Modernities and Everyday Life in a Silesian Borderland: American-Controlled Giesche and Interwar Families

This dissertation argues that the time between the World Wars was a critical period for changes in the way Silesians understood their own place in the modern world. Pre-existing social structures of support in industrial communities fell away as industrial management pursued an agenda of “economic rationalization,” focusing on business efficiency and trimming expenses including many social provisions. Within this vacuum of support, individuals and families relied on community and collaborative practices as they built and rebuilt their social landscape. Rather than accepting the withdrawal of benefits from the company, Silesians held the company and the municipality to account for long-standing social obligations. The population of Industrial Upper Silesia had their own progressive notions of modernity, eschewing economic rationalization for social services, quality of life, and a strong democratic voice. As the economic crises of the 1930s worsened, demands for social welfare provisions intensified, resulting in a relatively self-confident local government. “Modernities and Everyday Life” considers two important elements of Silesian everyday life: the lived economies of industrial families and their built environments. Within these contexts, this study focuses on three groups of reciprocal actors: municipal government officials, American managers of the Giesche company, and industrial families. Individuals within these groups both acted and were acted upon. Under American management, Silesians found themselves between two ideas of modernity: the progressive promises of quality of life and self-determination, and the calculations of economic rationalization. In light of this, families held officials, both in government and the company, to customary obligations of worker welfare and to new promises of prosperity. This study considers how Silesians sought to gain control over the challenging postwar circumstances in which they found themselves. It explores how they moved toward modernity in the economic, social and political spheres, and how the presence of international capital shaped this transition. Finally, it examines the ways changing behaviors reflected the fluid and conflicting understandings of “modernity” and modern practices in this time period. The hybrid lived economy is highlighted inside four built environments: town infrastructure, family and individual housing, family kitchens and their associated agricultural spaces, and the “little Americans” created by American managers.