In the Middle Ages, Silesia formed part of Piast-ruled Poland, and in the 14th century it gradually passed to the Kingdom of Bohemia.

In 1939–1940, during the anti-Polish Intelligenzaktion campaign, many Polish activists, priests, officials, teachers and school principals were deported by the German occupiers to concentration camps and then murdered there.

[16] With the exception of the areas around Cieszyn, Ostrava, and Hlučín, Czech Silesia was predominantly settled by German-speaking populations up until 1945.

Following the World War II, Czech Silesia and Hlučín Region were returned to Czechoslovakia and the ethnic Germans were expelled in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement.

Some of the native Slavic population speak Lach, which is classed by Ethnologue as a dialect of Czech,[17] although it also shows some similarities to Polish.