The difficult and complicated history of Upper Silesia, especially changes in state affiliation, created in the native population the need of a stable identity that would resist political transformations. This led to the formation of the Silesian community, which the latest national census (2011) estimated at 817 thousand. The number is a substantial argument in the strife of Silesians for the recognition of their Silesian nationality, all the more so, since according to the law on national and ethnic minorities and regional language Upper Silesians are neither an ethnic nor a national minority. Hitherto endeavors to register the Silesian nationality proved unsuccessful. But Silesians persist in their efforts. They preserve their cultural system and strive for the recognition of the Silesian idiom as a regional language. Culture and language are important elements defining nationality and Upper Silesians are aware of the fact. In their activity they are supported among others by the Movement for Silesian Autonomy (Ruch Autonomii Śląska), which in its aspiration to the autonomy of Upper Silesia does not forget about the Silesian tradition and above all about the language.