MAP OBJECT: The Draw of Coal

The natural concentration of coal in Silesia made it a critical site for Poland's reconstruction. While other industries were rebuilding, the first few years of nationalized reconstruction focused on coal, textiles, and steel as the key pieces that would bring about economic change. At the same time, the danger of coal mining posed a risk to the body and lives of miners, in turn threatening the reconstruction effort itself. The location of the hospital at Piekary, in Silesia, was especially important in this regard, as part of a larger biopolitical instrument utilized for rebuilding Poland.