Bezbronne myśli. Eseje i inne pisma o Górnym Śląsku

The present book contains essays, studies, memoires, a speech, as well as poetic attempts whose theme is Upper Silesia. These are texts which in different versions, usually under different titles were published in the monthly “Śląsk”, in the quarterlies “Przegląd Polityczny” and “Fabryka Silesia”, as well as in “Borussia”. All the texts — as literary texts — are devoted to various aspects of Upper Silesian identity. They are attempts at diagnosing what the contemporary regionalism is, what Upper Silesia is at the beginning of the XXI century, what the so-called Upper-Silesian awakening is, what the perspectives of the Silesian dialect as a regional language are, etc. Some texts constitute attempts at portraying outstanding, already deceased persons of cultural life in Upper Silesia (Stefan Szymutko, Michał Smolorz, Jan F. Lewandowski, Feliks Netz). Some essays are theoretical in nature — they focus on seeking a research method that would include both the contemporary existence of people who identify themselves with Upper Silesia, as well as a historical perspective free from propaganda and distortions. The book is finished with a genuine speech delivered in the Sejm of the Republic of Poland at 9th October 2014. The content of the speech exposes the true defencelessness of Silesian thoughts and simultaneously motivates the title of the entire compilation.