Prior to the Second World War, Katowice was mainly inhabited by Poles and Germans. The 1905 Silesian demographic census has shown that Germans made up nearly 75% of the total population. Following Germany's defeat in 1945, the large German majority was forced to flee. Most pre-war citizens (excluding Poles) were forcibly expelled by the new authorities. This resulted in a large group of exiled Silesians living in present-day Germany, creating a new association of "Landsmannschaft Schlesien". One of its most notable spokesmen and leaders was the Christian Democratic Union politician Herbert Hupka.