Genealogy / Are Silesians people German/Germanic? [178]

Silesians have been Germans before 1945. After WW2 most of the Germans left Silesia...they had to... There are many Germans who stayed in Poland ...mainly in Upper Silesia (Opole) . It was allowed to stay if you learn Polish and change the German name to a Polish equivalent or something similar. My grandparents stayed next to Opole and experienced all this. My parents moved to Germany and so on ....

The current Silesians are a mixture of Polish and Germans in the area of Opole...the rest are mainly orginal Polish with ancestors from central and east Poland who came to Silesia after WW2.

Genealogy / Are Silesians people German/Germanic? [178]

@gumishu

you are completely right. Silesians speak a dialect of Polish now. Actually I am a Silesian and I know my family tree and the Silesian history.

I am speeking about that what my family experienced. It is not a general fact.
Before 1945, this dialect and German was used in the area of Opole. One part of south-east Silesia decided to be part of Poland after WWI. It was a free vote. Most of the people who spoke Polish and saw themselves as Polish moved to this region as far as I know. Well it is hard to state a general answer because especially Silesia has a rich culture with influences of various cultures.

Genealogy / Are Silesians people German/Germanic? [178]

@gregy741
@gumishu
Some people even spoke Czech. There are interesting statistics which show the language distribution in Silesia and its change over time. I am talking about the recent history of the last 200 years. This region experienced so much change during the last centuries which was good for the region from a economic point of view.