Status verified as of 19 September 2026. Political positions change; this explainer describes the documented position on that date.
Current constitutional position
The Silesian Voivodeship is an ordinary region of Poland; its historic 1920-1945 autonomy has not been restored.[1]
RAŚ's current position
RAŚ won seats in the Silesian regional assembly in 2010 and 2014, but neither it nor rival regionalist groups won seats in 2018.[2][3]
Minority recognition
Silesians remain excluded from Poland's legally recognised national and ethnic minorities; the most recent recognition bill was rejected by the Sejm in 2020, after earlier rejections in 2016 and 2018.[4]
Sources for this page
Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.
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1.
Claim: The Silesian Voivodeship's autonomy was formally revoked on 7 May 1945.
- Silesian independence (Wikipedia) link, History section. Source record
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2.
Claim: RAŚ entered the Silesian Voivodeship regional assembly for the first time in 2010, winning 3 seats (growing to 4 during the term), and again in 2014 with 4 seats from the outset.
- Silesian Autonomy Movement (Wikipedia) link, Electoral history section. Source record
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3.
Claim: At the 2018 regional election, contesting as the Silesian Regional Party, RAŚ (3.1%) and the rival Ślonzoki Razem (3.23%) both won seats short of the electoral threshold, and no regionalist group entered the regional parliament.
- Silesian Autonomy Movement (Wikipedia) link, 2018 election section. Source record
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4.
Claim: A 2014 citizens' legislative proposal, signed by around 140,000 people, to recognise Silesians as an ethnic minority and Silesian as a regional language was not debated in the Sejm until October 2016, when it was rejected; further bills were voted down in 2018 and 2020.
- Silesian language (Wikipedia) link, 2014-2020 rejections section. Source record
Printed from https://independenceatlas.com/movements/silesia/status · last substantive update 24 September 2026.