Bratnia Pomoc (English: ''Brotherly Help''), also known as Bratniak, was a popular
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
students’ mutual aid organization. The first branch of Bratniak was created in 1859 at the
Jagiellonian University. Thirty years later, in 1889, another branch was opened at the
University of Warsaw
The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields o ...
.
History
Bratnia Pomoc was originally aimed at helping less affluent students by providing them with loans and scholarships. In addition, its members also organized cheap cafeterias for those who could not afford more expensive food. The Brotherly Help also contributed to the efforts to educate the populations of Polish towns and villages and to hinder their
Russification and
Germanisation.
In the
interbellum period
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relativel ...
, Bratnia Pomoc maintained offices at most Polish colleges and universities, including University of Warsaw, Jagiellonian University and
Jan Kazimierz University of
Lwów. Outside of Poland, the organization was also active on the territory of the
Free City of Gdańsk
The Free City of Danzig (german: Freie Stadt Danzig; pl, Wolne Miasto Gdańsk; csb, Wòlny Gard Gduńsk) was a city-state under the protection of the League of Nations between 1920 and 1939, consisting of the Baltic Sea port of Danzig (now Gd ...
, assisting students of the present day
Gdańsk University of Technology
The Gdańsk University of Technology (Gdańsk Tech, former ''GUT''; pl, Politechnika Gdańska) is a technical university in the Wrzeszcz borough of Gdańsk, and one of the oldest universities in Poland. It has eight faculties and with 41 fie ...
, at the time ''Technische Hochschule der Freien Stadt Danzig''. Most branches of Bratniak, however, were in the 1930s dominated by the nationalist
Academic Union “All Polish Youth”.
During the
Second World War
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 opposi ...
, under the Nazi German occupation, Bratniak branches functioned at the illegal, underground Polish universities.
After the war, Brotherly Help existed until the early fifties, when it was first politicized and subsequently dissolved and replaced by the communist
Zrzeszenie Studentów Polskich (Association of Polish Students). Bratnia Pomoc in its traditional, non-communist form was recreated after 1989.
Bibliography
Information about Bratniak at www.muzeum.warszawa1939.pl*
J.Włodarski, Zarys historii politechniki w Gdańsku do 1945 roku– historia "Bratniaka"
External links
Bratnia Pomoc Akademicka im. św. Jana z Kęt "Album – monografja 10-lecia istnienia Centrali Akademickich Bratnich Pomocy na uczelniach warszawskich (1921-1931)" – publikacja z 1931 r. w wersji pdf
1859 establishments in the Russian Empire
Social history of Poland
Youth organisations based in Poland
{{Poland-hist-stub