Dyplomaci francuscy przyglądają się sytuacji religijnej na Śląsku (1947–1956)
French diplomats look at the religious situation in Silesia (1947–1956)

Summary/Abstract: In 1945, after a six-year break, the French consulate in Katowice was reopened. The consuls’ dispatches contain remarks on religious life in Silesia. This article discusses mainly sources written by French diplomats on a mission in Poland, dated from the end of the World War II until 1956. By analyzing those sources one can come to a conclusion that communists in Silesia tried – through the attempts at separating workers from the Church and the secularisation of social life (especially in matters concerning the upbringing of children and youth) – to destroy the authority of the members of the clergy faithful to the Pope in the eyes of the inhabitants of the diocese. Those efforts were meant to lead finally to the establishment of a national Church dependent on civil authority. The analysis of sources written by French diplomats allows us to get acquainted not only with their opinions about the administrators of the diocese of Katowice, but also with the opinions of the community of Kraków.

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