Editing Częstochowa (section)

===Second Polish Republic===
On 12 November 1918, three companies of the freshly created [[Polish Army]] marched along the Holy Virgin Mary Avenue. In 1919–1921, Częstochowa was one of the centres of support of Silesian Poles fighting in the [[Silesian Uprisings]]. On 4 December 1920 [[Symon Petliura]] arrived, together with app. 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers. Their arrival spurred widespread protests, as the city already had a desperate food situation and was obliged to house and feed the Ukrainians.

[[File:Muzeum zapałek automat zapałczany.jpg|thumb|[[Match]] factory modernized in the 1920s, now a museum]]
In the [[Second Polish Republic]], Częstochowa belonged to [[Kielce Voivodeship]] (Kieleckie), where from 1928 it constituted the ''City County of Częstochowa''. In the 1920s, local industry still suffered from World War I losses, and having been cut off from Russian markets. Unemployment remained high, and thousands of workers left for France in search of work. The [[Great Depression]] was particularly difficult, resulting in strikes and workers' street clashes with the police.

In 1925, the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Częstochowa]] was created. The city grew in size, when between 1928 and 1934, several local settlements and villages were incorporated into city limits. In 1939, the population of Częstochowa was 138,000, which made it the eighth-largest city of Poland. In 1938, the Polish government announced plans to liquidate [[Kielce Voivodeship]], and create [[Sandomierz Voivodeship (1939)|Sandomierz Voivodeship]], based on [[Central Industrial Area]]. According to these plans, Częstochowa was to be transferred either to [[Łódź Voivodeship]], or [[Silesian Voivodeship (1920–1939)|Silesian Voivodeship]], together with [[Zagłębie Dąbrowskie]].