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 ...

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 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 Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Naczelnik państwa, Chief of State (1918–1922) and Marshal of Poland, First Marshal of Second Polish Republic, Poland (from 1920). He was ...

, 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 and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of the First World ...

, 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 Polish parliament, the lower house being the Sejm. The history of the Polish Senate stretches back over 500 years; it was one of the first constituent bodies of a bicameral parliament in Europ ...

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. ...

in 1892 (see the Great Emigration). 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 an ...

, (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,

speech Speech is a human vocal communication using language. Each language uses 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 they are th ...

, 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,

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. B ...

, equal wages for men and women, ban on child labour (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, or ...

in the workplace. After the Revolution of 1905 in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, 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 th ...

, 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 A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...

following

, who supported the nationalist and independence ideals, and the Left faction 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. 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 deputi ...

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

, including his May Coup, but later moved into the opposition to his authoritarian Sanacja regime by joining the democratic ' centrolew' (center-left) opposition movement. Many PPS leaders and members were put on

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ...

by Piłsudski's regime and jailed in the infamous

Bereza Kartuska prison Bereza Kartuska Prison (, "Place of Isolation at Bereza Kartuska") was operated by Poland's Sanation government from 1934 to 1939 in Bereza Kartuska, Polesie Voivodeship (today, Biaroza, Belarus). Because the inmates were detained without trial ...

. The party was a member of the

Labour and Socialist International The Labour and Socialist International (LSI; german: Sozialistische Arbeiter-Internationale, label= German, SAI) was an international organization of socialist and labour parties, active between 1923 and 1940. The group was established through a ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

as the underground Polish Socialist Party – Freedom, Equality, Independence (''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 ...

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 wanted to join forces with the Polish Peasant Party 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 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, 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 Socialists merged with the Communist Polish Workers' Party (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 ...

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 ...

only between 1993 and 2001. However, in the

2019 Polish parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Poland on 13 October 2019. All 460 members of the Sejm and 100 senators of the Senate were elected. The ruling Law and Justice (PiS) retained its majority in the Sejm, but lost its majority in the Senate to the ...

the PPS saw its leader Wojciech Konieczny 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 European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, in the city of

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the 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 city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed ...

, 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 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 orga ...

, to compete in the

next Polish parliamentary election Parliamentary elections will be held in Poland in late 2023 to elect members of the Sejm and Senate, although they can be held sooner if a snap election is called, which last occurred in 2007. The previous election, in 2019, resulted in the re ...

. 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 ...

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 so ...

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, ...

, 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 withi ...

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

Election results

Sejm

Senate

Presidential

European Parliament

Notable people who were members or were associated with PPS

Presidents and heads of state

(former member at time in office) * Stanisław Wojciechowski (former member) * Ignacy Mościcki (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 Ga ...

* Franciszek Trąbalski

Prime Ministers

* Ignacy Daszyński * Jędrzej Moraczewski * Janusz Jędrzejewicz (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 *

Tadeusz Tomaszewski Tadeusz Tomaszewski (pronounced ; born February 21, 1959 in Niechanowo) is a Polish politician. He was elected to Sejm on September 25, 2005 getting 12213 votes in 37 Konin district, candidating from Democratic Left Alliance The Democratic L ...

* Antoni Pająk * Alfred Urbański * Edward Osóbka-Morawski (later became a communist) *

(later became a communist)

Other figures

Bolesław Limanowski Bolesław Limanowski (; 18 October 1835 – 15 February 1935) was a Polish socialist politician, as well as historian and journalist and advocate of Agrarianism. He was one of the first people to promote socialist ideas in Poland. Political act ...

* Adam Ciołkosz * *

Jerzy Czeszejko-Sochacki Jerzy Czeszejko-Sochacki (; 29 November 1892, in Nizhyn – 4 September 1933, in Moscow) was a Polish socialist, later communist politician, publicist and an early victim of Stalinist repression. He joined the Polish Socialist Party in 1914, and th ...

(later became a communist) * Norbert Barlicki * Piotr Ikonowicz * Wojciech Konieczny * Jan Kwapiński * Herman Lieberman *

Stanisław Mendelson Stanisław (Salomon Naftali) Mendelson (18 November 1858 in Warsaw - 25 July 1913 in Warsaw) was a Polish socialist politician and publicist of Jewish descent. He was an activist of Polish and international workers' movement. He was one of the ...

* Stanisław Dubois * * Mieczysław Niedziałkowski * * * Zofia Praussowa * Kazimierz Pużak *

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 *

Aleksandra Zagórska Lt. Col. Aleksandra Zagórska, firstly, Bitschan, secondly, Zagórska, aka Aleksandra Bednarz (born 24 April 1884 in Lublin, died 14 April 1965 in Warsaw) – was a lieutenant colonel in the Polish Armed Forces, a soldier in the Polish Legions in ...

Notes

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Political parties in Poland