Selected records of the Silesian Voivodeship Police Policja Województwa Śląskiego (Sygn. 38)

Selected files of the Policja Województwa Śląskiego (Silesian Voivodeship Police). Consist of orders and ordinances of superior authorities, situational reports, searching, investigations and detentions of criminals, information about various manifestations of social and political life. Included are records related to “Volksdeutsche" communities, German minority, communist movement, political parties and federations/associations. Among the materials there are documents concerning antisemitic and anti-communist political group, OWP (Obóz Wielkiej Polski), mandatory deportation of the Sinti and Roma, illegal crossing of country borderline by Jews, numerous reports from soldiers and frontier informers that the Germans are planning an armed attack on Poland, and German subversive actions. Copyright Holder: Naczelna Dyrekcja Archiwów Państwowych The Silesian Voivodeship Police started operating in June 1922 immediately after Poland's part of Upper Silesia was granted to it. The matter of competence and organization of the police authorities was established by the ordinance of June 17, 1922, regarding the organization of the Silesian Voivodeship Police. It stated that the voivodship police is an organization of the security service and has the task of maintaining security, peace and public order, and in this respect is the executive body of the voivodeship administration authorities. Organizationally, the police were adapted to the administrative division of the province, divided into the Main Police Headquarters of the Silesian Province with headquarters in Katowice, poviat and city headquarters (for cities constituting poviats), police stations in cities and larger municipalities or districts of larger cities, and posts in municipalities and smaller cities. In the field of organization, administration, supply, weaponry and training, the voivodship police was subordinate to the chief commandant, while in the area of security service and executive actions of administrative authorities subordinated to the voivode, and in poviats - starosts, in the districts for which police directorates were established (Katowice, Chorzów), Bielsko) - police directors. The above regulation also regulated the attitude of the police to the judiciary. It established that in the investigation of crimes, the police are directly dependent on the judiciary; Prosecutor's offices and judicial authorities have the right to directly issue orders to the police in accordance with the criminal proceedings laws. [Source: Based on description from the source Archives]