Union Of Polish Patriots
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Union of Polish Patriots (''Society of Polish Patriots'', pl, Związek Patriotów Polskich, ZPP, russian: Союз Польских Патриотов, СПП) was a political body created by
Polish communists Communism in Poland can trace its origins to the late 19th century: the Marxist First Proletariat party was founded in 1882. Rosa Luxemburg (1871–1919) of the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (''Socjaldemokracja Królest ...
in the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in 1943. The ZPP, unofficially controlled and directed by
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
, became one of the founding structures of the Soviet-controlled communist government that 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 opposin ...
took power 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 ...
. The ZPP was a mass organization with about 100,000 members (Polish citizens in the Soviet Union, mostly war refugees and Soviet deportees left after the departure of
Anders' Army Anders' Army was the informal yet common name of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in the 1941–42 period, in recognition of its commander Władysław Anders. The army was created in the Soviet Union but, in March 1942, based on an understand ...
). It was dominated by former members of 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 particular people from the
Central Bureau Communists of Poland The Central Bureau Communists of Poland ( pl, Centralne Biuro Komunistów Polski or CBKP; russian: Центральное бюро коммунистов Польши) was a group of Polish Communists in the Soviet Union during World War II, hand-pi ...
, which was established after the ZPP and also operated in the Soviet Union. The ZPP included activists of many political orientations. During World War II, there were about 1,500 declared Polish communists in the Soviet Union.Andrzej Werblan, Szkice i polemiki ketches and polemics p. 168, published in 1970 by
Książka i Wiedza ''Książka i Wiedza'' ("Books and Knowledge") is a Polish publishing house founded in 1948, soon after World War II. As of the mid-2010s it has published over 13,000 titles. In communist Poland it was the leading state publisher of books about pol ...
, Warsaw
In January 1943,
Wanda Wasilewska ukr, Ванда Львівна Василевська rus, Ванда Львовна Василевская , native_name_lang = , birth_date = , birth_place = Kraków, Austria-Hungary , death_date = , death_place ...
and
Alfred Lampe Alfred Lampe (14 May 1900 – 10 December 1943) was a Polish communist politician and journalist. Biography Lampe was born into a Jewish working-class family in Warsaw. He was a member of Poale Zion from 1918 to 1921. In 1921, he joined the Co ...
petitioned the Soviet authorities for creation of an all-encompassing Polish center in the Soviet Union; it would function as a "counterweight for the reactionary (Polish) émigré elements". According to Wasilewska, the name of the organization was Stalin's idea. The ZPP was organized from 1 March and its significance increased after the Soviet Union broke relations with 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 ...
in April 1943, following the discovery of the
Katyn massacre The Katyn massacre, "Katyń crime"; russian: link=yes, Катынская резня ''Katynskaya reznya'', "Katyn massacre", or russian: link=no, Катынский расстрел, ''Katynsky rasstrel'', "Katyn execution" was a series of m ...
. In May 1943, Wasilewska and other future ZPP activists were involved in the creation of the
Polish 1st Tadeusz Kościuszko Infantry Division 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 ...
, which gave rise to the
Polish People's Army The Polish People's Army ( pl, Ludowe Wojsko Polskie , LWP) constituted the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East in 1943–1945, and in 1945–1989 the armed forces of the Polish communist state ( from 1952, the Polish Pe ...
. It fought on the Eastern Front together with the Soviet
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
. The Polish People's Army was placed under command of General
Zygmunt Berling Zygmunt Henryk Berling (27 April 1896 – 11 July 1980) was a Polish general and politician. He fought for the independence of Poland in the early 20th century. Berling was a co-founder and commander of the First Polish Army, which fought on the ...
and later it merged with
Armia Ludowa People's Army (Polish: ''Armia Ludowa'' , abbriv.: AL) was a communist Soviet-backed partisan force set up by the communist Polish Workers' Party ('PR) during World War II. It was created on the order of the Polish State National Council on 1 Ja ...
, the communist underground force in Poland. The ZPP was officially established by its founding congress, which deliberated in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
on 9–10 June 1943. It was placed under the Directorate, which consisted of President Wanda Wasilewska and four members:
Stanisław Skrzeszewski Stanisław Skrzeszewski (April 27, 1901 in Nowy Sącz — December 20, 1978 in Warsaw) was a Polish communist politician, educator and prominent statesman of the Polish People's Republic. Biography Born in to the family of a train conductor, Skr ...
, Stefan Jędrychowski,
Włodzimierz Sokorski Włodzimierz Sokorski (2 July 1908, Oleksandrivsk – 2 May 1999, Warsaw) was a Polish communist official, writer, military journalist and a brigadier general in the People's Republic of Poland. He was the Minister of Culture and Art responsible ...
, and Zygmunt Berling. Non-communist members of the Main Council included Andrzej Witos and
Bolesław Drobner Bolesław Drobner (born 28 June 1883 in Kraków, died 31 March 1968 in Kraków) was a Polish politician. A member of the Polish Socialist Party, he supported cooperation with the communists. Arrested by the NKVD after the Soviet invasion of Poland ...
. The ZPP issued a declaration condemning the Polish government-in-exile led by
Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Prior to the First World War, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause for Polish i ...
, as a body whose actions were damaging the "Anglo-Russo-American bloc". The program of the ZPP, proclaimed at its congress, stressed the importance of alliance with the Soviet Union and postulated the creation of a democratic and socially just Poland. A new agrarian system was promised. The material, cultural and educational needs of Poles in the Soviet Union were to be satisfied. The ZPP relinquished the Polish claims to the disputed eastern borderlands (
Kresy Eastern Borderlands ( pl, Kresy Wschodnie) or simply Borderlands ( pl, Kresy, ) was a term coined for the eastern part of the Second Polish Republic during the History of Poland (1918–1939), interwar period (1918–1939). Largely agricultural ...
) as consisting of
Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...
,
Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...
ian and
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
n territories, thus denouncing the borders implemented at the
Peace of Riga The Peace of Riga, also known as the Treaty of Riga ( pl, Traktat Ryski), was signed in Riga on 18 March 1921, among Poland, Soviet Russia (acting also on behalf of Soviet Belarus) and Soviet Ukraine. The treaty ended the Polish–Soviet Wa ...
in 1921. The ZPP's main objective was the establishment 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 ...
in Poland; the institution laid foundations for the creation of the post-war Polish government. The ZPP published its own weekly ''Wolna Polska'' ('The Free Poland'), edited from 1 March 1943 by Wasilewska, and the biweekly '' Nowe Widnokręgi'' ('New Horizons'), founded by her still earlier. The organization provided extensive social and social welfare services and conducted educational activities for the Polish population in the Soviet Union, with children receiving particular attention (an estimated half of the children of Polish deportees went to Polish schools). The ZPP's Social Welfare Department took over the Polish welfare activities previously conducted in the Soviet Union by the
Government Delegation for Poland The Government Delegation for Poland ( pl, Delegatura Rządu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej na Kraj) was an agency of the Polish Government in Exile during World War II. It was the highest authority of the Polish Secret State in occupied Poland and was ...
of the Polish government-in-exile, and to reach the widely dispersed Polish population it worked together with a Soviet agency set up for the same purpose. About 55,000 Poles were relocated from northern
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
to the European regions of the Soviet Union. By the end of 1943, 223,000 Polish citizens were under the care of the ZPP. In late 1943, the ZPP established the Polish National Committee (''Polski Komitet Narodowy'', PKN), with the intention of turning it into a communist-dominated provisional government of Poland. In 1944 the ZPP formally recognized the
State National Council Krajowa Rada Narodowa in Polish (translated as State National Council or Homeland National Council, abbreviated to KRN) was a parliament-like political body created during the later stages of World War II in German-occupied Warsaw, Poland. It wa ...
(''Krajowa Rada Narodowa'', KRN) established in
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
by the ZPP's rival communist institution, the
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 ...
(PPR). Together with the PPR and the Soviets, the ZPP was responsible for the formation in July 1944 of the
Polish Committee of National Liberation The Polish Committee of National Liberation ( Polish: ''Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego'', ''PKWN''), also known as the Lublin Committee, was an executive governing authority established by the Soviet-backed communists in Poland at the la ...
(''Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego'', PKWN), a nascent communist government; it included ZPP members. In 1944–1946 the ZPP was involved in resettling Poles from the Soviet Union into Poland. On 30 July 1946, the State National Council dissolved the Union of Polish Patriots.


References

{{reflist, refs= Czesław Brzoza, Andrzej Leon Sowa, ''Historia Polski 1918–1945'' istory of Poland: 1918–1945 pp. 533–534. Kraków 2009,
Wydawnictwo Literackie Wydawnictwo Literackie (abbreviated WL, lit. "Literary Press") is a Kraków-based Polish publishing house, which has been referred to as one of Poland's "most respected". Company history Since its foundation in 1953, Wydawnictwo Literackie has ...
, {{ISBN, 978-83-08-04125-3.
Czesław Brzoza, Andrzej Leon Sowa, ''Historia Polski 1918–1945'' istory of Poland: 1918–1945 pp. 676–677. Halik Kochanski, ''The Eagle Unbowed'', p. 376. Cambridge, Massachusetts 2012,
Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...
, {{ISBN, 978-0-674-06814-8.
Halik Kochanski, ''The Eagle Unbowed'', p. 372. Sławomir Koper, ''Kobiety władzy PRL'' omen of power in People's Poland Wydawnictwo Czerwone i Czarne, Warszawa 2012, {{ISBN, 978-83-7700-037-3, pp. 62–63 Agnieszka Mrozik, "Crossing Boundaries: The Case of Wanda Wasilewska and Polish Communism", ''Aspasia'', Berghahn Journals, 1 March 2017, p. 49
Crossing Boundaries
/ref> Joanna Leszczyńska, ''Wrócić do Polski'' and ''Trzy lata działalności ZPP'' o return to Polandand hree years of ZPP activity Przegląd 25/2018, 18 June 2018
Wrócić do Polski
przeglad-tygodnik.pl. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
Government of Poland Historical legislatures Poland in World War II Aftermath of World War II in Poland Political history of Poland Stalinism in Poland Poland–Soviet Union relations 1943 establishments in the Soviet Union 1946 disestablishments in the Soviet Union