The Young Communist League of Poland ( pl, Związek Młodzieży Komunistycznej w Polsce, abbreviated ZMKwP), in February 1930 renamed as the Communist League of Youth in Poland pl, Komunistyczny Związek Młodzieży Polski, abbreviated KZMP), was the youth wing of the interbellum Communist Party of Poland between 1922 and 1938.Cimek, Henryk.
Jews in the Polish Communist Movement (1918–1937)
' ZMKwP/KZMP was a section of the Young Communist International.

Founding

The founding congress of ZMKwP was held on March 22, 1922.Greiner, Piotr.
Słownik organizacji młodzieżowych w województwie śląskim w latach 1922–1939
'. Katowice: Muzeum Śląskie, 1993. p. 48 Alfred Lampe was elected Secretary of the Central Committee of ZMKwP at the time of its first congress.
Nowe drogi
', Eds. 1–6. Wydawn. KC Polskiej Partii Robotniczej, 1988. pp. 83–84 The other members of the Central Committee of ZMKwP were Bronisław Berman, Leon Holcer, Władysław Kniewski, Tadeusz Oppman, Stanisław Teszner, Antoni Werner and Włodzimierz Zawadzki.

Growth

In 1923 the left opposition of the Polish League of Socialist Youth (ZPMS) joined ZMKwP.

Komtsukunft ''Komtsukunft'' ( yi, קאָמצוקונפֿט, pl, Komunistyczna Organizacja Młodzieży Cukunft) was a Jewish communist youth organization in Poland in the early 1920s. It was the youth wing of the Jewish Communist Labour Bund in Poland. Th ...

, the youth wing of the Jewish Communist Labour Bund in Poland, merged into ZMKwP in March–April 1923. ZMKwP also absorbed dissidents from the

Poale Zion Left Poale Zion (also spelled Poalei Tziyon or Poaley Syjon, meaning "Workers of Zion") was a movement of Marxist–Zionist Jewish workers founded in various cities of Poland, Europe and the Russian Empire in about the turn of the 20th century after ...

and Fareynikte factions. In 1925 ZMKwP organized a

pioneer movement A pioneer movement is an organization for children operated by a communist party. Typically children enter into the organization in elementary school and continue until adolescence. The adolescents then typically join the Young Communist League ...

for children, ''Pionier''. Later followed the setting up of organization amongst secondary school students. ZMKwP had some 3,700 members as of June 1926. As of July 1931, membership had increased to around 7,000. KZMP had a larger percentage of Jewish membership than the mother party. As of 1930, 51% of KZMP members were Jews, 19% Poles, 18% Ukrainians and 12% Bielorussians. The Jewish dominance in the membership hindered expansion between in rural areas, as Jewish-dominated branches in small towns were largely disconnected from the peasantry in the surrounding countrysides. However, by 1933 the ethnic proportions had changed with 33% of KZMP members being Poles, 31% Jews, 19% Bielorussians and 17% Ukrainians.Diner, Dan, and Jonathan Frankel.
Dark Times, Dire Decisions: Jews and Communism
'. Oxford .a. Oxford Univ. Press, 2004. p. 19 The decline in the percentage of Jewish members corresponded to an increase of recruitment amongst the peasantry. By 1932 50% of KZMP members hailed from the peasantry.

Publication

The publication ''Towarzysz'' ('Comrade') was the organ of the Central Committee of ZMKwP/KZMP, published from

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 ...

. In 1937, it changed name to ''Towarzysz Młodzieży'' ('Young Comrade').Kazimierski, Jozef.
Wielkie zaklady przemysłowe Warszawy
'. Warszawa: Państ. Wydaw. Naukowe, 1978. p. 428

Dissolution

In 1938 KZMP was dissolved, along with the mother party, by a decision of the

Executive Committee of the Communist International The Executive Committee of the Communist International, commonly known by its acronym, ECCI (Russian acronym ИККИ), was the governing authority of the Comintern between the World Congresses of that body. The ECCI was established by the Foundin ...

.Kersten, Krystyna.
The establishment of Communist rule in Poland, 1943–1948
'. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991. p. 172

References

{{Authority control 1922 establishments in Poland 1938 disestablishments in Poland Communist Party of Poland Socialist organisations in Poland Youth wings of communist parties Youth wings of political parties in Poland Communism in Poland