Polish minority in the Czech Republic

Polish minority in the Czech Republic

Goral men's choir from Jablunkov during the parade of the Jubileuszowy Festiwal PZKO 2007 in Karviná
Total population
38,218 (2021 census)[1][a]
Regions with significant populations
Trans-Olza:[2] 37,117 (2001 census)
Languages
Polish, Czech, Cieszyn Silesian
Religion
Roman Catholicism (57.02%), Lutheranism (15.84%) and Atheism (11.51%) (1991 census)[3][b][c]
Related ethnic groups
Czechs and Slovaks

The Polish minority in the Czech Republic is a Polish national minority living mainly in the Trans-Olza region of western Cieszyn Silesia. The Polish community is the only national (or ethnic) minority in the Czech Republic that is linked to a specific geographical area.^[4] Trans-Olza is located in the north-eastern part of the country. It comprises Karviná District and the eastern part of Frýdek-Místek District. Many Poles living in other regions of the Czech Republic have roots in Trans-Olza as well.

Poles formed the largest ethnic group in Cieszyn Silesia in the 19th century, but at the beginning of the 20th century the Czech population grew. The Czechs and Poles collaborated on resisting Germanization movements, but this collaboration ceased after World War I. In 1920 the region of Trans-Olza was incorporated into Czechoslovakia after the Polish–Czechoslovak War. Since then the Polish population demographically decreased. In 1938 it was annexed by Poland in the context of the Munich Agreement and in 1939 by Nazi Germany. The region was then given back to Czechoslovakia after World War II. Polish organizations were re-created, but were banned by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. After the Velvet Revolution Polish organizations were re-created again and Trans-Olza had adopted bilingual signs.

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