The Polish Riflemen's Association, known as ''Związek Strzelecki'' (in the plural, ''Związki Strzeleckie''), was an organization formed in great numbers prior to

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. One of the better known associations, ''Strzelec'' (Rifleman), was a Polish

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

cultural and educational organization created in 1910 in

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

as a legal front of the '' Związek Walki Czynnej'' (''ZWC'', Union of Active Struggle). It was somewhat reinstated in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in 1991, after the

fall of communism The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts of the world. Th ...

. An important part of the Association's mission was training young Poles in military skills. Before World War I, the Riflemen's Association provided military training to over 8,000 people, and its trainees subsequently formed an important part of the

Polish Legions in World War I The Polish Legions () was a name of the Polish military force (the first active Polish army in generations) established in August 1914 in Galicia (Central Europe), Galicia soon after World War I erupted between the opposing alliances of the Trip ...

. Prominent members and leaders of the Riflemen’s Association included

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

, Henryk Dobrzański, Kazimierz Sosnkowski,

Edward Rydz-Śmigły Marshal Edward Śmigły-Rydz also called Edward Rydz-Śmigły, (11 March 1886 – 2 December 1941) was a Polish people, Polish politician, statesman, Marshal of Poland and Commander-in-Chief of Poland's armed forces, as well as a painter and ...

Władysław Sikorski Władysław Eugeniusz Sikorski (; 20 May 18814 July 1943) was a Polish military and political leader. Before World War I, Sikorski established and participated in several underground organizations that promoted the cause of Polish independenc ...

, Marian Kukiel,

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 ...

, Julian Stachiewicz,

Aleksander Prystor Aleksander Błażej Prystor (; 2 January 1874 – 1941) was a Polish politician, activist, soldier and freemason, who served as 23rd Prime Minister of Poland from 1931 to 1933. He was a member of the Combat Organization of the Polish Socialist ...

, and Włodzimierz Tetmajer.

1910–1918

In 1910, upon initiative of the ZWC, two legal paramilitary organizations were created in

Austrian Galicia The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Galicia or colloquially Austrian Poland, was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the historical region of Galicia in Eastern Europe. The crown land was established ...

. These were the Riflemen's Association (in Lwow), and the Rifleman Society (Towarzystwo Strzelec) in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. In 1912, both organizations were merged, under the Headquarters of the Riflemen’s Association, located in Lwow, and commanded by

and Kazimierz Sosnkowski. The association was divided into the following branches: * Western Galicia (Kraków), * Central Galicia (

Rzeszów Rzeszów ( , ) is the largest city in southeastern Poland. It is located on both sides of the Wisłok River in the heartland of the Sandomierz Basin. Rzeszów is the capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodeship and the county seat, seat of Rzeszów C ...

), * Eastern Galicia (Lwow), * Command of

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

, * Foreign Command. Polish Riflemen's Associations active in the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

(see

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

) were illegal, and operated without permission of the government of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

. Meanwhile, the government in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

supported the associations, knowing that they were training for the future World War I with the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. As a result, several paramilitary courses were organized in Austrian Galicia. Among the most active members of the Riflemen's Association were students of Kraków's

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

, and by the summer of 1914, the association had 6,449 trained members, most of whom came from western Galicia. At the same time, Polish Rifle Squads had some 4,000 trained members.

1918–1940

In 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 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

, the Riflemen's Association concentrated its efforts in the countryside, and among poor urban youth. It organized gymnastics classes, reading courses and paramilitary courses, and was under supervision of the Ministry of Military Affairs (Ministerstwo Spraw Wojskowych). The association had 3,000 local branches, with 15 regions. It had its own libraries, reading rooms, choirs, orchestras, people’s houses, and sports fields. In mid-1939, the association had some 500,000 members. The conspirational Organization of the White Eagle (Organizacja Orła Białego) was created in late September 1939 in German-occupied Kraków. Based on the Riflemen's Association, it merged with the Union of Armed Struggle in June 1940. The Organization of the White Eagle published its own magazine, Nakazy Dnia (The Orders of the Day).

Contemporary

Several modern organizations exist which trace back their roots to the traditions of the Riflemen's Association. To unite them, a Federation of Riflemen's Teams and Associations was formed under the command of Maciej Wechmann. On 15 July 2009 the two main associations, Związek Strzelecki and Związek Strzelecki “Strzelec”, signed a declaration of cooperation. The headquarters of the new body is in Warsaw.

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite news , url= http://www.dws-xip.pl/PW/formacje/pw200.html , title= Polska Podziemna, Inne Organizacje Zbrojne, Tajna Organizacja Wojskowa "Związek Orła Białego", Organizacja Orła Białego , language= Polish , trans-title=Polish underground resistance, other armed organizations, White Eagle Association, White Eagle Organization {{cite news , url= https://www.economist.com/news/europe/21637348-unlikely-event-russian-attack-polish-partisans-may-be-waiting-home-army-back , title= The Home Army is back , work=

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British newspaper published weekly in printed magazine format and daily on Electronic publishing, digital platforms. It publishes stories on topics that include economics, business, geopolitics, technology and culture. M ...

, date= 29 December 2014 Military of Poland Paramilitary organisations based in Poland Organizations established in 1910 Polish independence organisations Polish revolutionary organisations Establishments in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria

1910–1918

1918–1940

Contemporary

See also

References