Camp of Great Poland ( pl, Obóz Wielkiej Polski, OWP) was a

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

,Obóz Wielkiej Polski
, Encyklopedia PWN

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

political organization of

National Democracy National Democracy may refer to: * National Democracy (Czech Republic) * National Democracy (Italy) * National Democracy (Philippines) * National Democracy (Poland) * National Democracy (Spain) See also * Civic nationalism, a general concept * ...

interwar In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relativel ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

History

Camp of Great Poland was founded on 4 December 1926 in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

Popular National Union Związek Ludowo-Narodowy (ZLN; en, Popular National Union}was a Polish political party aligned with the National Democracy (Poland), National Democracy political movement during the Second Polish Republic, gathering together right-wing politicians ...

(''Związek Ludowo-Narodowy'', ZLN) and other organizations of

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

political camp, led by

Roman Dmowski Roman Stanisław Dmowski (Polish: , 9 August 1864 – 2 January 1939) was a Polish politician, statesman, and co-founder and chief ideologue of the National Democracy (abbreviated "ND": in Polish, "''Endecja''") political movement. He saw th ...

, to unite Polish right-wing organizations and oppose ''

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 ...

'' regime, which gained power following

Józef Piłsudski ), Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire (now Lithuania) , death_date = , death_place = Warsaw, Poland , constituency = , party = None (formerly PPS) , spouse = , children = Wan ...

's May Coup in 1926. After merging with National Pupulist Union in 1928 OWP retained its autonomy within newly established National Party ( pl, Stronnictwo Narodowe). In 1927 youth branch of the organization was established ( pl, Ruch Młodych Obozu Wielkiej Polski)., which virtually dominated OWP by 1928. OWP positions in Polish universities among students were especially strong, it also gained popularity among workers and the

lower middle class In developed nations around the world, the lower middle class is a subdivision of the greater middle class. Universally, the term refers to the group of middle class households or individuals who have not attained the status of the upper middle ...

.Michlic, p.316 In January 1930 Camp of Great Poland had 35,000 members, in May 1932 its membership reached 120,000. By 1933 OWP claimed to have a quarter of a million followers. Outbreaks of the anti-Jewish violence in Eastern Galicia in 1927 led the organization to be banned in that region that year.Diapozytyw: Slownik terminow: Antysemityzm
/ref> After a further wave of nationwide violence in 1933 OWP eventually banned in entire Poland. Government, alarmed by rapid growth of OWP, banned the organization together with its youth movement on 28 March 1933.Wapiński 1980, 299. on the grounds that these organizations threatened stability of the state. After dissolution of the organization, even more radical young members of OWP formed the

National Radical Camp The National Radical Camp ( pl, Obóz Narodowo-Radykalny, ONR) refers to at least three groups that are fascist, far-right, and ultranationalist Polish organisations with doctrines stemming from pre-World War II nationalist ideology. The cur ...

( pl, Obóz Narodowo Radykalny, ONR). ONR would be banned soon after its establishment, in 1934.

Organization

Camp of Great Poland was led by the Great Council ( pl, Wielka Rada). The head of the council, with the title of the Great Camp-maker ( pl, Wielki Oboźny) was

; other notable members included

Tadeusz Bielecki Tadeusz Bielecki (born 30 January 1901 in Słupia – 5 February 1982 in London) was a Polish politician and writer. Personal secretary to Roman Dmowski, member of the National Party (Stronnictwo Narodowe) and Camp of Great Poland (Obóz Wielki ...

, Marian Borzęcki, Stanisław Haller and Roman Rybarski.Obóz Wielkiej Polski

Encyklopedia WIEM WIEM Encyklopedia (full name in pl, Wielka Interaktywna Encyklopedia Multimedialna - "Great Interactive Multimedia Encyclopedia"; in Polish, ''wiem'' also means 'I know') is a Polish Internet encyclopedia. The first printed edition was released i ...

Views

Camp of Great Poland supported strongly religious corporative authoritarianism, borrowing some ideas from Italian Fascism. OWP did not pursue its goals on the political scene, increasingly controlled by Piłsudskiite

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 ...

; instead it aimed to create a violent, revolutionary movement aimed at toppling the government. Camp of Great Poland even had its own fighting squads organized. OWP

front organization A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy gro ...

, the Green Ribbon League ( pl, Liga Zielonej Wstążki) actively propagated a boycott of the Jewish-owned businesses. In early 1930s OWP campaigned for numerus nullus, a policy of complete exclusion of Jewish students and academics from Polish universities. OWP anti-Jewish activities weren't however limited to political means only. OWP openly incited anti-Jewish riots, and its youth movement advocated violence against Jewish students. OWP and related youth organizations were engaged in violent attacks against Jews. Those attacks eventually led the Polish government to ban the organization.

Today's Poland

Organization was many times re-established, the first time as political party in Lublin (1993) by prof. Jan Trochimiak. After founded in 2003 as an ordinary association in Wroclaw. Finally, in 2012 the OWP was registered in the National Registrar of Companies and Legal Entities (Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy; KRS) in Warsaw, gaining legal personality. Honorary chairman of the OWP is

Jan Kobylański Jan Kobylański (21 July 1923, Równe, Poland – 27 March 2019, Montevideo, Uruguay) was a Polish-Paraguayan businessman. He was the founder of the Union of Polish Associations and Organizations in Latin America ( pol. ''Unia Stowarzyszeń i O ...

Footnotes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Camp of Great Poland 1926 establishments in Poland 1933 disestablishments in Poland Catholic political parties Corporatism Defunct political parties in Poland Far-right political parties in Poland National Democracy Nationalist parties in Poland Polish nationalist parties Political history of Poland Political parties disestablished in 1933 Political parties established in 1926