Conference of Solidarity Support Organizations (CSSO) was an international organization of national groups that supported the trade union

Solidarność Solidarity ( pl, „Solidarność”, ), full name Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" (, abbreviated ''NSZZ „Solidarność”'' ), is a Polish trade union founded in August 1980 at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland. Subseq ...

and human rights in

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 ...

during the final years of the

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

. Member organizations agreed to the CSSO Letter of Agreement of January 8/9, 1983 and there were eventually more than twenty international chapters.

History

The CSSO emerged from a series of informal interorganizational meetings throughout 1982 among Solidarity support organizations. To provide a formal basis for cooperation, and to increase the unity of these support organizations, organizers drafted an agreement. To join the CSSO, organizations had to ratify the CSSO Letter of Agreement. In it, groups agreed to support and recognize Solidarity in Poland, along with the Coordinating Office Abroad of NSZZ Solidarnosc (based in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

). Member organizations still had the freedom to support their own initiatives in Poland and were not required to support the Brussels office, nor proscribe any other links or channels with Solidarity. The CSSO ultimately included 46 organizations in 13 countries. The CSSO was designed as a forum in which member organizations could exchange ideas and share experiences pertaining to protest activities in Poland. The organization held meetings in which member representatives would consider joint CSSO resolutions and actions. The CSSO did not control the activities or funds of the member organizations. .

Achievements

The greatest impact of the CSSO was in fostering trust among the leaders of the member organizations. This did indeed foster collaboration and thus improved the efficacy of numerous initiatives and programs. Most of the accomplishments came from the member organizations themselves. These accomplishments range from: a massive

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

of materials to Solidarity and other groups in Poland; to the above-ground Family-to-Family assistance to the families of the imprisoned and persecuted Solidarity activists; to the ''Independent Polish Agency'' news agency providing information and photographs to the news media across the globe; to the professional periodic publications such as ''Kontakt'' (Paris), ''Pogląd'' and ''Meinung'' (

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

), ''Voice of Solidarity'' (

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

), ''ARKA de Informaciones'' (

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

), and ''Porando-geppo'' (

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

); to political action, lobbying and raising awareness activities in every country; to assistance to the ''Brussels Coordinating Office'' and activists in their work on behalf of Solidarity; to sending financial resources to Solidarity and opposition groups in Poland. The membership of the CSSO organizations consisted primarily of the citizens of the countries where these organizations were located and usually included members who were not of Polish heritage. David Phillips, the first CSSO Secretary, was not of Polish ancestry. In fact in some organizations, the majority were not of Polish heritage, though sometimes did include non-Poles who were nevertheless fluent in

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

– Yoshiho Umeda (CSSO Asian Coordinator), and Jan Axel Stolz, who served as CSSO Secretary.

CSSO Participating Organizations (1989)

* Solidarity Victorian Fellowship, Notting Hill Victoria AUSTRALIA * Action Group in Support of Solidarity,

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

CANADA * Friends of Solidarity,

Kitchener, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...

CANADA * Friends of Solidarity

Edmonton Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

CANADA * Friends of Solidarnosc Association

Vancouver British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The G ...

CANADA * Group of Solidarity in St. Catharines St. Catharines Ontario CANADA * Polish Canadian Action Group

Toronto Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

CANADA * Polish Socio-Political Group Independence-Solidarity Calgary Alberta CANADA * Solidarity Support Committee of Toronto Toronto Ontario CANADA * Solidarnosc Assistance Association Ottawa Ontario CANADA * Stowarzyszenie Przyjaciół Solidarności - Winnipeg Winnipeg Manitoba CANADA * Stot Solidarnosc

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

DENMARK * Edition Spotkania Paris FRANCE * KONTAKT Vanves FRANCE * Radio Solidarnosc Paris FRANCE * Solidarite pour Solidarnosc Roubaix FRANCE * Committee to Support ISTU Solidarity in Japan Tokyo JAPAN * Comite de Apoyo a Solidarnosc

Mexico DF Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of Mex ...

MEXICO * Inst. De Estudios de Culture y Sociedades Europeas Mexico DF MEXICO * Solidaridad Mexico Mexico DF MEXICO * Solidarity Organization in New Zealand, Inc.

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

NEW ZEALAND * Solidaritet Norge-Polen Oslo NORWAY * Polen-Solidaritetskommittee I Uppsala Uppsala SWEDEN * Svenska Stodkommitten for Solidaritet Lund SWEDEN * Polish Solidarity Campaign London UNITED KINGDOM * Solidarity Action Committee - Manchester

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

UNITED KINGDOM * Voice of Solidarity - publishing committee London UNITED KINGDOM * Wyre Forest Polish Solidarity Campaign

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it had ...

Worc. UNITED KINGDOM * Brotherhood of Solidarity Members Chicago IL USA * Committee in Support of Solidarity Cleveland OH USA * Committee of Solidarity Members - Former Political Prisoners New York, NY USA * Friends of Solidarity Families Project

Buffalo NY Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Souther ...

USA * Friends of Solidarity, Inc Washington DC USA * Polonia Solidarity Association Reading PA USA * Solidarity - California Los Angeles CA USA * Solidarity and Human Rights Association Buffalo NY USA * Solidarity International New York NY USA * Solidarity International of Connecticut, Inc. New Britain CT USA * Solidarity Support Committee of Rhode Island Providence RI USA * Solidarnosc Association

Seattle WA Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of N ...

USA * Support of Solidarity Boston MA USA * "Solidarnosc" - Venezuela

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

VENEZUELA *Arbeitsgruppe "Solidarnosc" - Eschweiler Achen Eschweiler WEST GERMANY * Gessellschaft Solidarnosc, e.V.

* Hilfskomitte Solidarnosc

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

WEST GERMANY * Solidarität der freien Polen in Bayern, e.V.

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

WEST GERMANY

Legacy

Papers and holdings of the CSSO have been preserved in countries where there were active chapters, or an active Polish diaspora population. This also includes Andre Blaszczynski's papers.

References

External links

* ( Media:CSSO Letter of Agreement.pdf) {{DEFAULTSORT:Conference Of Solidarity Support Organizations Solidarity (Polish trade union)