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ORMO
''ORMO'' ( pl, Ochotnicza Rezerwa Milicji Obywatelskiej), or the Volunteer Reserve of the Citizens' Militia, was a paramilitary organization and voluntary support brigade of the communist police force, the Citizen's Militia (MO). ORMO was founded in the Polish People's Republic in 1946, and disbanded in 1989 by the Sejm after the collapse of the communist bloc in Central and Eastern Europe. In its heyday, ORMO had approximately 400,000–450,000 people in its reserves (at one time numbered as many as 600,000 civilian volunteers), recruited mostly from among the members of the communist Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR), farmers, workers and also a large share of members of United People's Party (ZSL), Democratic Party (SD) and other non-party opportunists ready for street action. ORMO was often involved in staging and performing unlawful arrests and street beatings of peaceful protesters (including women and journalists), such as during the public demonstrations organized by ...
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Milicja Obywatelska
Milicja Obywatelska (), in English known as the Citizens' Militia and commonly abbreviated to MO, was the national police organization of the Polish People's Republic. It was established on 7 October 1944 by the Polish Committee of National Liberation, effectively replacing the pre-war police force. The Citizen's Militia would remain the predominant means of policing in Poland until 10 May 1990, when it was transformed back into ''Policja''. The term ''milicja'' had been adapted from the cognate term, ''militsiya'', used in several communist countries. The term is derived from ''militia'', which derives its etymology from the concept of a military force composed of ordinary citizens. In most cases it represented a state-controlled force used to exert political repression, especially with its elite ZOMO squads. Under both communist and post-communist governments, the Polish police system has traditionally operated under the auspices of national authority. Starting at the end of Wor ...
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1947 Polish Legislative Elections
Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 19 January 1947,Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1491 the first since World War II. According to the official results, the Democratic Bloc (''Blok Demokratyczny''), dominated by the communist Polish Workers Party (PPR) and also including the Polish Socialist Party (PPS), People's Party (SL), Democratic Party (SD) and non-partisan candidates, gained 80.1% of the vote and 394 of the 444 seats in the Legislative Sejm. The largest opposition party, the Polish People's Party, was officially credited with 28 seats. However, the elections were characterized by violence; anti-communist opposition candidates and activists were persecuted by the Volunteer Reserve Militia (ORMO). The results were blatantly falsified; the opposition claimed that it would have won in a landslide had the election been conducted in a fair manner.Janusz Wrona (ed.), ''Kampania wyborcza i wybory do Sejmu Ustawodawcz ...
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1968 Polish Political Crisis
The Polish 1968 political crisis, also known in Poland as March 1968, Students' March, or March events ( pl, Marzec 1968; studencki Marzec; wydarzenia marcowe), was a series of major student, intellectual and other protests against the ruling Polish United Workers' Party of the Polish People's Republic. The crisis led to the suppression of student strikes by security forces in all major academic centres across the country and the subsequent repression of the Polish dissident movement. It was also accompanied by mass emigration following an antisemitic (branded " anti-Zionist") campaign waged by the minister of internal affairs, General Mieczysław Moczar, with the approval of First Secretary Władysław Gomułka of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR). The protests overlapped with the events of the Prague Spring in neighboring Czechoslovakia – raising new hopes of democratic reforms among the intelligentsia. The Czechoslovak unrest culminated in the Warsaw Pact invasion of Cz ...
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Ministry Of Public Security (Poland)
The Ministry of Public Security ( pl, Ministerstwo Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego), commonly known as UB or later SB, was the secret police, intelligence and counter-espionage agency operating in the Polish People's Republic. From 1945 to 1954 it was known as the Department of Security (, UB), and from 1956 to 1990 as the Security Service (, SB). The initial UB was headed by Public Security General Stanisław Radkiewicz and supervised by Jakub Berman of the Polish Politburo. The main goal of the Department of Security was the swift eradication of anti-communist structures and socio-political base of the Polish Underground State, as well as the persecution of former underground soldiers of the Home Army () and later anti-communist organizations like Freedom and Independence (WiN). The Ministry of Public Security was established on 1 January 1945 and ceased operations on 7 December 1954. It was the chief secret service in communist Poland during the period of Stalinism. Throughout ...
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ZOMO
The Motorized Reserves of the Citizens' Militia ( pl, Zmotoryzowane Odwody Milicji Obywatelskiej), commonly known as ZOMO, were paramilitary-police formations during the communist era in Poland. These elite units of Citizens' Militia (MO) were originally created to fight dangerous criminals, to provide security during mass events, and help in the case of natural disasters and other crises; however, they became known instead for their brutal and sometimes repressive lethal actions of riot control and their role in quelling civil rights protests. The first ZOMO units were deployed in 1956 and became particularly infamous for their ruthless handling of political opponents under Polish martial law (1981–1983). It was permanently disbanded after the fall of communism in 1989, though the term "ZOMO" remains synonymous with police brutality to this day. Early history ZOMO units were created on December 24, 1956, under the direct command of the President of the Council of Minister ...
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University Of Warsaw
The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of study as well as 100 specializations in humanities, technical, and the natural sciences. The University of Warsaw consists of 126 buildings and educational complexes with over 18 faculties: biology, chemistry, journalism and political science, philosophy and sociology, physics, geography and regional studies, geology, history, applied linguistics and philology, Polish language, pedagogy, economics, law and public administration, psychology, applied social sciences, management and mathematics, computer science and mechanics. The University of Warsaw is one of the top Polish universities. It was ranked by ''Media in Poland, Perspektywy'' magazine as best Polish university in 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2016. International rankings such as ARWU an ...
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Polish Workers' Party
The Polish Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Partia Robotnicza, PPR) was a communist party in Poland from 1942 to 1948. It was founded as a reconstitution of the Communist Party of Poland (KPP) and merged with the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) in 1948 to form the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR). From the end of World War II the PPR ruled Poland, with the Soviet Union exercising moderate influence. During the PPR years, the conspiratorial as well as legally permitted centers of opposition activity were largely eliminated, while a communist (also characterized as socialist) system was gradually established in the country. Arriving from the Soviet Union, a group of Polish communists was parachuted into occupied Poland in December 1941. With Joseph Stalin's permission, in January 1942 they established the Polish Workers' Party, a new communist party. The PPR established a partisan military organization ''Gwardia Ludowa'', later renamed ''Armia Ludowa''. In November 1943, Władysław Go ...
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Polish United Workers' Party
The Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other legally permitted subordinate minor parties together as the Front of National Unity and later Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth. Ideologically, it was based on the theories of Marxism-Leninism, with a strong emphasis on left-wing nationalism. The Polish United Workers' Party had total control over public institutions in the country as well as the Polish People's Army, the UB-SB security agencies, the Citizens' Militia (MO) police force and the media. The falsified 1947 Polish legislative election granted the far-left complete political authority in post-war Poland. The PZPR was founded forthwith in December 1948 through the unification of two previous political entities, the Polish Workers' Party (PPR) and the Polish Socialist Party ( ...
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Enemy Of The State
An enemy of the state is a person accused of certain crimes against the state such as treason, among other things. Describing individuals in this way is sometimes a manifestation of political repression. For example, a government may purport to maintain national security by describing social or political dissidents as "enemies of the state". In other cases, the individual in question may have in fact endangered the country and its population. Examples Political * In ancient Rome, some parties could be named an enemy of the state through specific public actions resulting in a formally recognized state of war. The Latin term proscription was used for official condemnation of enemies of the state. * The term "enemy of the people" in the Soviet Union during the period of Stalinism. * Communists were considered as enemies of the state in Indonesia since 1965. Displaying communist symbols or attempting to propagate the ideology is considered an act of high treason and terrorism pu ...
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Polling Station
A polling place is where voters cast their ballots in elections. The phrase polling station is also used in American English and British English, although polling place is the buildingHandbook for polling station staff
Accessed 14 September 2014
and polling station is the specific room (or part of a room) where voters cast their votes. A polling place can contain one or more polling stations. Since elections generally take place over a one- or two-day span on a periodic basis, often annual or longer, polling places are usually located in facilities used for other purposes, such as s,
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1946 Polish People's Referendum
The people's referendum ( pl, referendum ludowe) of 1946, also known as the Three Times Yes referendum (''Trzy razy tak'', often abbreviated as 3×TAK), was a referendum held in Poland on 30 June 1946 on the authority of the State National Council (order of 27 April 1946). The referendum presented an opportunity for the forces vying for political control of Poland following World War II to test their popularity among the general population. However, the results were forged and the referendum failed to meet democratic standards. Questions The referendum comprised three questions: # Are you in favour of abolishing the Senate? # Do you want consolidation, in the future constitution of the economic system founded on agricultural reform and the nationalisation of basic national industries, including the preservation of the statutory rights of private enterprise? # Do you want consolidation of the western border of the Polish State on the Baltic, Oder river and Lusatian Neisse? ...
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