Silesians Together

Silesians Together (Silesian: Ślonzoki Razem, Polish: Ślązacy Razem, German: Ślonzoki Zusammen[1]) is Silesian regionalist political party in Poland founded in August 2017 by Witold Berus, Andrzej Rocznioek (Union of People of Silesian Nationality, formerly the Silesian Autonomy Movement) and Leon Swaczyna (formerly the Silesian Autonomy Movement). The party was founded with the idea of creating a Silesian party that would work with the German minority, a concept that originated in 2014.[2]

Silesians Together
Ślonzoki Razem
ChairpersonLeon Swaczyna
SecretaryAndrzej Roczniok
Founded2017
HeadquartersChorzów
IdeologyLocalism
Silesian autonomism
Silesian regionalism
Decentralization [1]
Federalism[1]
Linguistic separatism[1]
German minority interests [2]
Silesian separatism (minority)[3]
Political positionCentre-left[2]
National affiliationPolish Coalition
ColoursYellow
Blue
Vice ChairpersonJerzy Bogacki
Website
http://slonzokirazem.org/

The party is not officially in favor of Silesian independence. It believes that the pre-war autonomy of the Silesian Voivodeship should be restored. However, politicians of Silesians Together does not exclude the support of the project of the independent Silesian state in the event that this project is supported by the majority of Silesians.[3]

In the 2018 local elections Silesians Together formed its own election committees in few constituencies. In 2019 European elections its politicians started from lists of Poland Fair Play and Kukiz'15. For parliamentary elections in the same year Silesians Together became part of Polish Coalition led by Polish People's Party.

Ideology

The party has an ethno-regionalist character, with its programme defining the preservation of Silesian identity as the most important issue for the party. Silesians Together cooperate with the German minority in Silesia, and promote minority languages such as Silesian German and Czech Silesian, in addition to the Silesian language itself.[2] The party wishes to consolidate and integrate the Silesian community, while also financing the teaching of and preserving the Silesian language, as well as regional German and Czech dialects. The party also plans to support the development and preservation of Silesian culture and traditions.[2] Silesian Together considers Polish a "foreign language",[3] and expressed concerns that the Polonization of Silesia through the domination of the Polish language in schools and offices will strip Silesians of their culture and heritage.[4] The party considers it very important to make Silesian a language of education and administration in Silesia.[3]

The party argues that Silesia does not share common history with Poland, and underwent a separate cultural and historical development from that of Poland between the 12th and 20th centuries.[1] Silesians Together consider local autonomy an integral part of Silesian history, as Silesia was autonomous in the Czech state, the Austrian state and also in interwar Poland.[1] The party sees Silesian as an independent language rather than an ethnolect of Polish and calls for its revival, arguing that Silesian had been relegated to the role of a "household language" due to its exclusion from most media, official communication, and education.[1] The party also claims that the modern Silesian Voivodeship is "Silesian in name only" as significant part of it is culturally Lesser Polish rather than Silesian. To this end, the party pledges to allow culturally Polish lands to possibly secede from autonomous or independent Silesia.[1]

Silesians Together advocate for further decentralisation of Poland through the introduction of autonomous powers and solutions, especially in the area of financial autonomy, as the interwar autonomous Silesia had its own treasury.[2] According to the party programme, Poland should be divided into autonomous regions with legislative prerogatives and separate regional treasuries; financial autonomy is to apply to municipalities as well.[2] The party's suggested solution is to empower municipalities and allow them to collect and pool all public revenues such as taxes and fees on their territory and transfer part of them to the autonomous region, and further to the central government itself. The programme envisages the boundaries of the autonomous regions within their historical boundaries.[2]

See also

References
  1. "Programmmanifest". slonzokirazem.org (in German). Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  2. Muś, Anna (January 2018). Górny Śląsk i etnoregionalizm. Droga do rejestracji partii Ślonzoki Razem i Śląskiej Partii Regionalnej (in Polish). Wydawnictwo Naukowe WNPiD UAM. pp. 169–179. ISBN 9788365817464.
  3. "Partie regionalne na Górnym Śląsku odpowiadają na 11 pytań, a Wachtyrz komentuje". wachtyrz.eu (in Polish). Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  4. Lubina, Aleksander. "Kamratki a kamraty: Leon Swaczyna". wachtyrz.eu (in Silesian). Retrieved 2023-04-06.
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