Difference between revisions of "Poland"

Latest revision as of 07:06, 2 January 2015

Name[edit]

Poland's official name in Polish is Rzeczpospolita Polska. The names of the country, Polska, and of the nationality, the Poles, are of Slavic origin. Their name derives from the tribal name Polanie - people living around Lake Gopło - the cradle of Poland mentioned as Glopeani having 400 strongholds circa 845 (Bavarian Geographer). Common opinion holds that the name Polska comes from the Slavic Polanie tribe who established the Polish state in the 10th century (Greater Poland). The conventional etymology of the ethnic name of the Poles relates it to these Polish Polanie, "dwellers of the field"; pole, "field", analogous to Russian polye, "open land", from Indo-European pelè-, "flat" + -anie, "inhabitants", analogous to Latin -anus, "originating from" (please compare Yuriev-Polsky). In old Latin chronicles the terms terra Poloniae (land of Poland) or Regnum Poloniae (kingdom of Poland) appear.

This is an informative source as to the origins of the name Poland, in Polish: Polska. The quoted text is taken from "Geographica's Pocket: World Reference" located on page 549. ISBN 1-55192-413-7. The text reads that "...In the seventh and eighth centuries AD, Slavic peoples from the south-known as Polanie, or plain-dwellers-occupied most of Poland. In the tenth century their king was converted to Christianity." To be accurate we must confess, that ruler which was first converted to Christianity wasn't a king at all - it is said he was only a prince (we are talking about Mieszko I). Poles belong as a separate category in the Lechitic subgroup of the West-Slavic people. From the source, listed above, there is shown a connection between the people of the South-West Slavic group (such as Serbs) and Poles. This is because the Polanie could be descendants of West-Slavs from the South like Serbs, as the above source states.

Parallel to this terminology, another one, Lechia, came into use, thought to derive from the tribe name Lędzianie. It gave rise to an alternative name for "Pole": Lęch, Lęchowie in Old Church Slavonic, Lechia, Lechites in Latin, Lach in Ruthenian, Lyakh in Russian, as well as to old German Lechien, Hungarian Lengyelorszag, Lengyel, Lithuanian Lenkija, lenkas and Turkish Lechistan (from Persian Lehestan).

History[edit]

Poland began to form into a recognizable unitary and territorial entity around the middle of the 10th century under the Piast dynasty. Poland's first historically documented ruler, Mieszko I, was baptized in 966, adopting Catholic Christianity as the country's new official religion, to which the bulk of the population converted in the course of the next century. In the 12th century Poland fragmented into several smaller states, which were later ravaged by the Mongol armies of the Golden Horde in 1241. In 1320 Władysław I became the King of the reunified Poland. His son Kazimierz Wielki repaired the Polish economy, built new castles and won the war against the Russian dukedom (Lwów became a Polish City).

This is a source stating that the Black Death (1347-1351) did not come to Poland. Here is the source [1] : "One of the greatest calamities in European history began in 1347 when bubonic plague struck, brought to Italy, it is thought, by a group of Genoese returning home through Sicily and Pisa from Kaffa in the Crimea. Their fortress there had been besieged by Mongol invaders who had suddenly begun to die of a disease that caused black, blood-oozing swellings and immense pain....By 1351, it had spread over most of Europe. The only areas which escaped were Milan, Poland, Belgium, eastern Germany and part of southwest France."

Under the Jagiellon dynasty, Poland forged an alliance with its neighbour Lithuania. A golden age occurred in the 16th century during its union (Lublin Union) with Lithuania in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The citizens of Poland took pride in their ancient freedoms and Sejm parliamentary system, although the szlachta monopolised most of the benefits as most of Poles since the middle of the fourteenth century were serfs. Landowners gained almost unlimited ownership over serfs. Since that time Poles have regarded freedom as their most important value. Poles often call themselves the nation of the free people.

In the mid-17th century a Swedish invasion rolled through the country in the turbulent time known as "The Deluge" (potop). Numerous wars against the Ottoman Empire, Russia, Cossacks, Transylvania and Brandenburg-Prussia ultimately came to an end in 1699. During the following 80 years, the waning of the central government and deadlock of the institutions weakened the nation, leading to anarchistic tendencies and a growing dependency on Russia. In Polish Democracy every member of parliament was able to break any work or project by shouting 'Liberum Veto' during the session. Russian tsars took advantage of this unique political vulnerability by offering money to Parliamentary traitors, who in turn would consistently and subversively block necessary reforms and new solutions.

The Enlightenment in Poland fostered a growing national movement to repair the state, resulting in what is claimed to be the first modern written constitution in Europe, the Constitution of May 3 in 1791. The process of reforms ceased with the partitions of Poland between Russia, Prussia, and Austria in 1772, 1793 and 1795 which ultimately dissolved the country. Poles resented their shrinking freedoms and several times rebelled against their oppressors (see List of Polish Uprisings).

Napoleon recreated a Polish state, the Duchy of Warsaw, but after the Napoleonic wars, Poland was split again by the Allies at the Congress of Vienna. The eastern part was ruled by the Russian tsar as a Congress Kingdom, and possessed a liberal constitution. However, the tsars soon reduced Polish freedoms and Russia eventually de facto annexed the country. Later in the 19th century, Austrian-ruled Galicia became the oasis of Polish freedom.

During World War I all the Allies agreed on the restitution of Poland that United States President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed in point 13 of his Fourteen Points. Shortly after the surrender of Germany in November 1918, Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic (II Rzeczpospolita Polska). A new threat, Soviet aggression, arose in the 1919 (Polish-Soviet War), but Poland succeeded in defending its independence.

The Second Polish Republic lasted until the start of World War II when Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland. Warsaw surrendered on September 28, 1939. The eastern part of the German occupied zone was transformed into the General Government area, and the western part was just incorporated to German Reich. Of all the countries involved in the war, Poland lost the highest percentage of its citizens: over 6 million perished, half of them Polish Jews. At its conclusion, Poland's borders shifted westwards, pushing the eastern border to the Curzon line and the western border to the Oder-Neisse line. After the shift, Poland emerged 20% smaller by 77,500 km² (29,900 mi²); although the important cities of Gdańsk, Szczecin and Wrocław were all incorporated into its post-war borders. The shift also involved the migration of millions of people – Poles, Germans, Ukrainians, Jews. As a result of these events, Poland became, for the first time in history, an ethnically unified country. A Polish minority is still present in neighbouring countries of Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania, as well as in other countries (see Poles article for the population numbers). The largest number of ethnic Poles outside of the country can be found in the United States.

The Soviet Union instituted a new communist government in Poland, analogous to much of the rest of the Eastern Bloc. Military alignment within the Warsaw Pact throughout the Cold War was also part of this change. In 1948 a turn towards Stalinism brought in the beginning of the next period of totalitarian rule. The People's Republic of Poland (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa) was officially proclaimed in 1952. In 1956 the régime became more liberal, freeing many people from prison and expanding some personal freedoms. In 1970 the government was changed. It was a time when the economy was more modern, and the government had large credits. Labour turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union, "Solidarity", which over time became a political force. It eroded the dominance of the Communist Party; by 1989 it had triumphed in parliamentary elections, and Lech Wałęsa, a Solidarity candidate, eventually won the presidency in 1990. The Solidarity movement greatly contributed to the soon-following collapse of Communism all over Eastern Europe.

A shock therapy program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe. Despite a temporary slump in social and economic standards, there were numerous improvements in other human rights (free speech, functioning democracy and the like). Poland was the first post-communist country to regain pre-1989 GDP levels. Poland joined the NATO alliance in 1999 along with the Czech Republic and Hungary. Polish voters then said yes to the EU in a referendum in June 2003. Poland joined the European Union on 1 May 2004.

Anarchist history[edit]

A short history of Polish anarchism

The movement developed at the end of the 19th century under the influence of anarchist ideas coming from Western Europe and Russia. However, these ideas were not uniform.

We can distinguish the ideas of the controversial Niechayev, valiant Bakunin, anarcho-communist Kropotkin, and pacifist Leo Tolstoy.

The first and the most significant anarchist group in Poland during the Russian rule, was organised in 1903 in Bialystok.

This group mainly consisted of people of Jewish nationality. In the next years such groups appeared in other cities: Warsaw, Lodz, Kielce, Siedlce and other. The Russian revolution of 1905 and the "bloody sunday" in Petersburg strengthened the activity of all groups.

Besides active propaganda, they began to make acts of terror, such as: assasinating police officers or owners of large factories, robbing banks, etc...

Today, most Polish anarchists reject such acts of terror. But one should realise the extent of the cruelty and despotism of the Tsar's power at the beginning of this century. Young anarchists were often executed without a trial. The police very often fired to the demonstrating workers.

Meanwhile, anarchists in Poland began to be influenced by materials propagating anarcho-syndicalism. The followers of this idea rejected terrorism because it was anti-social and because it disrupted the anarchist movement. Instead, they organised revolutionary trade-unions and propaganda activity.

The most significant Polish theorists of Anarchism and Anarcho-Syndicalism were: Edward Abramowski, Waclaw Machajski, professor Zielinski and Augustyn Wroblewski.

E. Abramowski (1868-1918) called himself a "state-rejecting socialist", but we should keep in mind that in those days "socialism" meant something else than to day. Abramowski wrote such works as: "Ethics and the Revolution", "The Republic of Friends", and "The General Conspiracy against the State".

His alternative for the state were voluntary unions, organised on the principle of interest and mutual services, and associated in cooperatives. These unions would be the main basis of individual freedom, providing welfare, justice, fraternity and order. They would rise from below, spontaneously, without any compulsion. Such unions, associated in cooperatives, should constitute a community without any power and police. The lack of these institutions doesn't mean that chaos will enter into human life. On the contrary, it would emancipate energy and creativity that are now limited by the system.

The example expanding social conciousness during the first "Solidarity" period, following the inroduction of the martial law of 13 December 1981 shows how huge are the potential abilities of people who feel that they can change life and reality.

But let's get back to Abramowski. Being strongly influenced by Leo Tolstoy, he also called to refuse to pay taxes and to do the military service. Although he was opposed to the catholic church, he often referred to christ's teachings which were, according to him, against the state and power.

Abramowski also condemned the "state socialism". He thought that it that the "policy of modern socialism is not the policy of freedom". Socialism is a strenthening of the state's power, whose aim is contrary to individual freedom, and tends to secularise every sphere of human life."

Another significant Polish anarchist was Waclaw Machajski, born in 1876. He began as an active member of the Polish Socialist Party, but later on he turned his back on the intelligentsia. He came to think that all the evil in the world came from the ideologies created by the intelligentsia. He argued that the working class could only be freed by the destruction of the state.

In the years 1920-1939, anarcho-syndicalist ideas influenced a lot the activity of the Union of Trade-Unions (Z.Z.Z.) which wanted to join the IWA. During World War II, members of the Union created ZSP, the Union of Polish Syndicalists, which took active part in fighting the fascist occupants. It published secretly a newspaper called "The Syndicalist".

After the war, the anarchist ideas came back to life during the 80's, when the Movement of Alternative Society was founded. Soon after that, in many cities of Poland, small groups of anarchists appeared. All of them took part in the resistance against the communist regime.

As weapons, besides stones and Molotov cocktails, they used sense of humor, irony, and laughter, making happenings and street performances. The most known of this kind of groups were: Pomaranczowa Alternatywa (The Orange Alternative), Klub Sigma, Miedzymiastowka Anarchistyczna... Many of those groups are still active within the Anarchist Federation.

The anarchosyndicalist section of the Anarchist Federation has published in the 80's a newspaper called "Kombinat" (The Factory), and today the Anarchist Workers' Initiative (Anarchistyczna Inicjatywa Robotnicza - AIR) is publishing a newspaper called "Direct Action" which is distributed to workers in many cities.

"Solidarity", which at the beginning, in 1981, had a syndicalist program has recently become just another political party with no interest in the workers' freedom.

Credits[edit]

• Name and History are seeded with information from Wikipedia
• Anarchist History taken from A Short History of Polish Anarchism

Active groups[edit]

• ABC/ACK - www.ack.most.org.pl

- ACK Warszawa - po box 30; 02-741 Warszawa 121. biuletyn@ack.w.pl
- ACK Poznań - po box 5; 60-966 Poznań 31. sanch@poczta.wp.pl
- ACK Białystok - po box 43; 15-662 Białystok 26.
- ACK SÅ‚upsk - po box 65; 76-200 SÅ‚upsk 12. bifa@polbox.com
- ACK Trójmiasto - pomierz@friko2.onet.pl
- ACK Wrocław - S.A.K.A. ul. Jagiellończyka 10D; 50-240 Wrocław. pbn@poprostu.pl
- ACK Łódź - CIL, Po BOX 203, 90-950, Łódź 1; falodz@poczta.onet.pl

• Anarchist Library - ul.PuÅ‚askiego 21a; PoznaÅ„.
• A-TAK - anarchist magazine from Kraków; atak@poprostu (contact); atak.dystrybucja@wp.pl (distro);
• “A-zine” - an anarchist publication in English contains articles of Polish anarchist groups. L.Akai, po box 227; 00-987 Warszawa 4. cube@zigzag.pl
• “BUNKIER” (“B 48”) - underground concert/party space; ul. Wschodnia 48; ToruÅ„; dr.ozdzu@interia.pl
• “C-4” - alternative culture centre in Łódź (ul.WÄ™glowa 4).
• “Czarny Blok” (“Black Bloc”) - anarchist publication in Polish; po box 43; 15-662 BiaÅ‚ystok 26.
• “De Centrum” - anarchist squat in BiaÅ‚ystok, adress: ul.CzÄ™stochowska 14/2;
• EMANCYPUNX - anarcha-feminist group; po box 145; 02-792 Warszawa 78.
• FA (Anarchist Federation) - federation of Polish anarchists consisting of many local groups.
• Food Not Bombs

- FNB-Gdańsk - po box 118; 80-470 Gdańsk 45.
- FNB-Olsztyn - edelweiss@o2.pl.
- FNB-Rzeszów - ul.Kustronia 6/48; 35-303 Rzeszów; tel.602769138.
- FNB-Gliwice - “S.E.K.W. Krzyk”; po box 2; 44-101 Gliwice.

• “FREEDOM” - Centre of Animation an Alternative Culture / Anarchist Centre & Collective; ul. JagielloÅ„czyka 10D; WrocÅ‚aw. freedom69@go2.pl
• Grupa Anarchistyczna “Solidarność” (Anarchist Group “Solidarity”) - po box 12; 60-975 PoznaÅ„ 61.
• “INFOSZOP” - infoshop / anarchist & feminist library / info cafe in Warszawa; ul.Łotewska 11; Saska KÄ™pa; Warszawa. Open: Monday-Thursday 18°°-20°°, Saturday 13°°-17°°, Sunday 14°°-17°°; ; tel. +48 503676482
• Inicjatywa Pracownicza FA / IP-FA (Workers Initiative of FA) - federation of groups linked to FA focusing on support for workers;
  

- IP-FA / Szczecin - Dominik Sawicki, po box 53; 70-474 Szczecin 34.
- IP-FA / Silesia - po box 2; 44-100 Gliwice; inicjatywa_silesia@hoga.pl

• KOLEKTYW AUTONOMISTÓW (Collective of Autonomists) - group of activist po box 13; 87-116 ToruÅ„ 17; michoo77@poczta.onet.pl
• “KROMERA” - squat/culture centre; ul.Kromera 6a; WrocÅ‚aw.
• LETS - Local Economy Trade System

- LETS in Kraków. testcyf@kr.edu.pl
- LETS in Poznań. lets@poland.com

• “LITTLE MARY” - anarchist squat in CzÄ™stochowa; ul.Warszawska 249/25;
• “Mac Pariadka” - anarchist magazine in Polish; pariadka@polbox.com
• “PILON” - underground bar/caffe open Mo-Sa from 6pm; adress: ulica Bulwar Filadelfijski - ToruÅ„ (under the only one car bridge in the city). pilon@poczta.onet.pl
• RAAF (Radical Action Antifascist) - ; po box 43; 15-662 BiaÅ‚ystok 26. pkropotkin@wp.pl
• “Radical Cheer Leaders” - anarchist female cheer leaders team based in Warszawa. Contact through Emancypunx.
• “ROZBRAT” - squat / anarchist centre, ul.PuÅ‚askiego 21a; PoznaÅ„.
• S.E.K.W. “KRZYK” - squat / anarchist centre, po box 2; 44-101 Gliwice (ul.Sienkiewicza 25; tel.+48 504878370).
• “streFA” - infoshop in Szczecin; ul.DomaÅ„skiego 1c, tel.504935357.
• “SZWEJK” - anti-military service; ul.PuÅ‚askiego 21a; po box 5; 60-966 PoznaÅ„ 31
• “TEKNO COLLECTIVE” - underground techno crew from ToruÅ„; sadi@poczta.onet.pl
• WIEDŹMA (the WITCH) - anarcha feminist group; PO BOX 3321-500 BIAŁA PODLASKA; POLSKA; witchgrrrl@poczta.onet.pl ;
• “YA BANDA” - anarchist samba band Milanówek/Warszawa. olga23@go2.pl

External links[edit]

• Abolishing the Border from Below
• Alter-EE
• Anarchist Federation
• Poland Indymedia