Karol Śliwka (; 13 March 1894 – 19 March 1943) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

politician. He was one of the most prominent political leaders of the Polish minority in

Trans-Olza Trans-Olza ( pl, Zaolzie, ; cs, Záolží, ''Záolší''; german: Olsa-Gebiet; Cieszyn Silesian dialect, Cieszyn Silesian: ''Zaolzi''), also known as Trans-Olza Silesia (Polish language, Polish: ''Śląsk Zaolziański''), is a territory in the ...

region of the First Czechoslovak Republic and a member of National Assembly of the Czechoslovak Republic from 1925 to 1938.

Biography

Śliwka was born son of a metallurgy worker in Bystrzyca. After finishing five classes of primary school in his native village he entered the Polish gymnasium (grammar school) in Cieszyn. After outbreak of World War I he volunteered to army of General Józef Haller but after several months became a prisoner of war in Russia from 1915 to 1918 (mostly in

Kaluga Kaluga ( rus, Калу́га, p=kɐˈɫuɡə), a city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast in Russia, stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Population: Kaluga's most famous resident, the space travel pioneer Konstantin Tsiol ...

). In 1917 he joined the Bolshevik Party. In 1921 he became an Executive Committee member of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. He was the editor of the newspaper ''Głos Robotniczy'' ('Workers Voice'). Śliwka was the foremost leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia within the Polish minority.Collegium Carolinum (Munich, Germany), and Karl Bosl.
Die erste Tschechoslowakische Republik als multinationaler Parteienstaat: Vorträge d. Tagungen d. Collegium Carolinum in Bad Wiessee vom 24.-27. November 1977 u. vom 20.-23. April 1978
'. Munich: Oldenbourg, 1979. p. 230 He was an advocate of unity between Polish, Czech and German communists in Český Těšín. Śliwka represented the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in the Czechoslovak National Assembly between 1925 and 1938. As a parliamentarian, Śliwka fought for the rights of the Polish minority in the Czechoslovak Republic.Heumos, Peter.
Polen und die böhmischen Länder im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert Politik und Gesellschaft im Vergleich
' ; Vorträge der Tagung des Collegium Carolinum in Bad Wiessee vom 15. bis 17. November 1991. @Bad Wiesseer Tagungen des Collegium Carolinum, 19. München: Oldenbourg, 1997. p. 148 Following the cession of

territory to Poland, Śliwka and another Polish parliamentarian

Leon Wolf Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

, leader of the League of Silesian Catholics, lost their parliamentary seats on 30 October 1938. Other parliamentarians representing national minorities suffered a similar fate. Polish authorities adopted strict measures against communist activists. Śliwka and another activist Franciszek Kraus have been jailed in Mokotów Prison in Warsaw. He was released after he signed a testimony saying he is breaking up with communist movement. As a result, he was expelled from the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. In April 1940 he was arrested by Gestapo and jailed in

Moravská Ostrava Ostrava (; pl, Ostrawa; german: Ostrau ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic, and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 280,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rive ...

and later in other towns. In 1942 he was sentenced for five years in prison, which he served in Cieszyn. Śliwka was eventually transferred to the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp, where he officially died in March 1943. After World War II he was dishonoured in Czechoslovakia for alleged betrayal of communist ideals in 1938. He was exonerated in 1969.
Elektroniczny Słownik Biograficzny Śląska Cieszyńskiego - ŚLIWKA KAROL
'

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sliwka, Karol 1894 births 1943 deaths People from Frýdek-Místek District People from Cieszyn Silesia Polish people from Trans-Olza Communist Party of Czechoslovakia politicians Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Czechoslovakia (1925–1929) Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Czechoslovakia (1929–1935) Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Czechoslovakia (1935–1939) Polish communists Polish cooperative organizers Polish people of World War I Polish prisoners of war World War I prisoners of war held by Russia Politicians who died in Nazi concentration camps Czechoslovak civilians killed in World War II Polish civilians killed in World War II People who died in Mauthausen concentration camp