Who Was Wojciech Korfanty?

Wojciech Korfanty (born 20 April 20 1873, Siemianowice, Upper Silesia, Ger. [now in Poland]—died 17 August 1939, Warsaw) was a political leader who played a major role in the national reawakening of the Poles of Upper Silesia and who led their struggle for independence from Germany. Korfanty is considered one of the "fathers of Polish independence," alongside figures such as Józef Piłsudski and Roman Dmowski.

The son of a miner, Korfanty became a journalist and a member of the secret nationalist society “Z,” which resisted Germany’s attempt to Germanize Upper Silesia’s Polish population. He became Upper Silesia’s first Polish member of the Reichstag (the German parliament) in 1903, being reelected in 1907 and 1918, and served in the Prussian Diet from 1904 to 1918—to the dismay of the Prussian administration, the Catholic hierarchy, and local capitalists. 

The War and Korfanty's Last Speech

As a Polish politician in the German Reichstag, his unspoken goal was the independence of Poland and the protection of Polish interests in Upper Silesia, not the support of the Central Powers. Initially however, Korfanty saw a potential opportunity to leverage support for the Central Powers in the conflict for Polish autonomy. As the war progressed and it became clear that Germany would not support a truly independent Poland, Korfanty’s opposition grew. By 1917, he had withdrawn his support for the German war effort.

By October 1918 the defeat of the Central Powers was already certain. The gathering of members of the Reichstag in the Polish Circle, anticipating the imminent end of their mission, began the final phase of their activities. It culminated in a speech by Wojciech Korfanty on 25 October 1918.

No statistical tricks will be able to change the fact that in West Prussia the left bank of the Vistula up to the Hel Peninsula is inhabited by an undoubtedly Polish population.

Your Lordships, Mr Ledebourg explained to us here yesterday which parts of the country he thought should belong to Poland. Here I would like to confirm his data and declare that we do not want a single German district, but demand Polish districts of Upper Silesia, Middle Silesia, Poznan, Polish West Prussia and Polish districts of East Prussia. [...] It is a miraculous orchestration of God that the old Prussia, the old Russia and the old Austria will perish under the onslaught of national ideas against which these three states have committed the greatest crimes.

This was the last speech by a Polish MP in the Reichstag. Together with Korfanty, other members of the Polish Circle also resigned. After the war's end he led the Polish demand for an Upper Silesian plebiscite. Although the majority of Silesian voters decided in favor of remaining part of Germany, Korfanty’s campaign efforts resulted in a pro-Polish majority in the southeastern industrial section of Upper Silesia (March 1921). After he had led a third armed rebellion (May 1921), he induced the Allies to set the German–Polish border along a line in Silesia more favorable to Poland than previously intended.

Silesian Dissidents Named Their Armored Car in Honor of Korfanty

In the newly restored Poland, he sat in the Constituent Assembly (1919–22) and the Parliament (1922–30) as a leader of the national bloc. Opposed to Józef Piłsudski’s dictatorial methods, he was imprisoned in 1930 but was soon released and entered the Senate. Fearing repression, he left Poland for the capital of Czechoslovakia in 1935.  

Korfanty’s emigration status deteriorated significantly in March 1939. This was because at that time the Wehrmacht occupied Czechoslovakia. This meant an immediate threat to Korfanty, who was living in Prague. At first he took refuge in the French embassy, then, with a French passport in the name of Albert Martin, he left for Paris. Efforts to obtain permission from the Polish authorities to return to the country were unsuccessful. But they did not discourage him either. On 27 April 1939, he arrived in Gdynia and from there Katowice.

However, in the country to which he so badly wanted to return, he was arrested and, despite the protests, imprisoned in Pawiak prison. He spent three months there. It was also during this time that the prisoner’s numerous ailments and conditions manifested themselves: liver disease, anaemia, inflammation of the gall bladder and pleurisy. These, as well as the fear of Korfanty’s death in custody, contributed to Korfanty’s release after 82 days. He died on 17 August 1939, on the 20th anniversary of the outbreak of the Silesian Uprising.

Sources: Encyclopedia Britannica; European Network Remembrance and Solidarity