Province of Upper Silesia
| Province of Upper Silesia | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Province of Prussia | |||||||||||||||
| 1919–1938 1941–1945 | |||||||||||||||
Upper Silesia (Red) within the Free State of Prussia (Blue). | |||||||||||||||
Administrative districts and counties in the Gau of Upper Silesia (1943) | |||||||||||||||
| Capital | Oppeln (1919–1938) Kattowitz (1941–1945) | ||||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||||
| • Coordinates | 50°40′13.080″N 17°55′13.040″E / 50.67030000°N 17.92028889°E | ||||||||||||||
• 1925 | 9,702 km2 (3,746 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||||
• 1925 | 1,379,408 | ||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||
• Established | 1919 | ||||||||||||||
| 1938–1941 | |||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1945 | ||||||||||||||
| Political subdivisions | Kattowitz region Oppeln region | ||||||||||||||
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| Today part of | Poland Czech Republic | ||||||||||||||
The Province of Upper Silesia (German: Provinz Oberschlesien; Silesian German: Provinz Oberschläsing; Silesian: Prowincyjŏ Gōrny Ślōnsk; Polish: Prowincja Górny Śląsk) was a province of the Free State of Prussia from 1919 to 1945. It comprised much of the region of Upper Silesia and was eventually divided into two government regions (Regierungsbezirke) called Kattowitz (1939–1945), and Oppeln (1819–1945). The provincial capital was Oppeln (1919–1938) and Kattowitz (1941–1945), while other major towns included Beuthen, Gleiwitz, Hindenburg O.S., Neiße, Ratibor and Auschwitz, added in 1941 (the place of future extermination of Jews in World War II). Between 1938 and 1941 it was reunited with Lower Silesia as the Province of Silesia.