Die Geschichten hinter den Objekten ("The stories behind the objects")
Silesia (Polish: Śląsk, Czech: Slezsko) is a historical landscape, which today is mainly located in the extreme southwest of Poland, but in parts also on the territory of Germany and the Czech Republic. By far the most significant river is the Oder. To the south, Silesia is bordered mainly by the Sudeten and Beskid mountain ranges. Today, almost 8 million people live in Silesia. The largest cities in the region are Wrocław, Opole and Katowice. Before 1945, most of the region was part of Prussia for two hundred years, and before the Silesian Wars (from 1740) it was part of the Habsburg Empire for almost as many years. Silesia is classified into Upper and Lower Silesia.
Poland is located on the Baltic Sea and is the largest state (population in 2023: 37,636,508, area: 313,964 km²) in East Central Europe. The name of the state is derived from the West Slavic Polans, who brought more and more territories under their rule from the 9th century onwards, which were known as Duchy of Poland in the 10th century. Under Mieszko (ca. 960-992), the extent of the country reached approximately its current borders. He was at times subject to tribute to the German Emperor, at least for parts of his land. Poland probably adopted Christianity in 966 and from 1025 it was a kingdom. Between 1138 and 1295, the country was fragmented as a result of inheritance disputes. The extinction of the ruling Piast dynasty led to a Polish-Hungarian personal union in 1370, which was replaced by a Polish-Lithuanian dual monarchy as early as 1386 due to pressure from the Polish nobility. The growing role of the nobility resulted in an elective monarchy in 1572. However, the disunity of the nobility led to the three partitions of Poland (1772-1795) between Prussia, Russia and the Habsburg Monarchy. Poland only became independent after the end of the First World War in 1918 and lost its independence in 1939 after the German attack from the west at the beginning of the Second World War and the Russian invasion from the east. From 1945-1989 it was a satellite state of the Soviet Union. Poland has been a member of the European Union since 2004.
Upper Silesia (Polish Górny Śląsk, Czech Horní Slezsko) is the southeastern part of Silesia in modern Poland and the Czech Republic. The area lies on the Odra River and a part of the eastern Sudeten Mountains. Opole (Polish: Oppeln) is regarded as the historical capital of Upper Silesia.
The purpose of the blog is not to give a chronological outline of Silesian history, nor to explain major political events, but rather to focus on exemplary individual life stories and single events, report on them and put them into their historical context. On the basis of exhibits and archival materials from the collections of HAUS SCHLESIEN and some of its foreign partner museums, the aim is to tell about everyday and family life, about culture, economy and politics, and about the joys and sufferings of the people of Silesia in the period between the Empire and the People's Republic. The aim is to make the stories behind the objects visible and to give the silent witnesses a voice.
A further aim of the blog is to offer an opportunity to capture a range of very different perspectives through individual, personal stories, and thus to provide a multifaceted view of the everyday life, culture and history of Silesia in the first half of the 20th century. In addition, it shows the potential of the museum collections and draws attention to the important role that even comparatively unspectacular exhibits can have in conveying information, helping us to understand how everyday objects can also be worth collecting.









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