Although the Principality of Pleß fell to Poland when Upper Silesia was divided after 1919 as a result of the Treaty of Versailles, the goods and the castle remained in the possession of the Hochberg-Fürstenstein family until 1945.
The eldest son Hans Heinrich XVII took over the administration of the property in 1932 because his father was partially paralyzed. Since he was too active on the side of the German minority, there were conflicts with the Polish authorities.
Eventually, there was a lawsuit due to tax arrears from the Pleß mining directorate. This ended with the property being placed under receivership in 1934. In 1937 the German-Polish Agreement on Upper Silesia which protected the princely property from expropriation, expired.
The Fürst von Pleß had to accommodate the Polish State in order to receive at least part of his property. As a result of the tax debts, 56% of the real estate in Poland was nationalized. The mines and industrial companies were brought into two stock corporations, but the shares remained in the possession of the heirs of the Fürst, who died in 1938.
After 1945 the Communists came and confisquated all properties. So many families lost their wealth under Communist rule and the Hochberg-Fürstensteins (Princes von Pleß) were no exemption, especially not as they were seen as a Prussian family in former East Prussia (now Poland) who had "to pay" for being German indeed.
The current Fürst von Pleß lives in München.
