Adam Ciołkosz (; January 5, 1901 – October 1, 1978) was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

scout, soldier, publicist and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, who was one of the most important leaders of the

Polish Socialist Party The Polish Socialist Party ( pl, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) is a socialist political party in Poland. It was one of the most important parties in Poland from its inception in 1892 until its merger with the communist Polish Workers' ...

, both in the Second Polish Republic and in exile during and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

.Jarosław Tomasiewicz,
"Na posterunku. Życiorys niepodległościowego socjalisty" – prezentacja życia i poglądów Adama Ciołkosza
(biography), Lewicowo.pl (Internet Archive)

Early life and education

Ciołkosz was born in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, but a year later his family moved to

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarn� ...

. His father, Kasper, was an active progressive and independence agitator. His mother, Maria Idzikowska, was the daughter of a veteran of the January Uprising. He graduated from a Gymnasium in Tarnów and later studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

at the Jagiellonian University. While a student, Ciołkosz became a member of the socialists movement.

Scouting and fighting for independence

In Gymnasium, Ciołkosz joined 1st Scouts Squad, "

Zawisza Czarny }), he was revered as a brave knight. A monument to Zawisza at Golubac Fortress bears the inscription: "In Golubac, his life was taken by the Turks in 1428, the famous Polish knight, the symbol of courage and honor, Zawisza the Black. Glory to the ...

". Later, he was a founder and organizer of scouting in

Zakopane Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been ...

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he lived in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and still was active. In October 1918, he and National Emergency Squads of the Polish Scouts, which he had formed and led with POWs, forced

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n forces to surrender in Tarnów. In November, he was one of the young scouts who participated in battle for Lwów. In 1919, Ciołkosz was promoted to a junior lieutenant. He was also an organizer of Polish scouting movement in

Warmia Warmia ( pl, Warmia; Latin: ''Varmia'', ''Warmia''; ; Warmian: ''Warńija''; lt, Varmė; Old Prussian: ''Wārmi'') is both a historical and an ethnographic region in northern Poland, forming part of historical Prussia. Its historic capital ...

and

Mazury Masuria (, german: Masuren, Masurian: ''Mazurÿ'') is a ethnographic and geographic region in northern and northeastern Poland, known for its 2,000 lakes. Masuria occupies much of the Masurian Lake District. Administratively, it is part of the ...

and fought during

Silesian Uprising The Silesian Uprisings (german: Aufstände in Oberschlesien, Polenaufstände, links=no; pl, Powstania śląskie, links=no) were a series of three uprisings from August 1919 to July 1921 in Upper Silesia, which was part of the Weimar Republic ...

Political career

In 1928, he was elected a

Sejm The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland ( Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of ...

Member from the Polish Socialist Party. He was re-elected in 1930, but this time

Sanacja Sanation ( pl, Sanacja, ) was a Polish political movement that was created in the interwar period, prior to Józef Piłsudski's May 1926 ''Coup d'État'', and came to power in the wake of that coup. In 1928 its political activists would go on ...

authorities didn't allowed him to take office as with many others of the opposition. He was one of the most outspoken critics of the

regime and was tried and sentenced to three years in prison during

Brest trials The Brest trials ( pl, Proces brzeski) were among the most famous trials conducted under the Second Polish Republic. Lasting from 26 October 1931 to 13 January 1932, they were held at the Warsaw Regional Court where leaders of the ''Centrolew'', ...

in 1931 for plotting anti-government coup. After the German invasion into Poland in 1939, Ciołkosz, his wife Lidia Kahan was of Jewish descent (also a prominent socialist from UJ), and son Andrzej Ciołkosz fled first to

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

, and later

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. His son died at the age of 23 in 1952, having translated Herling a year earlier. Ciołkosz was an active politician in exile and soon was elected party leader. He led PPS in exile until his death in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. A strong anti-Stalinist, he opposed Soviet domination in the

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

after 1945. His wife died in 2002 at age of 99.

References

External links

Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, ''Socjalista jakich coraz mniej'' – o Adamie Ciołkoszu

Wywiad z prof. Anną Siwik: ''Demokratyczny socjalizm Ciołkosza''

Adam Ciołkosz, ''Najnowsza taktyka komunistów'', 1937
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciolkosz, Adam 1901 births 1978 deaths Jagiellonian University alumni People from Tarnów Polish socialists Politicians from Kraków Polish Austro-Hungarians Polish Scouts and Guides Polish emigrants to the United Kingdom Polish people of the Polish–Soviet War Polish people of the Polish–Ukrainian War Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1928–1930) Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1930–1935) People associated with the magazine "Kultura"