The cultural identity of Silesia after World War II was a source of factors leading to both cohesion and destruction. They are deeply rooted in past events. The process of shaping cultural identification is continuous, lively and dynamic, and it is influenced by geopolitical, social and economic factors as well as those arising from personal, individual and collective attitudes.

The year 1945 was significant for all parts of Silesia, marking a new stage in the process of shaping cultural and regional identity. Upper Silesia, Lower Silesia and Opole Silesia had to face various complex problems. In Lower Silesia, due to the displacement of the native German population dominating here, identity creation began almost from scratch. In the case of Opole Silesia, it was necessary to rely on Polish tradition, newly acquired by this region. In turn, this tradition has always existed in multi-ethnic and multicultural Upper Silesia. The complex situation here resulted in the creation of limited aspirations to create the “Silesian nation”, which must be seen as a response to the decades of the existence of the Polish People’s Republic, when regional, ethnic and national specificity was questioned.