated relations of the democratic government of the Weimar Republic with officers who were associated with the nationalist right.