The Vatican Apostolic Archive and the Historical Archive of the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, though still not fully researched, help uncover the background of the establishment of the Apostolic Administration in Upper Silesia. The documents found there shed new light on the process of the election of Fr August Hlond SDB as the first head of the administration and later Bishop of the Silesian (Katowice) Diocese. Apart from the dominant narrative in the literature, saying that Hlond’s appointment was motivated by his acquaintance with Archbishop Achille Ratti, Apostolic Nuncio to Poland, who when travelling to Rome would often stop in Vienna, where the Salesian from a village near Mysłowice worked, there are also many indications that his contacts with Monsignore G.B. Ogno-Serra helped him be even better known in Vatican circles. What contributed to this appointment was also the German government’s strong disapproval of Fr Kubina as a candidate, as he was accused of political agitation and pro-Polish activities.

The Apostolic Administration for Polish Silesia was established by decree Sanctissimus Dominus noster on 7 November 1922. It covered an area which hitherto was part of the diocese of Wrocław and which was included in the Polish state when the new borders were drawn up after the Silesian uprisings and the plebiscite. Not accepting any continued sovereignty of the diocese of Wrocław over that part of the territory of the Second Polish Republic, the Polish authorities insisted that a new Church administration unit be created there. The authorities disapproved of the discriminatory practices used by Wrocław bishops against the Polish faithful and therefore demanded creation of a separate diocese. When the Apostolic Administration was created instead, they initially adopted a wait-and-see approach. In addition, the new head of the Administration, Fr August Hlond, who was not particularly well known in Upper Silesia then, aroused concern.
His attitude of tolerance towards German Catholics caused controversy in the first period. The controversy
calmed down with time and mutual trust and willingness to cooperate began to prevail, built on the conviction that the Apostolic Administrator’s line of action was right. The structure he administered, to which Cieszyn Silesia was added, was transformed into the Diocese of Katowice after the Concordat was signed in 1925.

The study presents the position of Cardinal Adolf Bertram, Bishop of Wrocław, on the future of pastoral ministry in Upper Silesia in the years 1919–1922. His clear stance on Poland’s demands concerning separation of the eastern part of Upper Silesia from the diocese of Wrocław will be presented. The articles focuses on the diplomatic correspondence exchanged between Cardinal Bertram and the Holy See as well as between Apostolic Nuncios Achille Ratti and Eugenio Pacelli and the Vatican Secretariat of State. The role of key diplomatic figures in the German embassy to the Holy See in advancing German interests is also discussed. Steps taken by Cardinal Bertram will be analysed in the context of the reorganisation of relations between the Holy See and the German Reich (and Prussia) with respect to the concordat policy.

The establishment of the Apostolic Administration of Upper Silesia (1922) - Diocese of Katowice entailed significant expenses. The authorities in Katowice believed that along with the territorial division of the Wrocław* diocese, its property should also be divided. The most important part of dobra wrocławskie (the "Wrocław properties & beneficia") was from then on located in Czechoslovakia. The division of Church property was complicated because it was part of a broader issue regarding the existence and role of the Catholic Church in this area. Ultimately, the Katowice diocese did not receive emoluments from the goods of the Wrocław diocese.

The purpose of this article is to present the dispute and how it was to be resolved. We are also familiarised with the activities of the main parties interested in the division of the aforementioned goods, which were the Bishop of Katowice acting in consultation with the Polish government, the Bishop of Wrocław, the government in Czechoslovakia, and - ultimately - the Holy See.

The text gives a chronological description of the creation and development of the ecclesial administrative structures in the foreign (namely Austrian and since 1918 Czechoslovakian) part of the archdiocese of Wrocław.

               The division of the diocese of Wrocław was mainly an effect of the so called Silesian Wars (1740–1763). Most dioceses, including the episcopal city of Wrocław, were included in Prussia then. A smaller part, with the entire Cieszyn Silesia and a portion of Nysa Silesia, remained under the jurisdiction of Austria and later Austria-Hungary.

The end of the First World War led to the emergence of new states and consequently to changes in the structure of church administration. Cieszyn Silesia was divided between Czechoslovakia and Poland. The church administration on the Polish lands was incorporated into the new diocese of Katowice, established in 1925. In the territories owned by Czechoslovakia, a legally independent Commissariat for Eastern Silesia was established. A similar legally independent Commissariat was formed in Nysa Silesia, a part of Czechoslovakia at that time. The commissioners for both these commissariats were appointed by the Archbishop of Wrocław.

            This structure was then profoundly changed after the Second World War. Immediately after the war ended and because of the then situation of the Polish part of the diocese of Wrocław, the Apostolic Administration of Český Těšín was formed. Although plans had been announced to create a separate diocese, they had to be abandoned because of the political situation at that time. It was not until 1996 that the diocese of Ostrava-Opava was established and thus the ecclesial administration structure got its final shape there.

The change of the political system abolished censorship restrictions constituting a barrier to conducting historical research. Guided by the awareness of the lack of such barriers independent of the authors, an analysis of the content of selected Polish-language studies presenting the history of the Catholic Church in Upper Silesia was undertaken. The research allowed to determine the advantage of publications published in the Katowice diocese over those of the Opole diocese. There was also a lack of parity between the issues addressed. Presenting problems in terms of relations with Polish culture and history.