In the years after the First World War both Ulster and Upper
Silesia saw violent conflicts over self-determination. The violence
in Upper Silesia was more intense both in the numbers killed and in
the forms it took. Acts of violation such as rape or mutilation
were noticeably more common in Upper Silesia than in Ulster.
Examining the nature of communal boundaries, Timothy Wilson
explains the profound contrasts in these experiences of plebeian
violence. In Ulster the rival communities were divided by religion,
but shared a common language. In Upper Silesia, the rival sides
were united in religion-92 per cent of the local population being
Catholic-but ostensibly divided on linguistic grounds between
German and Polish speakers. In practice, language in Upper Silesia
proved a far more porous boundary than did religion in Ulster.
Language could not always be taken as a straightforward indication
of national loyalties.
At a local level, boundaries mattered because without them there
could not be any sense of security. In Ulster, where communal
identities were already clearly staked out, militants tended to
concentrate on the limited task of boundary maintenance. In Upper
Silesia, where national identities were so unclear, they focused
upon boundary creation. This was a task that required more
"transgressive" violence. Hence atrocity was more widely practised
in Upper Silesia because it could, and did, act as a polarizing
force.
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