The De e mina ion o Na ionali y
in Selec ed Eu opean Coun ies up o 1938
dan Gaw ecki
KEY WORDS:
Eu opean His o y — Na ionalism — Cislei hania — E hnici y
The opic o his s udy1 was chosen in he knowledge ha he assessmen and e alu-
a ion o census p ac ices in Cislei hania and in pos -1918 Czechoslo akia2 necessa -
ily equi es compa ison a leas wi h p ac ices in neighbou ing coun ies. The de e -
mina ion o esponden s’ na ionali y was always associa ed wi h a ious polemics
which became pa o he poli ical s uggle, and he census da a was equen ly called
in o doub . He e I a emp o summa ize a ious opinions on he ele ance and c ed-
ibili y o census p ac ices — opinions exp essed by jou nalis s and his o iog aphe s,
bo h a he ime o he censuses and also a a la e da e. A en ion will p ima ily be o-
cused on Ge many and Poland — i s ly due o he sizeable Ge man and Polish mino -
i ies in he Czechoslo ak Republic, and secondly because he main c i e ion o na-
ionali y in hese wo coun ies was language; na ionali y was gene ally no equa ed
wi h ci izenship o a s a e. The indings p esen ed he e a e based on s a is ical da a,
suppo ed by o he sou ces and nume ous schola ly s udies o he subjec . I ace
how he concep o na ionali y g adually shi ed unde speci ic his o ical condi ions,
and I obse e he changing c i e ia ha we e used as a basis o he de e mina ion
o na ionali y om he ime o he i s censuses o con empo a y app oaches and
e alua ions. Only ma ginal a en ion is paid o he e alua ion o Czechoslo ak cen-
sus p ac ices in o eign li e a u e; his is deal wi h only in cases when i o ms pa
o he wide gene al o compa a i e con ex .
This s udy d aws o a la ge ex en on exis ing schola ly li e a u e explo ing
he subjec . In ecen decades, esea ch on he issue has achie ed some no ewo -
hy esul s, especially in he Uni ed S a es;3 he s eng hs o his esea ch include
i s geog aphical dis ance om he e en s and he conside able leng h o ime ha
has elapsed since hei occu ence; his enables a de ached app aisal o p e ious e-
sea ch. The main s eng hs o he wo k o Cen al Eu opean au ho s — bo h mo e and
less ecen — lie i s ly in hei abili y o desc ibe gene al endencies in app oaches
1 This s udy was p oduced as pa o he Czech Science Founda ion (GAČR) g an
no.13–00790S Ná odnos e sčí áních lidu českých zemích 1880–1930 (spo y, polemiky,
kon lik y) [Na ionali y in Censuses in he Czech Lands 1880–1930 (Dispu es, Polemics,
Con lic s)].
2 Pa el Kladiwa, E nická klasi ikace a ins i ucionální zako ení ná odnos i českých zemích
1880–1914, Mode ní dějiny 22, 2014, no. 1, pp. 7–33.
3 This a icle d aws on exce p ions conduc ed by Pa el Kladiwa.
OPEN
ACCESS
28 WISOHIM/ESHP 22
OPEN
ACCESS
o he issue, and secondly in hese au ho s’ g ea e deg ee o pe sonal engagemen ;
hough his engagemen may be p oblema ic, associa ed wi h emo ional o one-sided
iews, i ne e heless o e s a aluable sou ce o ma e ial o compa ison.
Censuses, unlike sociological su eys, a emp o co e an en i e popula ion, and
hey a e conduc ed by s a e ins i u ions. They ha e exis ed since ancien imes, se -
ing a ious pu poses including axa ion and mili a y use. A mo e mode n de elop-
men , wi h a much sho e his o y, is he a emp o egis e esponden s’ cul u al
iden i ies — including he de e mina ion o hei language based on hei own dec-
la a ions; his is o a conside able deg ee connec ed wi h esponden s’ na ionali y.
The de e mina ion o esponden s’ iden i ies has his o ically been associa ed wi h
a numbe o p oblems. Census o ganize s c ea ed pa icula ca ego ies, and espon-
den s had o i in o one o ano he o hese ca ego ies. Such c ea ion o ca ego ies was
based on ideas o how a pa icula phenomenon was s uc u ed, and i was also in lu-
enced by he in e es s and needs o he s a e au ho i ies. The use o such ca ego ies on
he one hand made o clea e esul s, bu on he o he hand i o ced he esponden s
o choose one o he op ions on o e . This helped o de ine — and some imes in ac o
shape — hei g oup cul u al iden i ies, dis inguishing hem om o he g oups. E o s
o achie e “objec i e measu emen s o subjec i e iden i ies” on he one hand helped o
p omo e “s a e dominance”, ye on he o he hand hey also helped o s eng hen he
ideological and poli ical mo emen s opposing such dominance.4
Opinions ha e been exp essed ha a census is no genuinely a “scien i ic en e -
p ise”, bu mo e o a “poli ical ba leg ound”;5 ha he de ini ion o e hnici y in cen-
suses e eals mo e abou he cons uc ion o e hnic ca ego ies as pa o poli ical
ideologies han abou he eali ies o e hnic s uc u es6; ha a census is essen ially
a poli ical ins umen because he choice o ca ego ies is he esul o a poli ical
choice7; and e en ha in some cases censuses may in ac c ea e na ions.8
The i s census o languages was held in Belgium in 1846 (indi iduals we e asked
abou hei language o daily use, a p ac ice ha was la e ecommended by he 1853
In e na ional S a is ical Cong ess in B ussels, which also p oposed ules o he uni-
ica ion o census p ac ices). La e censuses o a simila ype ook place in Aus ia
1848 (language — da a was gi en no by indi idual esponden s bu by adminis a i e
4 Da id I. Ke ze — Dominique A el, Censuses, iden i y o ma ion and he s uggle o po-
li ical powe . In: Da id I. Ke ze — Dominique A el, (eds.): Census and Iden i y. The Poli-
ics o Race, E hnici y, and Language in Na ional Censuses, Camb idge Uni e si y P ess
2002, pp. 1–42, he e pp. 5–6, 20.
5 Jacqueline U la, Cul u al Poli ics in an Age o S a is ics: Numbe s, Na ions, and he Mak-
ing o Basque Iden i y, Ame ican E hnologis 20, 1993, pp. 818–843, he e p. 837.
6 Cal in Goldscheide , E hnic ca ego iza ions in censuses: compa a i e obse a ions om
Is ael, Canada, and he Uni ed S a es. In: Da id I. Ke ze — Dominique A el (eds.), Cen-
sus and Iden i y …, pp. 71–91, he e p. 72.
7 Dominique A el, Language ca ego ies in censuses: backwa d — o o wa d-looking?, In:
Da id I. Ke ze –A el, Dominique (eds.), Census and Iden i y …, pp. 92–120, he e p. 115.
8 Tomasz Kamusella, The Poli ics o Language and Na ionalism in Mode n Cen al Eu ope,
New Yo k 2009, p. 49.
dan GaW EcKI 29
OPEN
ACCESS
ins i u ions), Hunga y 1850 (na ionali y), England 1851, he Kingdom o Sa dinia 1857
(mos equen ly used language), Hunga y 1869 (mo he ongue), Aus ia and Finland
1880 (language o daily use).9
Da a on na ionali y o language can be ound in na ionwide censuses as ea ly as he
i s hal o he 19 h cen u y. The s a is ical cong ess held in S Pe e sbu g in 1872 was
in ended o p o ide an impulse o he s anda diza ion o p ac ices in a ious coun-
ies. The cong ess ecommended ha censuses should no de e mine na ionali y, as i
was an o e ly subjec i e ca ego y which would no enable in e na ional compa isons o
be made; i was a gued ha in si ua ions whe e he e was a low le el o a comple e ab-
sence o na ional awa eness, esponden s could be subjec ed o a ious p essu es — by
he au ho i ies o o he agen s. The cong ess ecommended ha censuses should de e -
mine language, speci ically spoken language (langue pa lée), bu his did no s anda d-
ize he app oach o language. In Cislei hania he o iginal plan was o collec da a on he
language used wi hin he amily (Familiensp ache), bu o icially all censuses om 1880
onwa ds ins ead ocused on he language o daily use (Umgangssp ache, jȩzyk po oczny o
jȩzyk owa zyski). In Ge many censuses usually ocused on mo he ongue (o ongues),
de ined in a ious ways, while Swi ze land also ocused on mo he ongue. The p ac-
ice was di e en in Wes e n Eu opean coun ies, whe e na ionali y was equa ed wi h
s a e ci izenship; esponden s in Belgium, Sco land and I eland could gi e mo e han
one spoken language; F ench censuses did no include da a on e hnici y, language o
eligion on he g ounds ha his would cons i u e illegal disc imina ion and a b each
o human eedoms.10 Fu he changes occu ed a e he Fi s Wo ld Wa .
Up o he ou b eak o he wa , na ionali y as such was no o icially de e mined
in any coun y; ins ead, censuses ocused on esponden s’ language o languages, in
a ious o ms. Howe e , he language da a was equen ly used as a basis o poli i-
cal adminis a ion and also in he na ionali y- ela ed policies implemen ed by ul-
ing (and o he ) na ions as a c i e ion indica ing ci izens’ na ionali y. A e he Fi s
Wo ld Wa se e al coun ies p oclaimed ha hey wan ed o de e mine esponden s’
na ionali y, bu in eali y he decla a ion o na ionali y was a om ee, as i was
subjec o a ious condi ions. A ypical p ac ice was he use, “in he in e es s o he
s a e”, o da a collec ion me hods which would ensu e he bes possible esul s o he
dominan language — knowledge o which was usually necessa y o indi iduals o
achie e social ad ancemen .11
9 Heinz Kloss, Sp ache, Na ionali ä , Volk und ande e e hnos a is ische Beg i e im Lich e
de Kon ak linguis ik. In: Pe S u e U eland (ed.), En s ehung on Sp achen und Völke n,
Tübingen 1985, pp. 209–218, he e p. 212.
10 Ul ike on Hi schhausen, People ha Coun . The Impe ial Census in Nine een h and
Ea ly Twen ie h-Cen u y Eu ope and India. In: Jö n Leonha d — Ul ike on Hi schhau-
sen (eds.), Compa ing Empi es. Encoun e s and T ans e s in he Long Nine een h Cen-
u y, Gö ingen 2011, pp. 145–170, he e pp. 148, 152, 154–156; Da id I. Ke ze — Domi-
nique A el: Censuses, iden i y …, pp. 9, 24–25; Cy il Ho áček, Ná odnos ní s a is ika. In:
Českoslo enský s a is ický ěs ník, I, 1920, pp. 184–193, he e pp. 184–188; S a is ische
Mona sch i 17, 1891, pp. 657, 660–661 e c.
11 Dominique A el, Language ca ego ies …, p. 100.
30 WISOHIM/ESHP 22
OPEN
ACCESS
The concep s o language and na ionali y (membe ship o a na ion) we e unde -
s ood in a ious ways. In he case o objec i e de ini ions o na ionali y, he decisi e
c i e ion was he de e mina ion o an indi idual’s mo he ongue — a phenomenon
which was conside ed o be s a ic and unchanging. This was essen ial a p imo dialis-
ic app oach, which adjudged any changes in na ionali y o be a he e y leas a o m
o une hical beha iou . Howe e , in some coun ies whe e mo he ongue da a was
collec ed (e.g. in P ussia), he au ho i ies ook in o accoun he possibili y ha an in-
di idual’s mo he ongue could change, o ha an indi idual may ha e wo mo he
ongues. O he s emphasized he c i e ion o spoken language o daily use — i.e. he
language which he esponden spoke in public; on he basis o his decla a ion, e-
sponden s we e assigned o ca ego ies which we e no o icially desc ibed as na ional-
i y, bu we e de ac o pe cei ed as such. Responden s could — and, acco ding o some
de ini ions o census c i e ia, should — conside hemsel es membe s o a di e en
na ion han ha o hei language o daily use. Ne e heless, esponden s’ language
o daily use gene ally became hei language o hough (Denksp ache), and hus hei
mo he ongue. Some g oups conside ed hemsel es o be membe s o a na ion whose
language hey did no speak, o spoke only inadequa ely, and hey did no align hem-
sel es wi h he language (o dialec ) ha was hei ac ual mo he ongue; ins ead hey
decla ed ha hey belonged cul u ally o a mo e educa ed o mo e ci ilized na ion.
Membe s o such a “mo e ci ilized” na ion equen ly ejec ed hese “new a i als”;
o he imes hey o e ed hem he oppo uni y o comple e assimila ion in he u u e
( hough no all g oups we e ea ed equally, and hei membe s usually had o mee
ce ain condi ions o be conside ed ully assimila ed), o hey used special e ms o
ca ego ize hem, e.g. “eigensp achige Kul u deu sche” (cul u ally Ge mans, hough
speake s o hei own language, i.e. a language o he han Ge man). Those who we e
conside ed an in e media e class (Zwischenschich ) o a mixed na ion (Misch olk) gen-
e ally did no ejec he possibili y o u u e assimila ion. Howe e , he e we e also
g oups wi h di e en e hnic iden i ies, o en associa ed wi h he egion in which hey
li ed (imagined non-communi ies), which did no “ i ” in o p ede e mined s a is ical
ca ego ies. Re e ing o such cases, some au ho s w i e o “neu al iden i ies”, while
o he s conside such a designa ion o be inadequa e, as hese g oups oo had hei own
iden i ies, albei di e en om hose iden i ies ha we e se ou in he s a is ical ca e-
go ies. I census o ganize s conside ed i bene icial, hey would c ea e new ca ego ies,
bu gene ally esponden s we e pe suaded ha hey should choose one o he exis ing
ca ego ies.12 In gene al e ms ( hough he si ua ion was highly complex, as his a icle
12 The li e a u e on his issue is ex ensi e; he ollowing lis is a selec ion o wo ks (in ad-
di ion o hose al eady ci ed): Ta a Zah a, Imagined Noncommuni ies: Na ional Indi e -
ence as a Ca ego y o Analysis, Sla ic Re iew 69, 2010, no. 1, pp. 93–119; Ladisla Pallas, Ja-
zyko á o ázka a podmínky y áření ná odního ědomí e Slezsku, Os a a 1970; Ladisla
Pallas, Úloha jazyka při zniku a ý oji eo ií a hnu í z . wasse polác í, šlonzác í
a mo a ec í, Slezský sbo ník 63, 1965, pp. 471–479; K ys yna M. Wiśniewska, Kon ow-
e sje do yczące p oblemu ok eślenia s uk u y na odowościowej Gó nego Śląska w ok e-
sie międzywojennym, In: Śląskie S udia His o yczne, 3, Ka owice 1977, pp. 113–150; To-
masz Kamusella, Schlonzsko, Ho ní Slezsko. Obe schlesien. Gó ny Śląsk. Esej o egionie
dan GaW EcKI 31
OPEN
ACCESS
will show) we can obse e a shi om he “objec i e” de e mina ion o na ionali y o
a mo e “subjec i e” de e mina ion, i.e. one based on he esponden ’s ee decla a ion,
wi hou e alua ing (o , in mos cases, ejec ing) he mo i es o ha decla a ion.13 In
he mos ecen Czech censuses i has been possible o make no choice o na ionali y a
all; his concep o na ion comes close o Renan’s amous dic um ha a na ion is a daily
plebisci e (un plébisci e de ous les jou s).14
Ini ially, censuses in Ge many we e conduc ed in di e en s a es using di e en
me hods. F om 1834 o 1867 he collec ion o s a is ical da a was o ganized by he
Ge man Cus oms Associa ion. Censuses we e conduc ed e e y h ee yea s by com-
ple ing census o ms o all inhabi an s p esen , household by household. The i s
all-Ge man census was held in 1871, he second in 1875, and subsequen ly once e e y
i e yea s. Census me hods we e uni ied, bu indi idual s a es we e ee o add ce -
ain ca ego ies, including da a on esponden s’ mo he ongue, hei abili y o ead
and w i e, e c. In 1900 mo he ongue was an obliga o y c i e ion, and again in 1910;
om 1933 he censuses de e mined esponden s’ na ionali y (Volkszugehö igkei )
and ace. F om 1925, censuses collec ed da a no only on esponden s who we e physi-
cally p esen , bu also on hose egis e ed as esiden a a pa icula add ess.15
The P ussian censuses began o moni o he e hnic composi ion o he Uppe Sile-
sian popula ion mo e sys ema ically in 1828. The P ussian da a om 1861, and he
s a is ics o he No h Ge man Con ede a ion (1867), de e mined esponden s’ am-
ily language (Familiensp ache o Haussp ache).16 Mo he ongue was de e mined by
la e censuses conduc ed on an all-Ge man basis. All o hese censuses show a p e-
dominance o Polish in Uppe Silesia — hough his dominance was g adually weak-
ening. Fo example, in 1867 a o al o 59.2% o he popula ion we e Polish-speake s,
while by 1910 his igu e had allen o 53.0%, plus 4.0% bilingual inhabi an s — essen-
ially Poles who had lea ned o speak Ge man. The mos ecen Polish s udies o he
issue acknowledge ha he da a in ac pe ained o esponden s’ language, which —
in he case o Uppe Silesia — was no he same as hei na ional sel -iden i ica ion.17
i mieszkańcach. Schlonzsko — Uppe Silesia. Ho ní Slezsko. Obe schlesien. Gó ny Śląsk.
An Essay on he Region and I s Inhabi ans, Wydanie II pop awione 2006–2013 (Wydanie
d ugi oz i zôznaczōne do po zōdku.) Na odowa O icyna Śląska (Ślōnsko Nacyjowo Ô icy-
no) 2006–2013. Made in Silesia (Zônaczōno na Ślōnsku) and many o he publica ions by
his p oponen o a dis inc i e Silesian na ional iden i y.
13 Józe Chlebowczyk, On Small and Young Na ions in Eu ope: Na ion- o ming P ocesses in
E hnic Bo de lands in Eas -Cen al Eu ope, W oclaw 1980; Józe Chlebowczyk, P ocesy
na odo wó cze we wschodniej Eu opie Ś odkowej w dobie kapi alizmu (od schylku XVIII
do począ ku XX wieku), Wa szawa-K aków 1975, pp. 182–194.
14 E nes Renan, Qu›es -ce qu›une na ion? Con e énce ai e en So bonne le 11 ma s 1882, Pa-
is 1882, p. 27.
15 Fo mo e de ails seeHa ald Michel, Volkszählungen in Deu schland. Die E assung des Be-
ölke ungss andes on 1816 bis 1933, Jah buch ü Wi scha sgeschich e 26, 1985, no. 2,
pp. 72–92.
16 Paul Webe , Die Polen in Obe schlesien. Eine s a is ische Un e suchung, Be lin 1914, p. 70.
17 A pionee ing wo k on his issue is: Józe Chlebowczyk, P ocesy na odo wó cze we ws-
chodniej Eu opie Ś odkowej w dobie kapi alizmu (od schylku XVIII do począ ku XX wie-

32 WISOHIM/ESHP 22
OPEN
ACCESS
The mos ecen Ge man li e a u e s a es ha Polish s udies ha e iewed he de-
cline in he p o ince’s Polish popula ion as a esul o s a is ical manipula ion; hey
acknowledge ha he in oduc ion o he “bilingual” ca ego y helped o boos he
numbe s o Ge man-speake s, bu hey also in e p e he da a as e idence o he
sp ead o he Ge man language. These s udies poin ou ha he success ul sp ead o
Ge man — associa ed wi h he p ocess o Ge maniza ion — was also no ed by Polish
obse e s a he ime. Language became a poli ical issue; Ge mans cas doub upon
he ex en o which Polish-speake s el hemsel es o be membe s o he Polish na-
ion, while Poles a emp ed o use language as a basis o a gumen s as pa o hei
na ional s uggle.18
Philipp The , oday a P o esso a he Uni e si y o Vienna, iews he shi s in
na ionali y as a consequence o social in e ac ion in speci ic his o ical condi ions,
accele a ed by he a ac i eness o he a ailable iden i ica ion. In his opinion, he
decisi e ac o o Uppe Silesians, in iew o hei long- e m “p agma ic assimila-
ion”, was he p ospec o he upwa d social mobili y ha was condi ional upon hei
accep ance o Ge man language and cul u e.19
Now le us u n o he main aim o his s udy and examine how he P ussian
censuses we e c i ically e alua ed a he ime when hey we e conduc ed. Unde -
s andably, he s onges objec ions we e aised by Polish jou nalis s, hough he i s
comp ehensi e c i ical analysis was p oduced by Ge man au ho s — p ima ily Lud-
wig Be nha d, a P o esso a Be lin Uni e si y, in his p e ace o Paul Webe ’s 1914
publica ion on he s a is ical su ey o Poles in Uppe Silesia.20 Be nha d ocused
explici ly on he p oblema ic aspec s o he census. He acknowledged ha he Ge -
man public, and many depu ies in he Reichs ag, expec ed he non-Ge man na ion-
ali ies o sh ink in numbe s due o he in e es s o he s a e, bu ha he s a is ics
a e in ac a om con incing in his ega d (p. III).On he one hand Be nha d dis-
ag eed wi h he claims o he Polish p ess ha he s a is ics au ho i y was guided
ku), Wa szawa-K aków 1975, especially pp. 182–194; Pio G eine — Rysza d Kaczma ek,
Niemcy na Gó nym Śląsku w XIX i XX wieku. In: M. Szczepański (ed.), Gó ny Śląsk na
moście Eu opy, Ka owice 1994, pp. 45–66; Rysza d Kaczma ek, Ludzie — s osunki demo-
g a iczne, s uk u a społeczna, podziały wyznaniowe, e niczne i na odowościowe. In: Joa-
chim Bahlcke — Dan Gaw ecki — Rysza d Kaczma ek (eds.), His o ia Gó nego Śląska. Po-
li yka, gospoda ka i kul u a eu opejskiego egionu, Gliwice 2011, pp. 39–56, he e pp. 52–53
(Re e ing o Je zy Pabisz, Wyniki wybo ów do pa alamen u Związku Północnonie-
mieckiego i pa lamen u Rzeszy niemieckiej na e enie Śląska w la ach1867–1918. In: Adam
Galos, Kazimie z Popiołek (eds.), S udia i Ma e iały z dziejów Śląska, 7, W ocław-Wa sza-
wa-K aków 1966, pp. 274–302.
18 Roland Geh ke, Od Wiosny Ludów do I wojny świa owej (1848–1918), In: His o ia Gó nego
Śląska …, pp. 193–218, he e pp. 202–205.
19 Philipp The , Die G enzen des Na ionalismus. De Wandel on Iden i ä en in Obe schle-
sien in de Mi e des 19. Jah hunde s bis 1939. In: U. on Hi schhausen. — J. Leon-
ha d (eds.), Na ionalismen in Eu opa: Wes - und Os eu opa im Ve gleich., Gö ingen
2001, pp. 322–346, pp. 344, 337.
20 Ludwig Be nha d, Die Fehle quellen in de S a is ik de Na ionali ä en. In: Paul Webe ,
Die Polen in Obe schlesien. Eine s a is ische Un e suchung, Be lin 1914, pp. III–XXI.
dan GaW EcKI 33
OPEN
ACCESS
by poli ical conside a ions, bu on he o he hand he no ed ha such conside a ion
we e ne e heless e lec ed in he s a is ics. He iden i ied inconsis ency in he “bi-
lingualism” ca ego y; in 1905 esponden s we e ins uc ed o gi e Ge man as hei
language i hey spoke i “pe ec ly” (“ ollkommen”),21 whe eas in 1910 he wo d
“ ollkommen” was no longe p esen ; Be nha d a ibu ed his change o poli ical
mo i a ions (pp.IV-V). He s a ed ha he poli ical signi icance o he census was
augmen ed when legisla ion was being implemen ed, and ha many Poles did no
s a e Ge man as hei second language, a guing ha hey did no speak i pe ec ly
(p. VI). Fu he mo e, Be nha d esponded o he polemic conce ning he ca ego ies
o he Kashubian and Masu ian languages; “Polish leade s” objec ed o hese ca -
ego ies, a guing ha Ba a ians, o example, we e no coun ed in his way, and hey
called upon Masu ians and Kashubians o s a e hei language as Polish (p. VII). In
1900 no such dispu es exis ed; he Masu ians and Kashubians decla ed hemsel es
as Poles. Howe e , in 1905 he au ho i ies appa en ly pe suaded he Kashubians and
Masu ians ha hey we e no in ac Poles, and he numbe o Poles in he s a is-
ics ell. In 1910, hanks o success ul Polish agi a ion in he ma e , he numbe o
Kashubians and Masu ians ell, and he au ho i ies launched a enewed campaign o
pe suasion ahead o he nex census.22 Acco ding o he p inciples used in p e-wa
Ge man censuses, i was possible o a esponden ’s “mo he ongue” o di e om
hei “na i e language”.23 In his s a is ical su ey, Webe c i icized he “bilingual”
ca ego y, a guing ha he igno an u al masses comple ed hei census o ms wi h
he help o genda mes, and ha he p essu e exe ed on hem by he au ho i ies cas
doub upon he published esul s.24
One o he easons why I ha e gi en a de ailed cha ac e iza ion o Be n-
ha d’s s udy is ha he a gumen s p esen ed in i we e epea ed in la e li e a u e —
21 In addi ion o Ge man, esponden s could op o Du ch, F isian, Danish, Walloon, Polish,
Masu ian, Kashubian, Lusa ian Se bian (Wendish), Mo a ian, Czech and Li huanian. Fo
mo e on bilingualism: Ka l Kelle , Die emdsp achige Be ölke ung im F eis aa e P eu-
ßen. In: Zei sch i des P eußischen S a is ischen Landesam es 65, 1926, 1. und 2. Ab .,
Tab. 2, 4, 6.).
22 He e Be nha d e e s o Waldema Mi sche lich, Die Ausb ei ung de Polen in P eussen,
Leipzig 1913. I should be men ioned ha he Polish au ho i ies con inued o ecognize
Kashubian as one o he Sla ic languages a e 1990. Wi h ega d o Masu ians: emig an s
om Wa mia o he Rhineland o en p o es ed ha hey we e iewed as Poles; hey em-
phasized ha hey we e in ac Masu ians, and ha he e o e — unlike Poles — hey we e
loyal o he s a e. The Masu ian popula ion o he Rhineland was a ound 150 000 — ou
o mo e han hal a million immig an s om he eas e n egions o Ge many. They we e
quicke o in eg a e han he Poles and displayed g ea e mobili y. Fo mo e on his see
e.g.: Klaus J. Bade, E opa pohybu. E opské mig ace d ou s ole í, P aha 2004, pp. 75–76,
194; Jochen Ol me , Mig a ion im 19. und 20. Jah hunde (Enzyklopädie deu sche Ge-
schich e, Band 68.), München, Oldenbou g 2010, 2. Au l. 2013, pp. 33–34.
23 See e.g. he al eady-ci ed wo k by K. Wiśniewska, pp. 134–135.
24 See Ma ek S anisław Ko owicz, Gó nośląska och ona mniejszości na le s osunków
na odowościowych, Ka owice 1938, pp. 16–17; on p. 15 Ko owicz w i es ha many did no
unde s and he Ge man o ms.
34 WISOHIM/ESHP 22
OPEN
ACCESS
mainly om Poland — hough some imes wi h a somewha di e en in e p e a ion.
Despi e mino objec ions, Polish his o iog aphe s conside he Ge man census o
1910 (unlike he censuses conduc ed be ween he wo ld wa s) o ha e been ela i ely
objec i e.25
E en be o e Be nha d’s c i icisms, he change in he concep o mo he ongue in
he census — and he accusa ion ha his change was due o Polish agi a ion — was
c i icized by he enowned s a is ician Richa d Böckh (1824–1907).26 Böckh published
a book on Ge mans li ing in o he Eu opean coun ies, in which he emphasized he
p ima ily Polish cha ac e o Uppe Silesia.27 The ac ha Poles we e unde ep e-
sen ed in he census esul s was also poin ed ou by a membe o he P ussian S a is-
ical Commission in his p e ace o a s a is ical su ey o p ima y schools in P ussia;
he su ey e ealed ha he numbe o child en a ending schools using Polish as
he medium o ins uc ion was highe han he numbe o Polish-speaking child en
gi en in he 1910 census.28
The claims made by Be nha d and Webe we e ehemen ly ejec ed by Wilhelm
Volz, he Di ec o o he Geog aphical Ins i u e in B eslau (W ocław). Volz s a ed
ha language in Uppe Silesia was no hing o do wi h na ionali y, and ha many
people we e “Deu schpolen” — o me ly Poles, now me ely “Zwischen olk de
Obe schlesie ”.29 An e en mo e ehemen esponse came om he geog aphe Wal-
e Geisle , who a acked Jakob Spe ’s map o na ionali ies in he eas e n p o inces
o he Ge man Reich, based on da a om he 1910 census.30 Geisle c i icized he
con la ion o language and na ionali y, s a ing ha he only wo na ionali ies in Up-
pe Silesia we e Ge mans and Uppe Silesians. Simila a gumen s we e made when
c i icizing Paul Langhans’s na ionali y map o Silesia, published in 1906.31Howe e ,
hese objec ions o p e-wa maps we e no published un il a e he Fi s Wo ld Wa ;
in 1938 Geisle and his colleagues published an A las o Uppe Silesia which was in
acco dance wi h Nazi ideology.32
25 The mos ex ensi e Polish ea men o his is he al eady-ci ed 1938 publica ion by Ko o-
wicz, as well as K. Wiśniwska’s s udy, which ocuses mainly on an analysis o con o e -
sies du ing he in e -wa pe iod.
26 Richa d Böckh, Die Ve schiebung de Sp ach e häl nisse in Posen und Wes p eussen,
P eussische Jah büche 77, 1891, p. 125 e c.
27 Richa d Böckh, De Deu schen Volkszahl und Sp achgebie in den eu opäischen S aa en.
Eine s a is ische Un e suchung, Be lin 1869; p. 16.
28 Alwin Pe e silie, Das niede e Schulwesen in P eussen, Be lin 1911, Pa I; a compa i-
son o bo h se s o s a is ics was also ca ied ou by M. S. Ko owicz, Gó nośląska och o-
na…, pp. 18–21.
29 Wilhelm Volz, Obe schlesien und obe schlesische F age, B eslau 1922, p. 48 e c.
30 Jakob Spe , Na ionali ä enka e de ös lichen P o inzen des Deu schen Reichs nach
E gebnissen de am lichen Volkszählung om Jah e 1910.
31 Paul Langhans, Na ionali ä enka e de P o inz Schlesien au G und am liche Angaben,
Go ha 1906.
32 Wal e Geisle , Obe schlesien-A las. Un e Mi a bei zahl eiche Fachgenossen, Volk und
Reich Ve lag, Be lin 1938.
dan GaW EcKI 35
OPEN
ACCESS
Be o e he Fi s Wo ld Wa , he esul s o censuses ga e ise o ea s o possible
Polish expansion in Silesia — e.g. in wo ks by wo B eslau-based p o esso s o his-
o y (Man ed Laube ) and geog aphy (Joseph Pa sch).33
The enowned Polish geog aphe Eugeniusz Rome , a pa icipan a he Pa is
Peace Con e ence, w o e a book abou he Poles in Pome ania and Masu ia34 in
which he ag eed wi h Be nha d’s and Webe ’s c i icism o he “bilingual” ca ego y;
he concu ed ha only Poles we e bilingual, poin ing ou ha when he ca ego y
was in oduced i was only in ended o apply o in an s and mu e membe s o mixed
amilies, hough la e he e we e egions in which up o 50% o he inhabi an s we e
ca ego ized as bilingual. Rome dispu ed he s a us o Masu ian and Kashubian as
sepa a e languages. He de o ed a special analysis o Kashubian, demons a ing ha
i was a dialec o Polish — an opinion ha had al eady been oiced by he Ge man
ca og aphe Hein ich Be ghaus (+1884). He conside ed he in oduc ion o hese
wo ca ego ies o be an example o he alsi ica ion o s a is ical da a; in his iew,
he only way o ec i y his was o inco po a e he Kashubian and Masu ian espon-
den s in o he ca ego y o Poles. He compiled his own s a is ics o Pome ania and
Wa mia, in which he numbe o Poles was oughly en pe cen highe han in he
o icial s a is ics.35
A he end o he 19 h cen u y, Kashubian was conside ed by many schola s o
Sla ic languages (some o hem Poles) o be a sepa a e language. I was o cou se
close o Polish han o Ge man, bu he P ussian au ho i ies — a guing ha Kashu-
bian was no a Polish dialec — began o eplace Polish-language eaching wi h Ge -
man-language eaching in he egion whe e he Kashubians li ed; Polish emained
solely as he language o eligious ins uc ion.36
In 1915, wo king in Vienna, Eugeniusz Rome comple ed his Geog aphical-S a is i-
cal A las o Poland (Geog a iczno-s a ys yczny A las Polski), which was used by he Pol-
ish delega ion a he Peace Con e ence o suppo hei a gumen s. His adjus men s
o he census s a is ics — which o med he basis o he a las — we e published in
a p opaganda b ochu e en i led “Ilu nas jes ?” (“How many o us a e he e?”), pub-
lished in K akow in 1917. The adjus men s o he da a o he eas e n Polish e i o-
ies we e based on he eligious composi ion o he popula ion; Rome conside ed
he censuses conduc ed in Aus ian Silesia o ha e been alsi ica ions because hey
showed he Polish popula ion sh inking be ween 1900 and 1910, despi e la ge-scale
immig a ion and a ise in na ional sen imen . One in e es ing inding conce ned he
language s a ed by Jewish esponden s in a ious egions whe e he e was a majo -
i y Polish popula ion (in 1910 a o al o 92.5% Jews in Galicia s a ed Polish as hei
33 E.g. Joseph Pa sch, Schlesien. Eine Landeskunde ü das deu sche Volk au wissen-
scha liche G undlage, B eslau 1896. Fo mo e de ails see: M. S. Ko owicz, Gó nośląska
och ona…, pp. 25–26.
34 Eugeniusz Rome , Polacy na k esach Pomo skich i Pojezie nych, Lwów 1919 (especial-
ly pp. 6–20, 126).
35 See also Wacław Łypacewicz, Liczba Niemców Polsce i Polaków w Niemczech, Wa sza-
wa 1927, p. 4.
36 Ladisla Pallas, Jazyko á o ázka, pp. 27–28, analysis o li e a u e on p. 112, oo no es 80–86.
42 WISOHIM/ESHP 22
OPEN
ACCESS
The 1933 census no longe asked whe he esponden s unde s ood Ge man.
The e was only one language- ela ed sec ion, and i asked abou esponden s’
mo he ongue; he explana o y no es s a ed ha esponden s had o gi e he
mo he ongue o all amily membe s who we e p esen a he ime o he census,
and mo he ongue was de ined in he same was as be o e, including he no es on
dialec s and Masu ian. The e was some deba e on whe he o include Wasse polnisch
( he Uppe Silesian dialec ) among he languages in he o m, bu e en ually his
op ion was ejec ed due o opposi ion om he Związek Polaków w Niemczech (As-
socia ion o Poles in Ge many), whose exis ence was gua an eed by he pos -wa
Uppe Silesian Con en ion e en a e Hi le came o powe . The explana o y no es
in he 1930s censuses s ongly ecommended ha esponden s should s a e wo
mo he ongues and con i m hei knowledge o Ge man, which was conside ed
highly ad isable.59 A e he Uppe Silesian Con en ion became de unc in 1937, i
was w i en abou he nex planned census ha he language o he Polish Uppe
Silesians no only di e ed signi ican ly om s anda d Polish in dialec e ms, bu
ha he Polish Uppe Silesians we e mo eo e unde he cul u al in luence o Ge -
many, as hey had con i med in he 1921 plebisci e.60 In 1939 he census ca ego ies
we e en i ely di e en . One sec ion conce ned s a e ci izenship, ano he na ional-
i y (Volkszugehö igkei ). The explana o y no es on na ionali y s a ed ha espon-
den s should s a e he na ion wi h which hey el connec ed, and o which hey
el hemsel es o be membe s. The no es s a ed ha esponden s we e ee o s a e
hei ci izenship as hey wished (e en i hey we e no in ac legally ci izens o
he gi en s a e), and ha esponden s’ na ionali y may di e om hei mo he
ongue.61 The census o 19 May 1939 collec ed da a on he Jewish popula ion acco d-
ing o he acial laws o he Thi d Reich, di iding hem in o ull Jews and a ious
g oups o mixed Jewish ace.62
Ge man jou nalis s di e ed in hei opinions o he esul s o he census, hough
a la ge majo i y accep ed he da a. Among he au ho s men ioned abo e, Nicolai de-
cla ed himsel pleased ha he e was no longe any h ea om he Poles, and ha in
59 Fo mo e de ails see K. M. Wiśniewska, Kon owe sje do yczące, pp. 135–136 (including
e e ences o o he li e a u e).
60 „Sie sp echen nich nu einen on Hochpolnischen e heblich abweichendes Dialek , des
sogen. „Wasse polnisch“, sonde n s ehen auch olls ändig un e deu schem Kul u ein-
luss und sind in de übe wiegenden Meh hei , wie die Abs immung im Jah e 1921 und die
poli ischen Wahlen hin eichend gezeig haben, mi dem deu schen Volk es e bunden.“
S a is ik des Deu schen Reiches, Vol. 451 (1937), Pa 4, p. 44. (See he polemic in Sp awy
na odowościowe 1937, n . 1–2, pp. 133–140). M. S. Ko owicz, Gó nośląska och ona…, p. 88
es ima ed he ac ual numbe o Poles in Ge man Uppe Silesia a a ound 700 000.
61 K. M. Wiśniewska, Kon owe sje do yczące, pp. 135–136.
62 Ju a Wie og, Volkszählungen un e dem Na ionalsozialismus. Eine Dokumen a ion zu
Be ölke ungss a is ik im D i en Reich, Be lin 2001; Die Juden und jüdischen Mischlinge
im Deu schen Reich, In: Volkszählung. Die Be ölke ung des Deu schen Reiches nach den
E gebnissen de Volkszählung 1939. S a is ik des Deu schen Reiches, Vol. 552, Pa 4, Be -
lin 1944, pp. 40, 246.

dan GaW EcKI 43
OPEN
ACCESS
i y yea s he e would be no mo e Wasse polnisch. Howe e , o he s poin ed ou ha
plen y o child en s ill a ended Polish-language schools; one excep ional opinion
was ha bilinguals should eally conside hemsel es o be Poles.63
Polish jou nalis s ook a c i ical iew o he census esul s in P o inz Obe schlesien,
and hei calcula ions ga e di e en esul s han he o icial Ge man s a is ics. One o
hei a gumen s es ed on he (al eady discussed) esul s o he 1919 local elec ions,
while o he s ci ed a endance igu es a Polish-language p ima y schools ( he e was
only one Polish-language seconda y school in Ge many — a Beu hen [By om], which
was ac i e om 1932 o 1939) as well as da a on he language used in Ca holic wo ship.
Elec ion esul s we e no (by con as o he p e-wa pe iod) conside ed a alid basis
o es ima ing he nume ical s eng h o na ionali ies.
Today, Polish accoun s o he issue gene ally s a e ha nei he Ge mans no Poles
paid much a en ion o he census da a when de e mining na ionali ies in he egion;
hey es ima e ha a ound 600 000 people o Polish o igin li ed in he p o ince — his
would ha e ep esen ed a majo i y o o e 60%, including hose who lacked a s ong
na ional awa eness and decla ed hemsel es as Silesians (“Schlonsaken”).64
The Polish li e a u e da ing om immedia ely a e he Second Wo ld Wa gi es
a highe igu es (up o 800 000). The mos impo an sou ce o in o ma ion on
which such igu es we e based we e Chu ch documen s on he language used in wo -
ship, a ch is enings, weddings and so on. Documen s o his ype om he pe iod
1925–1938 su i ed in he con iden ial a chi es o he Nazi o ganiza ion he Bund
Deu sche Os en, and hey we e made public a e he Second Wo ld Wa by P o es-
so S e an Golachowski om Poznań Uni e si y, who s a ed ha he Ge man cen-
suses om he in e -wa pe iod we e lacking in schola ly alue.65 Howe e , he da a
on pa icipa ion in wo ship and o he Chu ch- ela ed e en s had al eady been used
du ing he in e -wa pe iod by Heinz Rogmann,66 who concluded ha he numbe
o pa icipan s a Polish Chu ch se ices co esponded wi h he numbe o Poles as
de e mined in he censuses; he es ima ed he numbe a 550 000.
When Polish his o iog aphe s began o wo k wi h he bene i o hindsigh , ex-
plo ing he di e ences be ween e hnic o igin, language and na ional sen imen , hey
ook a mo e cau ious app oach o he Chu ch s a is ics, acknowledging ha hese
igu es did no e eal how many people ac ually conside ed hemsel es o be Poles
because pa icipa ion in Polish-language wo ship did no necessa ily indica e na-
ionali y, bu also e lec ed adi ion, e hnic conside a ions, and so on. The Chu ch
did ha e an e ec on he p ese a ion o Polish e hnici y and (especially) he Polish
language — and i was essen ially he only majo ins i u ion which espec ed hem —
63 M. S. Ko owicz, Gó nośląska och ona, pp. 83–91 e c.
64 Ma ek Masnyk, P owincja gó nośląska (1919–1922), In: His o ia Gó nego Śląska, pp. 219–237.
65 S e an Golachowski, Ma e iały do s a ys yki na odowościowej Śląska opolskiego z la
1910–1938, Poznań-W ocław 1950 ( his au ho p e iously published a no e on me hod-
ology: Od s a ys yki do p oblema yki na odowościowej Śląska, In: Za anie Śląskie 19,
1946, pp. 27–29); Aloizy Ta g, Liczba Niemców na Śląsku do 1930 oku, Biulle yn ŚIN Ka-
owice, n . 30, 1961.
66 De Sp achengeb auch bei dem Go esdiens in Obe schlesien, B eslau 1935, 1937.
44 WISOHIM/ESHP 22
OPEN
ACCESS
bu a c i ical app oach should be aken o he s a is ics, using a ange o o he ma e i-
als and applying he me hods o app op ia e disciplines.67
This s andpoin — exp essed in a s udy by K ys yna Wiśniewska — was de el-
oped in g ea e de ail by he Opole his o ian Wiesław Lesiuk, who compa ed he
da a on he numbe s o Uppe Silesian Poles de e mined using s a is ical-his o ical
me hods wi h he da a de e mined using socio-his o ical me hods; Lesiuk ad oca ed
a comp ehensi e in e disciplina y analysis and made a numbe o p oposals which,
hough highly inspi a ional, would be e y di icul o implemen in p ac ice. Ne e -
heless, hey a e e y aluable ideas, and hey should ce ainly be aken in o accoun
in u u e esea ch on ela ed opics.68
Acco ding o he Ge man census o 1925, he e was a apid all in he numbe s o
Poles in o he pa s o he Weima Republic. In eigh dis ic s o Masu ia — in he
sou he n pa o Eas P ussia — he pe cen age o Ge mans ose om 52% o 82.9%.69
The numbe o Poles in he Ruh basin ell o almos a six h o i s o me le el.70
The i s census in pos -wa Poland was conduc ed on 30 Sep embe 1921. I was
o ganized on he basis o a decision by he Council o Minis e s on 9 June 1921, and i
included bo h hose people who we e p esen du ing he nigh o 30 Sep embe and
hose who we e empo a ily absen om hei homes.71 The census was accompa-
nied by a wide- anging in o ma ion campaign including b ochu es, newspape a -
icles, and p ess con e ences held o p omo e he census. The da a collec ion in ol ed
a ound 70 000 census o icials (15% o hem women), a la ge numbe o s a e o icials
and local mili a y ga isons. The p elimina y esul s we e published du ing he i s
hal o he 1920s, and he de ini i e esul s o he en i e s a e and he indi idual
oi odeships we e issued be ween 1926 and 1932.72
The 1921 census did no ake place in he Silesian Voi odeship o in he e i o y
known as Cen al Li huania (Li wa Ś odkowa), which we e no ye o icially pa s
o Poland. In he case o Cen al Li huania, he go e nmen used (e.g. when decid-
ing on he es ablishmen o mino i y schools) da a on na ionali y ha had been col-
lec ed in Decembe 1919 by he Polish ci ilian au ho i ies in hose pa s o he o me
G and Duchy o Li huania ha had been occupied by Polish o ces in 1919–1920.73 The
67 K. M. Wiśniewska, Kon owe sje do yczące, pp. 145–148 e c.
68 Wiesław Lesiuk, Układ sił na odowościowych na Gó nym Śląsku do 1945 ., In: Ma e iały
i S udia Opolskie, XXVI, Vol. 54, Opole 1984, pp. 11–39.
69 Leo Wi schell, Das E gebnis de Sp achenzählung on 1925 im südlichen Os p eußen,
Hambu g 1926.
70 The numbe o Poles in Wes phalia was epo ed as ha ing d opped om 297008 o 53145.
Wacław Łypacewicz, Liczba Niemców Polsce i Polaków w Niemczech, Wa szawa 1927.
71 Dziennik Us aw Rzeczypospoli ej Polskiej 1921 N 58, n. 368, pp. 983–989.
72 Rocznik S a ys yki Rzeczypospoli ej Polskiej 1924, Wa szawa 1925, p. 12 e c.; Pie wszy
Powszechny Spis Rzeczypospoli ej Polskiej z dnia 30 w ześnia 1921 . S a ys yka Polski,
Vol. XI—XXXVI, Główny U ząd S a ys yczny, 1926–1928, 1930–1932.
73 The occupied e i o y was di ided in o h ee dis ic s: Wilno (Vilnius), B ześć Li ewski
(B es Li o ski) and Minsk. Fo mo e de ails see Eugeniusz Rome , Spis ludności na e en-
ach adminis owanych p zez Za ząd Cywilny Ziem Wschodnich (g udzień 1919), Lwów—
dan GaW EcKI 45
OPEN
ACCESS
Decembe 1919 census was conduc ed by Polish pa amili a y o ganiza ions (Polska
O ganizacja Wojskowa, Towa zys wo S aży K esowej), whose membe s made up he
majo i y o he census o icials. The aim o he census was clea ly a icula ed by Józe
Piłsudski — o achie e he highes possible numbe s o people decla ing hemsel es
o be Poles. The Gene al Commissa o he Eas e n P o inces, Je zy Osmołowski, con-
i med his objec i e in his memoi s. The ask o demons a ing he Polish cha ac e
o he e i o y was acili a ed by he ac ha a la ge numbe o i s inhabi an s had
no clea sense o na ionali y; e en he Polish socialis s s i ing o na ional igh s
appa en ly said abou hese people (known as Poleszucy o Poliszczucy — hey la e e-
e ed o hemsel es as u ejsi, meaning essen ially “locals”), li ing in emo e ma sh-
land a eas, “exis ed on he same low le el as black o Aus alian ibes”.74 The me hod
o da a collec ion was c i icized, bu a compa ison o he esul s om 1919 and 1921
does no e eal signi ican di e ences wi h ega d o esponden s’ decla a ions o
na ionali y o eligion; in some a eas he numbe o Bela usians was ac ually highe
in 1919 han in 1921.
The 1921 census o m con ained wo ques ions on na ionali y. The i s was o mu-
la ed in he same way as in 1919: “To which na ionali y does he esponden belong?”
The second conce ned esponden s’ mo he ongue. Census o icials we e ins uc ed
o eco d na ionali y acco ding o he esponden ’s p e e ence; mo he ongue was
conside ed o be he language used by esponden s om hei ea ly you h.75
Howe e , he da a on mo he ongue we e ne e published. The e we e e iden ly
dispu es wi hin he Cen al O ice o S a is ics, whose e en ual decision seems o
ha e been based on he opinion ha he s a e’s in e es s would be be e se ed by
publishing he na ionali y da a ins ead.76 O he li e a u e s a es ha in he 1921 cen-
sus he e we e cases in which census o ms we e alsi ied, wi h Polish gi en as he
mo he ongue ins ead o Bela usian o Uk ainian, and simila alsi ica ions o na-
ionali y. The “decep ions” (“kłams wa”) a e alleged o ha e been e en g ea e in he
1931 census han in 1921.77
Mo e ecen Polish au ho s ake he opinion ha he local people in he eas e n
pa s o he coun y did no decla e Bela usian o Uk ainian na ionali y because hey
Wa szawa 1920; Joanna Gie owska-Kałłau , Za ząd cywilny ziem wschodnich, Wa sza-
wa 2003.
74 Je zy Ma cin Osmołowski, Wspomnienia z la 1914–1921, Vol. III, p. 650 (manusc ip —
Biblio eka Na odowa, Wa szawa); Acco ding o: Ma ian Siemakowicz, Spisy ludności
a zagadnienie na odowościowe z uwzględnieniem sp aw szkolnic wa dla mniejszości
biało uskiej w II Rzeczypospoli ej, In: Biało uskie Zeszy y His o yczne, n . 10. Many da a
conce ning Polesie and he eas e n pa s o Poland a e aken om he e.
75 Rajmund Buławski, P ojek d ugiego polskiego spisu powszechnego na le doświadczeń
spisu z 1921 ., In: Kwa alnik S a ys yczny 1930, z. 1, p. 60.
76 Rysza d W oczyński, Ma ian Falski i e o my szkolne w Rzeczypospoli ej, Wa szawa
1988, p. 751.
77 Je zy Tomaszewski, Ojczyzna nie ylko Polaków. Mniejszości na odowe w Polsce w la ach
1918–1939, Wa szawa 1985, p. 95; Edwa d Sz u m de Sz em, P awdziwa s a ys yka, In:
Kwa alnik His o yczny, 1973, n . 3, p. 644, 666.
46 WISOHIM/ESHP 22
OPEN
ACCESS
ea ed ep isals om he au ho i ies, and ins ead decla ed ha hei na ionali y was
“local” (“ u ejsza” o “miejscowa”). Fo his eason i is pa icula ly di icul o de e -
mine he eal si ua ion wi h ega d o na ionali y; he esponden s we e e iden ly
awa e o he e hnic o linguis ic di e ences be ween hem and he Poles o Russians,
and many equa ed na ionali y wi h ci izenship o a s a e.78 The Polish c i ics o he
1921 census also poin ed ou he signi ican ise in he numbe o Poles decla ing
hemsel es as adhe en s o he O hodox eligion, and he nea -disappea ance o
Ca holic Bela usians (who had made up a ound 20% o he Bela usian esponden s
in 1918).79 The 1921 census da a shows 1.06 million Bela usians li ing in Poland; he
li e a u e es ima es hei eal numbe s o be be ween 1.3 and 1.73 million.
The census conduc ed on 9 Decembe 1931 p o oked ewe suspicions han he p e-
ious one. The si ua ion was mo e s able han in he immedia e a e ma h o he wa ,
and he p og amme o epa ia ions had also been comple ed. The da a collec ion
me hods we e se ou in a uling by he Council o Minis e s da ed 2 Sep embe 1931.80
The de ini i e esul s we e published in he o icial s a is ical bulle in “S a ys yka
Polski” be ween 1936 and 1939 in 39 sepa a e pa s; mos o he egis e s could no be
published due o he ou b eak o he Second Wo ld Wa . This ime he census o ms
did no speci ically de e mine esponden s’ na ionali y, bu only hei mo he ongue.
The Commissione -Gene al o he census Rajmund Buławski was con inced ha his
would p e en misunde s andings in he case o people wi h a low deg ee o na ional
sen imen . Ne e heless, o e 700 000 esponden s om he Polesie Voi odeship de-
cla ed ha hei language was “local” (“ u ejsi” o “miejscowy”).81
The census o icials collec ing he da a we e mainly Polish eache s, spa king p o-
es s om he Bela usian and Li huanian p ess.82 The e we e also p i a e censuses,
conduc ed by Bela usian peasan s’ and wo ke s’ o ganiza ions and he Me opoli an
Cu ia in Wilno (Vilnius).83 Acco ding o he o icial census, he numbe o Bela usians
was he same as i had been en yea s p e iously (1.06 million), despi e he ac ha
a ound 300 000 people had been epa ia ed o Polish e i o y since he 1921 census.
The li e a u e es ima es he eal numbe o Bela usians a be ween 1.5 and 2.14 million.84
78 J. Tomaszewski, Ojczyzna, pp. 38–39.
79 Li e a u e is gi en by Siemakowicz in he ci ed s udy.
80 Dziennik U zędowy 1931, n . 80, n.. 629, pp. 1375–1377.
81 Kwes ia na odowościowa w p og amie d ugiego powszechnego spisu ludności Rzec-
zypospoli ej Polskiej. Wywiad z Gene alnym Komisa zem spisowym p. D Rajmun-
dem Buławskim, Sp awy Na odowościowe 1932, n . 1, pp. 1–2; Józe Za emba, S osunki
na odowościowe w wojewódz wie nowog ódzkim z uwzględnieniem ła socjalnego, Wa sza-
wa 1939, p. 105; Je zy Tomaszewski, Biało usini obo nicy w la ach 1918–1919 w Polsce, In:
Ac a Bal ico-Sla ica 1967, p. 94; O. Kisielewska, Po idnomu k aju, Kołomyja 1935, p. 11.
82 E.g. Po spisie. In: P zegląd Wileński, 1932, n . 1–2.
83 Spis ludności ziem północno-wschodnich według wyznania i na odowości p zep owad-
zony p zez Biało uską H omadę p zy pomocy „hu ków” — zes awienie powia ami; Spis
ludności p zep owadzony w . 1935 dekana ami według wyznania i na odowości p zez
Ku ię Me opoli alną w Wilnie. Ma e ials om bo h p i a e censuses we e used by Józe
Za emba, op. ci .
84 M Siemakowicz, Spisy ludności.
dan GaW EcKI 47
OPEN
ACCESS
Al hough he changes in he na ionali y igu es o Poland’s eas e n e i o ies
we e signi ican o he poin o s e ching c edibili y o i s limi s, he Eu opean public
paid a mo e a en ion o he decline in he numbe o Ge mans in pos -wa Poland
and he decline in he Polish popula ion o Ge many. One o he i s au ho s o con-
duc a schola ly examina ion o his issue was Wacław Łypacewicz, whose s udy was
published in he pe iodical Sp awyna odowościowe and appea ed sepa a ely in 1927.85
Łypacewicz in ended his publica ion o imp o e he le el o mu ual unde s and-
ing be ween Ge mans and Poles, which equi ed an accu a e knowledge o he size
o mino i y popula ions in bo h s a es. I was his opinion ha bo h sides su e ed
om a ema kable deg ee o igno ance conce ning his ma e — e en among he
eli e echelons o socie y; he ci ed he example o he Polish sena o E win Hasbach,
he leade o he Ge man na ional mo emen wi hin Poland, who claimed ha he
coun y’s Ge man popula ion was 1.7 million — o whom 800 000 li ed in he o me
P ussian e i o ies, and he emainde in o he oi odeships.86 Łypacewicz also e-
jec ed Je zy Ku na owski’s es ima e ha 1398 000 Poles we e li ing in Ge many.87 His
own opinion was ha he Polish s a is ics om 1921 we e essen ially accu a e, and
ha he main cause o he decline in he numbe o Ge mans was hei emig a ion
o Ge many, while he decline in he numbe o Poles in Ge many was due o h ee
main ac o s: he ac ha he Ge man s a is ical da a unde es ima ed he eal num-
be s, he emig a ion o many Poles om he Ruh o F ance a e he wa ,88 and he
ac ha Poles we e quicke o assimila e in Ge many han ice e sa. Łypacewicz
es ima ed ha in he mid-1920s he e we e a ound 850000 Ge mans li ing in Poland,
and be ween 1 and 1.25 million Poles li ing in Ge many. The es ima es o he num-
be o Ge mans we e unable o make use o da a om he Silesian Voi odeship —
o me ly pa o P ussian Silesia, which became pa o Poland a e he plebisci e
and he hi d Silesian up ising — because he census had no been conduc ed in his
e i o y. Łypacewicz es ima ed ha his oi odeship (including he o me ly Czech
e i o ies o he Těšín/Cieszyn egion now annexed by Poland) was home o a ound
300 000 Ge mans.
A ound he same ime, di e en es ima es o hese numbe s we e published by
Zygmun S oliński om he Ins i u e o he Resea ch o Na ionali y Issues (Ins y u
Badań Sp aw Na odowościowych).89 S oliński’s es ima e o he numbe o Ge mans
in Poland (884 105) is simila o ha gi en by Łypacewicz. Howe e , his app oach
85 Wacław Łypacewicz, Liczba Niemców Polsce i Polaków w Niemczech, Wa szawa 1927.
86 E win Hasbach, in he pe iodical Na ion 1927, Janua y, Feb ua y.
87 Geo ges Ku na owski, Les polonais en Allemagne e les allemands en Pologne, Wa szawa
1927.
88 A e he wa , 100 000 people e u ned o he newly independen Poland, while o he s le
o no he n and no h-wes e n F ance. This accele a ed he p ocess o in eg a ion among
hose who emained. — J. Ol me , Mig a ion, pp. 27–28, 81–83; K. J. Bade, E opa, pp. 149,
90, 71–73.
89 Zygmun S oliński, Liczba i ozmieszczenie Niemców w Polsce, In: Sp awy na o do woś cio-
we 1924, n . 4, pp. 361–380. (The ex was also published sepa a ely.) The s udy also ci es
igu es om Ge man au ho s’ es ima es.

48 WISOHIM/ESHP 22
OPEN
ACCESS
o he da a om indi idual oi odeships is much mo e de ailed; o example, when
e i ying he numbe s o Ge mans in he Pome anian and Poznań oi oideships he
adjus ed he o icial da a by ac o ing in he da a o eligion and school a endance.
In he case o he cen al oi odeships (Wa saw and Łódź), he acknowledged ha
many Polonized Ge mans had decla ed hemsel es as Poles, which is a odds wi h
he s a is ics o school a endance up o age 13 and he esul s o local elec ions. He
es ima ed he numbe o Ge mans in he Silesian Voi odeship (including he pa o
he Těšín/Cieszyn egion annexed by Poland) as 257 885.
Howe e , he nex census showed ha he 1920s es ima es o he Silesian
Voi odeship had been e y wide o he ma k, and his equi ed explana ions. In 1910
he pa o Uppe Silesia which was la e o become he Silesian Voi odeship had
263 950 people speaking Ge man as hei mo he ongue. Łypacewicz and S oliński
es ima ed ha he numbe o Ge mans in he en i e oi odeship (including he an-
nexed pa o he Těšín/Cieszyn egion) in 1927 was app oxima ely be ween 257 000
and 300 000. Howe e , he da a om 9 Decembe 1931 showed only 68 735 Ge man
mo he ongue speake s in he o me P ussian Uppe Silesia, and 91 207 in he en i e
oi odeship (including Těšín/Cieszyn). In Ka owice, which in 1910 had a slim Ge man
mino i y, he e we e only 13.4% Ge mans in 1931. Ko owicz, an expe on mino i ies
in Uppe Silesia, published a s udy in 1938 s a ing his opinion ha his dec ease was
due o he ac ha a ound 100 000 Ge mans had emig a ed o Ge many soon a e
he wa ; 28 574 people had op ed o Ge many in he plebisci e and we e pe mi ed o
emain wi hin Polish e i o y un il he expi y o he Uppe Silesian Con en ion in
1937, bu by 1931 jus 4 000 o hem s ill emained. In addi ion, Ko owicz s a ed ha
a u he 50 000 people had le Polish Uppe Silesia o Ge many du ing he same
pe iod. He claimed ha e en among hose who ga e Ge man as hei mo he ongue
he e we e many Ge mans whose mo he ongue was ac ually Polish (“polnisch sp e-
chende Deu sche”), and ha de elopmen s had in ac con i med ha he e i o y
was Polish; he es ima ed he numbe o Ge mans in 1938 as less han 63 000. Ko owicz
did no conside he elec ion esul s and he igu es on school a endance o be sui -
able sou ces o da a o adjus ing he census s a is ics; he also ejec ed he idea o
a na ionali y map based on elec ion esul s, which had been p oposed by he leade
o he Uppe Silesian Ge mans O o Uli z.90
Ge man li e a u e du ing he in e -wa pe iod claimed ha he numbe o Ge -
mans in he Silesian Voi odeship was a highe han he Polish s a is ics sugges ed.
The main a gumen s o his claim es ed on he plebisci e91 and elec ion esul s. In
1922, Ge man pa ies ecei ed 103 539 o es in elec ions o he Silesian Assembly;
in1930, in he i s o he wo elec ions o he Silesian Assembly held in ha yea (on
11 May), hese pa ies ecei ed as many as 205 795 o es.92 In a 2002 s udy, Philipp The
90 M. S. Ko owicz, Gó nośląska och ona, pp. 85–88.
91 E.g. Richa d B eye , Das Deu sche Reich und Polen 1932–1939. Aussenpoli ik und Volks-
g uppen age, Wü zbu g 1955, p. 42.
92 Vik o Kaude (ed.). Die Deu schen in Polnisch-Schlesien. Ein Handbuch übe Land und
Leu e, Plauen i. V. 1932 — acco ding o O o Heike, Das Deu sch um in Polen 1918–1939,
Bonn 1955, p. 83.
dan GaW EcKI 49
OPEN
ACCESS
s a es ha 42% o o es in he 1926 local elec ions wi hin he Silesian Voi odeship
wen o Ge man pa ies.93
Some Polish s udies published soon a e he Second Wo ld Wa cas doub on he
esul s o he 1931 census.94 Zygmun Izdebski sugges ed ha he numbe o Ge mans
in Uppe Silesia should be inc eased by 30%, and he Opole his o ian And zej B ożek
likewise s a ed ha he eal numbe o Ge mans was a highe han ha gi en by he
Polish s a is ics. Aloizy Ta g es ima ed he numbe o Ge mans in he Silesian Voi ode-
ship a 170 000. Today, Polish schola s’ es ima es ange be ween 130 000 and 230 000.95
O he egions o in e -wa Poland wi h la ge Ge man popula ions we e he Poznań
and Pome anian oi odeships. The 1910 census showed ha hese wo oi odeships
we e home o 1 100 372 people speaking Ge man as hei mo he ongue. Acco ding o
he 1921 census his numbe had allen o 503 617 (Poznań 327 846, Pome ania 175771),
and he Ge man p i a e census o 1926 showed 341 505 Ge mans li ing in hese e-
gions. In he second Polish na ional census (1931) he e we e 193 044 mo he - ongue
Ge man speake s in he Poznań Voi odeship and 104 992 in Pome ania — a o al o
298 036. These changes we e e iden ly no due o he da a collec ion me hods used,
bu we e p ima ily a consequence o in e na ional ela ions.
A e he end o he Fi s Wo ld Wa , in 1919–1921, a la ge numbe o Ge mans
le he Poznań and Pome anian oi odeships on he ecommenda ion o he Ge -
man go e nmen . The Ge man go e nmen u ged Ge man eache s, o icials and
ailway wo ke s o lea e Polish e i o y, despi e he ac ha he Polish au ho i ies
had asked hem o emain as esiden s o a leas ano he i e yea s. On 1 Ap il 1920
he e was a majo exodus when a o al o 200 000 Ge mans om he o me P ussian
e i o ies le Poland. The main eason o he emig a ion o Ge mans who had e-
cei ed Polish ci izenship was hei unwillingness o se e in he Polish A my, which
a he ime was igh ing agains Bolshe ik Russia. On 30 Augus 1925, ollowing a Ge -
man complain lodged a he League o Na ions, he Vienna Con en ion s ipula ed
a ime able o Ge man emig a ion om Poland. Howe e , by ha ime he Ge man
go e nmen had al eady e-e alua ed i s ac ics, deciding ha i would ac ually be
in Ge many’s s a egic in e es s o as many Ge mans as possible o emain in he
Polish bo de egions. Ne e heless, he Polish au ho i ies insis ed ha he Ge mans
mus lea e Poland, and emained unmo ed by he Ge man go e nmen ’s eques s;
93 Philipp The , Schlesisch, deu sch ode polnisch? Iden i ä enwandel in Obe schlesien
1921–1956. In: Kai S uwe — Philipp The (eds.), Die G enzen de Na ionen. Iden i ä en-
wandel in Obeschlesien in de Neuzei , Ma bu g 2002, pp. 169–201, he e p. 183.
94 See K. M. Wiśniewska, Kon owe sje do yczące, pp. 119–122; Zygmun Izdebski, Niemiec-
ka lis a na odowa na Gó nym Śląsku, Ka owice 1946, p. 25; And zej B ożek, Niemcy na zi-
emiach polskich p zed II wojną świa ową. P óba achunku liczbowego, Zeszy y Naukowe
WSP. Ekonomia I, Opole 1965; And zej B ożek, Zu S a is ik de deu schen Be ölke ung
in Polen sei 1930. In: Jah buch ü die Geschich e de UdSSR und Volksdemok a ischen
Lände n Eu opas 7, 1963, pp. 477–480; A. Ta g, Liczba Niemców.
95 Pio G eine — Rysza d Kaczma ek, Leksykon mniejszości niemieckiej w wojewódz-
wie śląskim w la ach 1922–1939. Za ys dziejów. O ganizacje. Działacze, Ka owice 2002,
pp. 19–20.
50 WISOHIM/ESHP 22
OPEN
ACCESS
he Poles a gued ha he Vienna Con en ion had been inco po a ed in o Polish law
and he e o e i could no be b eached. The e we e no majo dispu es on he ac ual
numbe s o Ge mans in he Poznań and Pome anian oi odeships (in con as o he
si ua ion in Silesia).96
A ela i ely la ge numbe o Ge mans also li ed in he cen al oi odeships o Wa -
saw and Łódź as well as in he Polish pa o Volhynia (Wołyń). Acco ding o a Russian
census conduc ed on he o me e i o y o he Kingdom o Poland (wi h he excep ion
o small a eas which came unde Li huanian con ol), he e we e 381 400 Ge mans and
385 750 Lu he ans; he as majo i y o he Lu he ans would ha e been Ge mans.97 The
Polish census o 1921 pu he numbe o Ge mans in his e i o y a 196 450, while he
1931 census showed 368 000 Ge mans; a Ge man es ima e was 415 000. E en aking in o
accoun a ious mo emen s o popula ion in he pos -wa yea s (such as he e u n
o Ge man colonis s o Volhynia), he o icial Polish s a is ics seem sca cely c edible.
He e I will b ie ly ou line — wi h a conside able deg ee o simpli ica ion — he
p oblems ha occu ed in connec ion wi h he census in Eas Galicia; unde he
Second Polish Republic, his e i o y, adminis e ed om i s capi al Lwów, became
known as “Eas e n Lesse Poland” (Małopolska Wschodnia). My accoun o hese
p oblems will use he e m “Uk ainians”, which has p o oked o en s ongly nega-
i e eac ions among many Polish au ho s (e.g. Kie ski); some o he Uk ainians con-
side ed hemsel es Russians, o he s Uk ainians, and o he s Ru henians, while many
did no speci y hei “na ionali y” a all. In 1910, when he e i o y was pa o he
Habsbu g Mona chy, he census in Eas Galicia de e mined he popula ion’s language
o daily use (Umgangssp ache) as ollows: 3 791 000 Ru henians (71.1%) and 770 000
Poles (14.4%), plus 660 000Jews (12.4%; Jews we e coun ed acco ding o hei eligion,
hough hei language o daily use was mos equen ly Polish). Wi h ega d o eligion,
61.7% o he popula ion we e G eek Ca holics, 25.3% Roman Ca holics, and 12.4% Jews.
In 1931 a o al o 1860 000 people we e Polish-speake s (39.1%); 2 495 000 we e
Uk ainian/Russian-speake s (52.75%); and 337 300 people spoke he “Jewish” language
(i.e. Yiddish o Heb ew; 7.13%). Roman Ca holics made up 28.56% o he o al popula-
ion, G eek Ca holics 60.21%, and Jews 7.13%. I would be possible o lis o he igu es
which p o e (con a y o he claims o he Polish go e nmen ) ha he pe cen age o
Polish-speake s is no he same as he pe cen age o Roman Ca holics.98
96 In addi ion o he abo e-ci ed s udies by Łypacewicz and S oliński — Roman Lu man,
Emig acja Niemców z Pomo za w ok esie powojennym, In: S an posiadania ziemi na Po-
mo zu, To uń 1933; Kazimie z Kie ski, P awa mniejszości niemieckiej w Polsce, Poznań
1923; P zemysław Hause , Mniejszość niemiecka w Wojewódz wie Pomo skim w la ach
1920–1939, W ocław-Wa szawa-K aków-Gdańsk-Lódź 1981.
97 O. Heike, Das Deu sch um, p. 29; Heike also epea ed he da a he collec ed in a la e , ex-
panded e sion: Die deu sche Minde hei in Polen bis 1939. Ih Leben und Wi ken — kul-
u ell, gesellscha lich, poli isch, Le e kusen 1985; Wal e Kuhn, Zahl und Be ölke ungs-
bewegung de Deu schen Kong espolens, In: Deu sche Wi scha liche Zei sch i in Polen
1935, p. 486.
98 The da a we e published by e.g.: Tadeusz Dąbkowski, Uk aiński uch na odowy 1912–1923
w Galicji Wschodniej, Wa szawa 1985; Rysza d To zecki, Kwes ia uk aińska w Polsce wla-
dan GaW EcKI 51
OPEN
ACCESS
An impo an piece in Poland’s mul ina ional mosaic was he Jewish popula ion,
who we e o en he dominan mino i y g oup. In 1937 Poland was home o 3.5 mil-
lion Jews, ep esen ing 29.8% o all Jews in he wo ld. As a as can be de e mined,
he e we e no majo con o e sies ega ding he census in connec ion wi h he Jew-
ish popula ion. Howe e , his g oup did display ce ain dis inguishing ea u es. The
mos impo an was he Jews’ ela ionship wi h eligion. As Wojciech Jawo ski pu s i :
“se e al na ions can hank eligion o hei su i al, bu he Jews we e in ac o med
by eligion”. In 1921, when bo h mo he ongue and na ionali y we e de e mined, 73%
o Jews decla ed hei mo he ongue o be he “Jewish” language (i.e. Yiddish and He-
b ew), 25.5% Polish, and jus 0.4% Ge man. In 1931, 87.7% o Jews decla ed hemsel es
o be speake s o he “Jewish” language. Mo e Jews li ing in he Silesian Voi odeship
ga e hei mo he ongue as Ge man han in o he pa s o Poland.99
The o e all one o Polish jou nalism when w i ing abou he census (and o he
na ionali y- ela ed issues) was undoub edly in luenced by he ise in in e na ional
ensions du ing he 1930s. This was e lec ed in he choice o a gumen s and he
claims made in polemical a icles. In his wo k on he p o ec ion o mino i ies in Po-
land, he leading Polish expe on in e na ional law Kazimie z Kie ski s a ed ha
Poland did no wan o emo e Ge mans’ na ionali y, and ha he s a e g an ed hem
he same igh s as o he Polish ci izens — bu ha hey we e no en i led o special
p i ileges. O he a gumen s included he ollowing: mino i ies canno be allowed o
cause he b eakup o s a es o which hey a e ci izens; he in luence o Ge man cul-
u e on he Poles has always ended o be nega i e; a e he wa hey ga e us only
pa o he e i o y which should be ou s, bu now he Ge mans wan Pome ania and
hen hey plan o des oy Poland en i ely; he Poles do no lay claims o o eign e i-
o y, and hey comply wi h hei in e na ional obliga ions owa ds mino i ies; wha
would he Ge mans say i we demanded he whole o Silesia, Wa mia, o he Duchy o
P ussia?; he Ge mans wan a new wa and a e planning u he obbe y.100
Al hough his a icle has ocused p ima ily on he censuses in Ge many and
Poland (because hese a e o pa icula ele ance o compa isons wi h he Czech
lands), i would be use ul o a leas b ie ly men ion se e al o he coun ies — espe-
cially wi h ega d o ce ain speci ic ea u es, hough he gene al p inciples a e e y
simila .
A e he Fi s Wo ld Wa , censuses in he successo s a es de e mined bo h lan-
guage and na ionali y.101 Howe e , de ini ions o na ionali y o his pu pose di e ed;
ach 1923–1929, K aków 1989; G zego z H yciuk, P zemiany na odowościowe i lud noś cio-
we w Galicji Wschodniej i na Wołyniu w la ach 1931–1948, To uń 2005.
99 Szyja B onsz ejn, Ludność żydowska w Polsce w ok esie międzywojennym. S udium s a-
ys yczne, W ocław-Wa szawa-K aków 1963, pp. 20–21, 27; Wojciech Jawo ski, Ludność
żydowska w Wojewódz wie śląskim w la ach 1922–1939, Ka owice 1997, pp. 7–8 ( he sou ce
o he ci a ion), 166.
100 Kazimie z Kie ski, Och ona p awna mniejszości Polsce, Poznań 1933, pp. 76–87.
101 Heinz Kloss, Sp ache, Na ionali ä , Volk und ande e e hnos a is ische Beg i e im Lich e
de Kon ak linguis ik, In: Pe S u e U eland (ed.), En s ehung on Sp achen und Völke n,
Tübingen 1985, pp. 209–218, he e pp. 212–213.