Upper Silesia (1921)

• Upper Silesia was on the border between Germany and Poland and both Germans and Poles lived there. In 1921 there was a plebiscite to decide who would own it. Britain and France sent troops to make sure the vote was free and fair
• The League of Nations decided to split the region according to how people had voted. Germany received most of the rural areas and Poland received the industrial zones. The partition went smoothly with rail links, water and electricity supplied to both sides
• The outcome was accepted by both Germany and Poland, even though some people in both countries complained about the result
• Poland had half the population but only a third of the land, and half a million Poles were now in German territory
• Germany wasn't satisfied either. They lost three quarters of the coal mines, a valuable source of income
• Germany was allowed to import coal from the Polish area at a cheaper rate from 1922. When this agreement ended in 1925 relations between Germany and Poland worsened
• Upper Silesia was a success for the League of Nations
• The League did all it could in the situation, and it was accepted by the people