Economy of GermanyThe economy of Germany is a highly developed social market economy. It has the largest national economy in Europe, the fourth-largest by nominal GDP in the world (almost tied with Japan), and fifth by GDP (PPP). Due to a volatile currency exchange rate, Germany's GDP as measured in dollars fluctuates sharply. In 2017, the country accounted for 28% of the euro area economy according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Germany is a founding member of the European Union and the Eurozone.
Silesian languageSilesian or Upper Silesian is a West Slavic ethnolect of the Lechitic group spoken by a small percentage of people in Upper Silesia. Its vocabulary was significantly influenced by Central German due to the existence of numerous Silesian German speakers in the area prior to World War II and after. Some regard it as one of the four major dialects of Polish, while others classify it as a separate regional language, distinct from Polish.
BytomBytom (Polish pronunciation: AUDPl-Bytom.ogg'bytom; Silesian: Bytōm, Bytōń, Beuthen O.S.) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship of Poland, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capital. It is one of the oldest cities in the Upper Silesia, and the former seat of the Piast dukes of the Duchy of Bytom. Until 1532, it was in the hands of the Piast dynasty, then it belonged to the Hohenzollern dynasty. After 1623 it was a state country in the hands of the Donnersmarck family.
War of the Austrian SuccessionThe War of the Austrian Succession (Österreichischer Erbfolgekrieg) was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic, and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's War in North America, the War of Jenkins' Ear, the First Carnatic War, and the First and Second Silesian Wars. The pretext for the war was the right of Maria Theresa to succeed her father, Emperor Charles VI, as ruler of the Habsburg monarchy.
Frederick the GreatFrederick II (Friedrich II.; 24 January 1712 - 17 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Silesian wars, his reorganisation of the Prussian Army, the First Partition of Poland, and his patronage of the arts and the Enlightenment. Frederick was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled King in Prussia, declaring himself King of Prussia after annexing Royal Prussia from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1772.
Jagiellonian dynastyThe Jagiellonian (USˌjɑːgjəˈloʊniən ) or Jagellonian dynasty (USˌjɑːgəˈ- ; Jogailaičių dinastija; dynastia jagiellońska), otherwise the Jagiellon dynasty (dynastia Jagiellonów), the House of Jagiellon (Dom Jagiellonów), or simply the Jagiellons (Jogailaičiai; Jagiellonowie), was the name assumed by a cadet branch of the Lithuanian ducal dynasty of Gediminids upon reception by Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, of baptism as Władysław in 1386, which paved the way to his ensuing marriage to the Queen Regna
Province of Lower SilesiaThe Province of Lower Silesia (Provinz Niederschlesien; Silesian German: Provinz Niederschläsing; Prowincja Dolny Śląsk; Prowincyjŏ Dolny Ślōnsk) was a province of the Free State of Prussia from 1919 to 1945. Between 1938 and 1941 it was reunited with Upper Silesia as the Province of Silesia. The capital of Lower Silesia was Breslau (now Wrocław in Poland). The province was further divided into two administrative regions (Regierungsbezirke), Breslau and Liegnitz.
PolenlagerThe Polenlager (ˈpoːlənˌlaːɡɐ, Polish Camps) was a system of forced labor camps in Silesia that held Poles during the World War II Nazi German occupation of Poland. The prisoners, originally destined for deportation across the border to the new semi-colonial General Government district, were sent to the Polenlager between 1942 and 1945, once the other locations became too overcrowded to accommodate the prisoners. There were over 30 Polenlager camps, mostly in Silesia. All Polenlager camps were classified by the Germans as "labour reformatories".
RacibórzRacibórz ra'ćibusz (Ratibor, Ratiboř, Racibōrz) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Racibórz County. With Opole, Racibórz is one of the historic capitals of Upper Silesia, being the residence of the Dukes of Racibórz from 1172 to 1521. The city is situated in the southwest of the voivodeship on the upper Oder river, near the border with the Polish Opole Voivodeship and the Czech Republic.
ŚwidnicaŚwidnica (ɕfidˈɲit͡sa; Schweidnitz; Svídnice; Świdńica) is a city on the Bystrzyca River in south-western Poland in the Voivodeship of Lower Silesia. As of 2021, it has a population of 55,413 inhabitants. It lies in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, being the seventh largest town in that voivodeship. It is the seat of Świdnica County, and also of the smaller district of Gmina Świdnica (although it is not part of the territory of the latter, as the town forms a separate urban gmina).