Bielsko

Bielsko [ˈbjɛlskɔ] ⓘ (German: Bielitz, Czech: Bílsko, Silesian: Biylsko, Wymysorys: Byłc) was until 1950 an independent town situated in Cieszyn Silesia, Poland.

Originally settled by Germans, it became the largest German-language center (Deutsche Sprachinsel Bielitz) in the Duchy of Teschen, and remained so until the end of World War II.

The census asked people for their native language: 15,144 (84.3%) were German-speaking, 2,568 (14.3%) were Polish-speaking and 136 (0.7%) were Czech-speaking.

The most populous religious groups were Roman Catholics with 10,378 (55.9%), followed by Protestants with 4,955 (26.7%) and the Jews with 3,024 (16.3%).

[2] The vast majority of the Jews were exterminated by Nazis during World War II, and the German population was expelled by the Soviets after the war under the terms demanded by Stalin at the Potsdam Conference.