Sokół (, English: Falcon), or in full the Polskie Towarzystwo Gimnastyczne "Sokół" ( en, "Falcon" Polish Gymnastic Society), is the Polish offshoot of the

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

Sokol The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a ...

movement, and the oldest

youth movement The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise. ...

organization of Poland. Created in

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

in 1867, by the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

the movement had its units – ''gniazda'' ("Nests") – in all parts of Poland, as well as among the Polish communities abroad. The group's goal was to develop fitness, both physically and mentally, with a motto ''

mens sana in corpore sano ''Mens sana in corpore sano'' () is a Latin phrase, usually translated as "a healthy mind in a healthy body". The phrase is widely used in sporting and educational contexts to express that physical exercise is an important or essential part of men ...

'' ("a fit spirit in a fit body").

History

Sokół was formed February 7, 1867 in

, then a capital of

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1 ...

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

. The basic aims of the society were promotion of gymnastics and national revival in all parts of partitioned Poland. In 1885 the first chairman, Józef Millert managed to convince the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

authorities to allow for Sokół "nests" to be formed in German-held parts of Poland. 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 ...

the Sokół expanded into 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 ...

. As opposed to the

Scouting movement Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking, ...

which emerged in Poland simultaneously (largely promoted by

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 ...

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 econ ...

), the Sokół tended to be right wing, with the majority of important posts taken by supporters of

Roman Dmowski Roman Stanisław Dmowski (Polish: , 9 August 1864 – 2 January 1939) was a Polish politician, statesman, and co-founder and chief ideologue of the National Democracy (abbreviated "ND": in Polish, "''Endecja''") political movement. He saw th ...

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

. It promoted

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

and healthy life, as well as traditional moral values. The movement opposed

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

, as a

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins ...

sport. Because of that, many members left the organization in early 20th century and founded their own

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all ...

s, among them the

Czarni Lwów Czarni Lwów was one of the first Polish professional sports clubs with the well developed football section as well as ice hockey among the several other sports. The football club was started in the late 19th century in Lwów as a school footbal ...

- the first football team in Poland.

In Greater Poland

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest cit ...

, Sokół became an important group dedicated to Polish independence. In the

German partition The Prussian Partition ( pl, Zabór pruski), or Prussian Poland, is the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired during the Partitions of Poland, in the late 18th century by the Kingdom of Prussia. The Prussian acquis ...

of Poland, from the beginning, the Sokół movement met with police persecutions, controls, harassment and provocations. This stopped only after the Sokół accepted constant police supervision. Another change was that only adults could become members. Because of this, Sokół president Bernard Chrzanowski, and vice-president Ksawery Zakrzewski, suggested setting up independent youth organizations, which would have rented, for a nominal pay, the gymnastic chambers by hours or days. Alfred Filip Zawadyński was the first founder of Sokół, in Sokołów Podlaski, Poland. German police began to harass and persecute all the new organizations again, and for a time forbade any further activity. Attorney

Chrzanowski Chrzanowski (; feminine: Chrzanowska; plural: Chrzanowscy) is a Polish-language surname Polish names have two main elements: the given name, and the surname. The usage of personal names in Poland is generally governed by civil law, church law, ...

argued that the police had no proof and could present no link, neither personal nor financial, between these organizations and Sokół. He took the case all the way to the Supreme Court of Justice in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

. It was shown that the president of "Iskra", Kazimierz Syller, "Brzask" Stanisław Szulc, and of "Ogniwo" Edmund Maćkowiak, nor any other adult member had ever been members of Sokół. The jury canceled the laws, but this caused even more harassment from the police and attempts to penetrate the organizations by informers began.

Between wars

After Poland regained her independence, in 1919 the nests formed in various partitions were united in the ''Union of Gymnastic Societies "Sokół"''. After the Polish defeat in 1939 the new

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

authorities banned the Sokół and it was not allowed to emerge after the war. It was not until 1988 that the ban was lifted by the Communist authorities of Poland. During that time only minor nests continued their activity abroad, among the Polish diaspora 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 ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

(''

Polish Falcons The Polish Falcons of America ( pl, Sokoły Polskie Ameryki) is a nonprofit fraternal benefit society, with a strong emphasis on physical fitness. History The "falcon" movement originated after the suppression of the Polish uprising of 1863. I ...

''),

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and several other countries. The following year, on January 10, the first nest since World War II was officially registered and on March 1, 1990, the society was again registered in Poland. Currently the organization has 86 nests and claims to have approximately 10,000 members both in Poland and abroad.

Post WWII

In 1947, the organization was officially delegalized by the communist authorities 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 ne ...

. All information relating to the "Sokół" Polish Gymnastic Society was subject to

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

. The society was registered on 10 January 1989 and then on 1 March 1990 its name was changed to Union of "Sokół" Gymnastics Societies in Poland (''Związek Towarzystw Gimnastycznych "Sokół" w Polsce''). Currently, the union has an estimated number of 8,000 members organized in 80 groups known as ''gniazda'' (nests). The "Sokół" union continues the traditions of its pre-WWII predecessor and is committed to instilling the values of patriotism, education and civic duty in its young members as well as strengthening the love of the country and a sense of national identity. In 2017, the Polish

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 ...

and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

passed a special resolution commemorating the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the "Sokół" Polish Gymnastic Society.

Gallery

File:1934 Przemarsz orkiestry Towarzystwa Gimnastycznego "Sokół" ze Śląska ulicami Poznania 1-P-1130-4.jpg, A march of the "Sokół" Gymnastic Society Orchestra, Poznań, 1934 File:PIC 1-P-1080-3 Zlot jubileuszowy okręgu 1935.jpg, TG Sokół Katowice, 1935 File:1934 Sejm Śląski. Politycy śląscy oraz władze i członowie Towarzystwa Gimnastycznego "Sokół" 1-P-2629-1.jpg, Silesian authorities and "Sokół" members, Silesian Parliament, 1934 File:Compétition de gymnastique de « Sokols » à Dechy (années vingt).jpg, A gymnastics competition of the "Sokół" Society in Dechy, France, 1920s File:Drużyna krakowskich "Sokołów" - przemarsz ulicami Krakowa (1914).jpg, A team of members of "Sokół" Society joins the Polish Legions, Kraków, 1914 File:Zlot Sokoli Łódź 1928.jpg, A poster announcing a meeting of the "Sokół" Society in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of ca ...

, 1928 File:125th anniversary of TG Sokół in Sanok (June 7, 2014) 12 majorettes salute.jpg, 125th anniversary of TG Sokół in

Sanok Sanok (in full the Royal Free City of Sanok — pl, Królewskie Wolne Miasto Sanok, rue, Санок, ''Sanok'', ua, Cянік, ''Sianik'', la, Sanocum, yi, סאניק, ''Sonik'') is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of south-eastern ...

, 2014

References