The Polish Socialist Party ( pl, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) is a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

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' 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 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 lega ...

in 1948.

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

, founder of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of ...

, belonged to and later led the PPS in the early 20th century. The party was re-established in 1987, near the end 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 ...

. However, it remained in the margins of Polish politics until 2019, when it was able to win a seat in the

Senate of Poland The Senate ( pl, Senat) is the upper house of the Parliament of Poland, Polish parliament, the lower house being the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, Sejm. The history of the Polish Senate stretches back over 500 years; it was one of the first co ...

History

The PPS was founded in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1892 (see the

Great Emigration The Great Emigration ( pl, Wielka Emigracja) was the emigration of thousands of Poles and Lithuanians, particularly from the political and cultural élites, from 1831 to 1870, after the failure of the November Uprising of 1830–1831 and of ot ...

). In 1893 the party called

Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania The Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania ( pl, Socjaldemokracja Królestwa Polskiego i Litwy, SDKPiL), , LKLSD), originally the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland (SDKP), was a Marxist political party founded in 1893 and ...

, (SDKPiL), emerged from the PPS, with the PPS being more nationalist and oriented towards Polish independence, and the SDKPiL being more revolutionary and communist. In November 1892 the leading personalities of the PPS agreed on a political program. The program, largely progressive for the time of its creation, accented: independent Republic of Poland based on democratic principles, direct universal

voting rights Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

, equal rights for all nations living in Poland, equal rights for all citizens, regardless of race, nationality, religion and gender,

freedom of press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic media, especially published materials, should be considered a right to be exerci ...

speech Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses Phonetics, phonetic combinations of vowel and consonant sounds that form the sound of its words (that is, all English words sound different from all French words, even if ...

, and

assembly Assembly may refer to: Organisations and meetings * Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions * General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...

, progressive taxation,

eight-hour workday The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses. An eight-hour work day has its origins in the 1 ...

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. Bec ...

, equal wages for men and women, ban on

child labour Child labour refers to the exploitation of children through any form of work that deprives children of their childhood, interferes with their ability to attend regular school, and is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such e ...

(till age 14),

free education Free education is education funded through government spending or charitable organizations rather than tuition funding. Many models of free higher education have been proposed. Primary school and other comprehensive or compulsory education is fr ...

, and social support in case of

injury An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, o ...

in the workplace. After the

Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

, the party membership drastically increased from several hundred active members to a mass movement of about 60,000 members. Another split in the party occurred in 1906, with the Revolutionary Faction following

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

, who supported the nationalist and independence ideals, and the

Left faction The Left Faction ( he, סיעת שמאל, ''Siat Smol'') was a short-lived political party in Israel. History The Left Faction was formed on 20 February 1952 (during the second Knesset) as a breakaway from Mapam in the aftermath of the Prague T ...

which allied itself with the SDKPiL. However, the Revolutionary Faction became dominant and renamed itself back again to the PPS, while the Left was eclipsed, and in 1918 merged with SDKPiL forming the

Communist Party of Poland The interwar Communist Party of Poland ( pl, Komunistyczna Partia Polski, KPP) was a communist party active in Poland during the Second Polish Republic. It resulted from a December 1918 merger of the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland a ...

. In 1917-18 the party participated in the

Central Council of Ukraine The Central Council of Ukraine ( uk, Українська Центральна Рада, ) (also called the Tsentralna Rada or the Central Rada) was the All-Ukrainian council (soviet) that united deputies of soldiers, workers, and peasants deputie ...

and the

Government of Ukraine The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine ( uk, Кабінет Міністрів України, translit=Kabinet Ministriv Ukrainy; shortened to CabMin), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine ( uk, Уряд України, ''Uriad Ukrai ...

. During the

the PPS at first supported

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

, including his May Coup, but later moved into the opposition to his authoritarian

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 by joining the democratic '

centrolew The ''Centrolew'' (, ''Center-Left'') was a coalition of several Polish political parties ( Polish People's Party "Wyzwolenie", German Socialist Labour Party of Poland, Polish People's Party "Piast", National Workers' Party, Polish Socialist Part ...

' (center-left) opposition movement. Many PPS leaders and members were put on

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of Party (law), parties to a :wikt:dispute, dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence (law), evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to Adjudication, adjudicate claims or d ...

by Piłsudski's regime and jailed in the infamous Bereza Kartuska prison. The party was a member of the Labour and Socialist International between 1923 and 1940.Kowalski, Werner.
Geschichte der sozialistischen arbeiter-internationale: 1923 - 19
'. Berlin: Dt. Verl. d. Wissenschaften, 1985. p. 316 The party supported the Polish resistance during

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 opposin ...

as the underground

Polish Socialist Party – Freedom, Equality, Independence Polish Socialist Party – Freedom, Equality, Independence ( pl, Polska Partia Socjalistyczna - Wolność, Równość, Niepodległość, PPS-WRN) was an underground political party in occupied Poland during World War II continuing the traditions o ...

(''Polska Partia Socjalistyczna – Wolność, Równość, Niepodległość''). In 1948 it suffered a fatal split, as the

Communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...

applied the

salami tactics Salami slicing tactics, also known as salami slicing, salami tactics, the salami-slice strategy, or salami attacks, is the practice of using a series of many small actions to produce a much larger action or result that would be difficult or unlawf ...

to dismember any opposition. One faction, which included

Edward Osóbka-Morawski Edward Bolesław Osóbka-Morawski (5 October 1909 – 9 January 1997) was a Polish activist and politician in the Polish Socialist Party (PPS) before World War II, and after the Soviet takeover of Poland, Chairman of the Communist-dominated inte ...

wanted to join forces with the

Polish Peasant Party The Polish People's Party ( pl, Polskie Stronnictwo Ludowe, PSL) is an agrarian political party in Poland. It is currently led by Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. Its history traces back to 1895, when it held the name People's Party, although i ...

and form a united front against the Communists. Another faction, led by

Józef Cyrankiewicz Józef Adam Zygmunt Cyrankiewicz (; 23 April 1911 – 20 January 1989) was a Polish Socialist (PPS) and after 1948 Communist politician. He served as premier of the Polish People's Republic between 1947 and 1952, and again for 16 years between ...

, argued that the

Socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...

should support the Communists in carrying through a socialist program while opposing the imposition of one-party rule. Pre-war political hostilities continued to influence events, and

Stanisław Mikołajczyk Stanisław Mikołajczyk (18 July 1901 – 13 December 1966; ) was a Polish politician. He was a Prime Minister of the Polish government in exile during World War II, and later Deputy Prime Minister in post-war Poland until 1947. Biography Back ...

, leader of the Peasant Party, would not agree to form a united front with the Socialists. The Communists played on these divisions by dismissing Osóbka-Morawski and making Cyrankiewicz Prime Minister. In 1948, Cyrankiewicz's faction of

merged with the Communist

(PPR) to form the

(''Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza''; PZPR), the ruling party in the

People's Republic of Poland 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 ...

; remnants of the other faction survived on emigration in the

Polish government-in-exile The Polish government-in-exile, officially known as the Government of the Republic of Poland in exile ( pl, Rząd Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na uchodźstwie), was the government in exile of Poland formed in the aftermath of the Invasion of Pola ...

and because of that Polish Socialist Party was still active on emigration. Cyrankiewicz's faction isn't really treated as proper PPS. A new party of the same name, which seeks to carry on the tradition of the original PPS, was established by left-wing opposition figures such as

Jan Józef Lipski Jan Józef Lipski (26 May 1926 in Warsaw – 10 September 1991 in Kraków) was a Polish critic, literature historian, politician and freemason. As a soldier of the Home Army ( Armia Krajowa), he fought in the Warsaw Uprising. Editor of collected w ...

in 1987. However, the new PPS remains a marginal group within the political landscape of the Third Republic, having representation in the

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 t ...

only between 1993 and 2001. However, in the 2019 Polish parliamentary election the PPS saw its leader

Wojciech Konieczny Wojciech Konieczny (born 30 September 1970) is a Polish physician and politician. Member of the 10th term Senate of Poland (2019–present). Political activity He graduated from the Medical University of Silesia in Zabrze. In 2001 he won the ...

elected to the

under the banner of The Left. Other members of the

and the Senate later joined the PPS, which currently has two deputies and two senators. Its main propaganda outlet was the ''Robotnik'' ('The Worker') newspaper. The current party published the ''Nowy Robotnik'' ("The New Worker"), a continuation of the original publication, from 2003 to 2006. On 16 November 2020, the party founded its first foreign branch in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, in the city of

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

, home to a British Polish population founded by Polish Army Exiles. On the 25 June 2022, the party formed an alliance with the

Labour Union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

Social Democracy of Poland The Social Democracy of Poland ( pl, Socjaldemokracja Polska, SDPL) is a social-democratic political party in Poland. Foundation The party was founded in April 2004 as a splinter group from the post-communist Democratic Left Alliance (SLD). Th ...

and

Freedom and Equality The Freedom and Equality ( pl, Wolność i Równość, WiR), previously called Union of the Left ( pl, Unia Lewicy, UL); is a minor social-democratic political party in Poland founded on 20 March 2005 through the union of several left-wing org ...

, to compete in the next Polish parliamentary election. The alliance also includes the Feminist Initiative, the Democratic Left Association (SLD), and the Working People's Movement.

Ideology

It historically advocated a mix of

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

and

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

, and was considered to be on the

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

on the political spectrum. They opposed

Bolshevism Bolshevism (from Bolshevik) is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined party of social revolution, fo ...

, and more favored

Mensheviks The Mensheviks (russian: меньшевики́, from меньшинство 'minority') were one of the three dominant factions in the Russian socialist movement, the others being the Bolsheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries. The factions eme ...

. Recently the party has self-declared itself as a

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within a ...

force, and was described as a leftist party with a strong emphasis on democracy by their parliamentary leader

Election results

Sejm

Senate

Presidential

European Parliament

Notable people who were members or were associated with PPS

Presidents and heads of state

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

(former member at time in office) *

Stanisław Wojciechowski Stanisław Wojciechowski (; 15 March 1869 – 9 April 1953) was a Polish politician and scholar who served as President of Poland between 1922 and 1926, during the Second Polish Republic. He was elected president in 1922, following the assassi ...

(former member) *

Ignacy Mościcki Ignacy Mościcki (; 1 December 18672 October 1946) was a Polish chemist and politician who was the country's president from 1926 to 1939. He was the longest serving president in Polish history. Mościcki was the President of Poland when Germany ...

(former member) *

Stanisław Ostrowski Stanisław Ostrowski (29 October 1892 – 22 November 1982) was a Polish politician, best known for serving as the last Polish Mayor of Lwow, and was President of Poland- in-exile. Life and career Ostrowski was born in Lemberg, Kingdom of Galic ...

Franciszek Trąbalski Franciszek Trąbalski (October 10, 1870, Czempiń – July 26, 1964) was a Polish socialist politician and a longtime member of Polish Socialist Party (PPS). Life Franciszek Trąbalski, called Francis, was with Mary, born Mackowiak married. He ...

Prime Ministers

Ignacy Daszyński Ignacy Ewaryst Daszyński (; 26 October 1866 – 31 October 1936) was a Polish socialist politician, journalist, and very briefly Prime Minister of the Second Polish Republic's first government, formed in Lublin in 1918. In October 1892 he co ...

Jędrzej Moraczewski Jędrzej Edward Moraczewski (; 13 January 1870 – 5 August 1944) was a Polish socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownershi ...

Janusz Jędrzejewicz Janusz Jędrzejewicz (; 21 June 1885 – 16 March 1951) was a Polish politician and educator, a leader of the Sanacja political group, and 24th Prime Minister of Poland from 1933 to 1934. Life He joined Józef Piłsudski's Polish Socialist Part ...

(former member) *

Walery Sławek Walery Jan Sławek (; 2 November 1879 – 3 April 1939) was a Polish politician, freemason, military officer and activist, who in the early 1930s served three times as Prime Minister of Poland. He was one of the closest aides of Polish lead ...

(former member) *

Tomasz Arciszewski Tomasz Stefan Arciszewski (; 4 November 1877 – 20 November 1955) was a Polish socialist politician, a member of the Polish Socialist Party and the 31st Prime Minister of Poland, 3rd Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile in London fro ...

* Tadeusz Tomaszewski *

Antoni Pająk Antoni Pająk (; 31 July 1893, Bestwina - 25 November 1965, London) was a Polish socialist (member of the Polish Socialist Party) politician, who served as 39th Prime Minister of Poland and 9th Prime Minister in exile for nearly ten years (1955-196 ...

Alfred Urbański Alfred Urbański (13 January 1899 – 10 September 1983) was a Polish politician, a member of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS), primarily known for his political activities within the Polish Government in Exile. Urbański, an economist, was from ...

(later became a communist) *

(later became a communist)

Other figures

* Bolesław Limanowski *

Adam Ciołkosz Adam Ciołkosz (; January 5, 1901 – October 1, 1978) was a Polish scout, soldier, publicist and politician, who was one of the most important leaders of the Polish Socialist Party, both in the Second Polish Republic and in exile during and ...

* * Jerzy Czeszejko-Sochacki (later became a communist) *

Norbert Barlicki Norbert Barlicki (6 June 1880, in Sieciechów, Radom Governorate, Congress Poland – 27 September 1941, in Auschwitz) was a Polish publicist, lawyer and politician of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS). Barlicki was murdered during the Second Wo ...

Piotr Ikonowicz Piotr Igor Ikonowicz (, born on May 14, 1956, in Pruszków near Warsaw) is a Polish politician. A graduate of the faculty of Law and Administration of the Warsaw University and the Institute of Geography of Developing States, in the early 1980s ...

Jan Kwapiński Jan Kwapiński (12 November 1885 – 4 November 1964), born Piotr Chałupka was a Polish independence activist and politician. A member of Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist Party, he was imprisoned by Russian Empire authorities in Warsa ...

Herman Lieberman Herman Lieberman (4 January 1870 – 21 October 1941) was a Polish lawyer and socialist politician. Life Lieberman was born into a Jewish family in Drohobycz, Galicia, then part of Austro-Hungary. From 1907 to 1914 and from 1917 to 1918, he ...

* Stanisław Mendelson *

Stanisław Dubois Stanisław Józef Dubois (9 January 1901 – 21 August 1942) was a Polish journalist and political activist in the Second Polish Republic, member of the left-wing Polish Socialist Party as well as the Youth Organisation of the Workers' Universit ...

* *

Mieczysław Niedziałkowski Mieczysław Niedziałkowski (September 19, 1893 in Vilnius - June 21, 1940 in Palmiry) was a Polish politician and writer. He was an activist in the Polish Socialist Party, editor in chief of Robotnik, and one of the primary activists and cofo ...

* * * Zofia Praussowa *

Kazimierz Pużak Kazimierz Pużak (1883–1950) was a Polish socialist politician of the interwar period. Active in the Polish Socialist Party, he was one of the leaders of the Polish Secret State and Polish resistance, sentenced by the Soviets in the infamo ...

Kazimierz Sosnkowski General Kazimierz Sosnkowski (; Warsaw, 19 November 1885 – 11 October 1969, Arundel, Quebec) was a Polish independence fighter, general, diplomat, and architect. He was a major political figure and an accomplished commander, notable in p ...

* *

Leon Wasilewski Leon Wasilewski (1870–1936) was an activist of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS), a coworker of Józef Piłsudski, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs, designer of much of Second Polish Republic policy towards Eastern Europe, historian and fa ...

History

Ideology

Election results

Sejm

Senate

Presidential

European Parliament

Notable people who were members or were associated with PPS

Presidents and heads of state

Prime Ministers

Other figures

See also

Notes

References

External links