Genealogy /
Silesian, old Polish heritage? [49]
Is Silesia Poland's Alsace?
I know Alsace in France very well.I have family and many friends there, most of them of Polish descent.But I have never been to Silesia.
Silesia in Poland and Alsace in France have many similarities.
Both are very pretty regions with small mountains.
Both are old mining areas with an industrial history.
Both have strong German links.
Alsatians regard themselves as Alstatians first, French second but definitely not German.
Silesians regard themselves as Silesians first Poles second but definitely not Germans.
As for architecture, Alsace looks very German, Silesia does only in some places, it looks mainly Polish to me.
As for language ,the Alsatians have their own language, which is incomprehensible to both the French or the Germans, but to my ears( two years of German) sounds like German.
The first time I went to Alsace my first conversation at Gare De Mulhouse was with a bus driver.I spoke to him in French and he politely replied to me in French with a very heavy Germanic Alsatian accent.I didn't understand a word....
I have since learnt to cope with that accent.(Similar to some Swiss French speakers).
From what I have heard, the Silesians don't actually have their own language, but have a dialect that mixes Polish with German.
Please tell me more.
Lastly, Alsatians are disliked by some French people, despite them being loyal to France, and seen as Germanic intruders to France.
I remember going camping, as a young man, with my Alsatan friends, in the South of France and some campsites refusing our entry because we were Alsatians.
A bit like London landlords in the sixties saying "No Blacks, No Irish and no Dogs"!
Do Silesians get a similar reaction from ordinary Poles?
To summarise, my two main questions are;
Are Silesians looked.down upon by Poles, as Alsatians are in France.
And do Silesians have their own language as Alsatians do or is it just a Polish dialect?
