IGCSE HISTORY REVISION: UPPER SILESIA 1921. The Upper Silesia plebiscite was a plebiscite mandated by the Versailles Treaty and carried out on 20 March 1921 to determine ownership of the province of Upper Silesia between Weimar Germany and Poland.

1. UPPER SILESIA
DISPUTE 1921
IGCSE HISTORY
REVISION

2. PROFILE
The Upper Silesia plebiscite was a plebiscite mandated by the Versailles
Treaty and carried out on 20 March 1921 to determine ownership of the
province of Upper Silesia.

3. Question 1
Which countries were involved in the
Upper Silesia dispute?

4. Answer 1
The dispute was between Germany and Poland.
Members of the Polish Plebiscite Committee

5. Question 2
What happened in March 1921?

6. Answer 2
The League held six weeks
of discussions with
representatives of the
German and Polish
governments.
In March 1921, the
League organised a
plebiscite.
700 000 voted in favour of
Germany, while 480 000
voted in favour of Poland.
A bilingual Polish
Propaganda
poster: Vote for
Poland and you
will be free

7. Question 3
What was the League’s decision in
regards with Upper Silesia dispute?

8. Answer 3
The League decided that
the territory should be
shared.
The League decided that
Germany should have just
over half the territory.
The League decided that
Poland would receive the
mainly industrial area.
A German Propaganda
poster: Prayer of the
Homeland: Upper
Silesia remain German!

9. Question 4
Why was Upper Silesia dispute
considered a success?

10. Answer 4
The League safeguarded
minority groups.
The League safeguarded rail
links between the two
countries.
The League made
arrangements for water and
power supplies from one
side of the border to be
supplied to the other.
A crowd
awaits the
plebiscite
results in
Oppeln
(Opole)

11. Important
The German and Polish governments,
under a League of Nations
recommendation, agreed to enforce
protections of minority interests that
would last for 15 years.
Special measures were threatened in case
either of the two states should refuse to
participate in the drawing up of such
regulations, or to accept them.
The German minority remaining on the
Polish side of the border suffered
considerable discrimination in the future.
1920 special
passport issued to
those living in the
region during the
Upper Silesian
plebiscite.