The short history of Polish anarchism

[Babeufist]

[FONT=Times New Roman]The short history of Polish anarchism[/FONT]

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[FONT=Times New Roman]THE first seeds of an anarchist ideology in Poland can be traced back to the first half of the 19th century, with the likes of the Christian anarchist Ludwik Krolikowski and agrarian socialist like Jozef Tokarzewicz. But the first Polish anarchist organization was Towarzystwo Polskie Socjalno-Rewolucyjne (Polish Social Revolutionary Association) which, inspired personally by Bakunin, came into existence in Zurich in1872. The TPSR soon split up following an inevitable divergence of opinion, given that it combined anarchist, social-democratic and social-patriotic tendencies.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman]The Polish socialist movement was in fact born under the black flag of anarchism and the first Polish socialist program (the Brussels program of 1878) had anarchist characteristics. From October 1879 Ludwik Warynski, Kazimierz Dluski, Szymon Diksztajn and other revolutionaries published, in Geneva, the monthly journal Rownosc (Equality), which propagated the idea of “stateless socialism”, on which basis they rejected the principle of independence for Poland. The group behind Rownosc supported the international anarchist congress in London in July1881, but later split up.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman]A year later Warynski set up Miedzynarodowa Socjalno-Rewolucyjna Partia ”Proletaryat” (International Social Revolutionary Party-The Proletariat), which, although Marxist-orientated, was influenced by anarchism. Ten years later the semi-anarchist “independent socialists” led by Jozef Daniluk and Ernest Breiter were active in Lvov.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman]Many anarcho-communist groups which were active in Poland from 1904 (like Chleb i Wolnosc (Bread and Freedom) and Czarny Sztandar (Black Flag) in Bialystok or Internacjonal (International) in Warsaw and Lodz) were of a specifically Jewish character. Among those who were victimized for one anarcho-communist activity, records reveal that 409 were Jewish and 52 Polish. Often these groups only published their leaflets in Yiddish.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman]But there were also groups which mainly attracted Poles – the most famous being the so-called Msciciele-Rewolucjonisci (Avenger Revolutionaries). The MR group was founded in 1910 by ex-members of the Polska Partia Socjalistyczna – Frakcja Rewolucyjna (Polish Socialist Party – Revolutionary Faction), a social-patriotic party under the leadership of Jozef Piatek, Edward Dluzewski and, later on, Michal Zakrzewski. The MR’s approach was based purely on terrorist “direct action”. As Zakrzewski himself declared: ”Gunpowder, bombs, confiscation and vengeance against oppressors – that is our manifesto”. MR carried out around 100 terrorist attacks and were annihilated in the process, with Piatek being killed in 1911 and Zakrzewski in 1913. [/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman]Other groups with the similar make-up included Zmowa Robotnicza (Workers’ Plot), which was formed by ex-members of the Marxist SDKPiL, and an anarchist splinter from PPS-Proletariat, who styled themselves the Terrorist-Revolutionaries. Anarcho-syndicalist and terrorist inclinations can also be founded in Robotnicza Polska Partia Socjalistyczna (The Workers’ Polish Socialist Party) between 1907 and 1914.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman]In another part of Poland, Galicja (an Austrian province), the strongest anarchist tendency was the anarcho-syndicalism promoted by Augustyn Wroblewski, a patriotic proponent of an independent Poland. From 1912 Wroblewski edited the newspaper Sprawa Robotnicza (The Workers’ Cause) and organized several workers, groups in Krakow and Boryslaw, but his career was very short.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman]At the start of 20th century Polish anarchism had, besides “mainstream” anarchist theoreticians like Augustyn Wroblewski or Jozef Zielinski, two unique thinkers. Still current and popular are the ideas of Edward Abramowski (1868-1918), the ideologist of Rzeczpospolita Spoldzielcza (The Co-operative Republic). He proposed a peaceful route towards self governing society through boycotting the state, instigating a “moral revolution” and building up the co-operative movement. Abramowski fused the political ideology of anarcho-co-operatism with the anthropocentric philosophy of social phenomenalism and psychologism. In spite of his anarchism, Abramowski was a Polish patriot and adherent of federalism (Pilsudski’s idea of a Central European federation under Polish leadership). Abramowski’s believers were organized in “ethics circles” (kola etykow) and “friendship unions” (zwiazki przyjazni). [/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman]By contrast, the second original thinker Waclaw Machajski (1867-1926), is completely forgotten today. He maintained that the bourgeoisie, intellectuals and all white-collar workers were the enemy of the proletariat. Intellectuals had created a socialist movement because they wanted to nationalize the means of production and to take the place of the capitalists, but in any future socialist state the working class would still be oppressed. Therefore Machajski rejected all political and cultural activity, such as workers’ education. He considered the proletariat should simply fight an economic struggle for increased pay – in this way workers would be able to deprive the capitalists of all their profits. His ideology was taken on board by organizations like Zmowa Robotnicza in Poland and the Union of Socialist-Revolutionary Maximalists in Russia.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman]Also worth mentioning is another great Polish philosopher – Stanislaw Brzozowski (1878-1911). His thought was in a permanent state of evolution, moving from an idealistic “philosophy of action” (comparable to the ideas of Nietzsche and Bergson) through a neo-Marxist “philosophy of labour” (Brzozowski as Gramsci’s forerunner!) to a catholic modernist “philosophy of nation”. A Polish patriot, he was also an enthusiastic proponent of Sorel’s syndicalism.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman]After the World War I, the anarchist movement in Poland disappeared for quite some time. The only active Polish anarchist group, Walka (The Fight) was in France. This group published Najmita (The Hireling) in 1925 and its Walka newspaper from 1926 to 1928. In August 1926 several anarchist groups came together to create Anarchistyczna Federacja Polski (The Anarchist Federation of Poland), which organized its first congress in 1931. The secretary of the Federation was Pawel Lew Marek and the AFP newspaper was entitled Glos Anarchisty (The Voice of the Anarchist). The AFP fought against capitalism, nationalism and social-democracy but its attitude towards the communists was positive. The AFP was very tiny group…[/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman]After Pilsudski’s coup d’état in May 1926, Zwiazek Naprawy Rzeczpospolitej (The Union for Repairing the Republic) – left wing nationalists who supported Pilsudski’s régime – started a syndicalist movement in Poland. They founded Kola Robotnikow-Syndykalistow (Circles of Workers - Syndicalists) and in 1928 created a trade union organization called Generalna Federacja Pracy (The General Labour Federation). The GFP’s leaders were: Kazimierz Zakrzewski, Jerzy Szurig, Janusz Rakowski, Gustaw Zilinski, Stefan Kapuscinski, Stefan Szwedowski and Boleslaw Gawlik, who developed their syndicalist ideology in the columns of Solidarnosc Pracy (The Solidarity of Labour) from 1926 to 1930, in Syndykalista (The Syndicalist) in 1930 and 1931 and in Front Robotniczy (Workers’ Front) from 1931 to 1939.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman]This ideology was a mixture of reformist syndicalism and “state-building” (“panstwowotworczy”, ie pro-régime) nationalism. In 1930 the GFP and other pro-régime trade unions united in Zwiazek Zwiazkow Zawodowych (Union of Trade Unions) under the leadership of Jedrzej Moraczewski. The ZZZ had about 160,000 members in 1934. Youth organizations like Polska Mlodzierz Spoleczno-Demokratyczna (Polish Social and Democratic Youth), the youth section of the liberal Klub Demokratyczny (Democratic Club) in Lwow from 1938 or Stowarzyszenie Mlodych Syndykalistow (Association of Young Syndicalists), a left-wing faction from the pro-régime Zwiazek Polskiej Mlodziezy Demokratycznej (Union of Polish Democratic Youth), in 1936 and 1937, sympathized with the ZZZ’s program. Pro-syndicalist intellectuals were active in Robotniczy Instytut Oswiaty I Kultury (Workers’ Institute of Education and Culture). Although Polish syndicalists never rejected their patriotism (witness the ZSP’s manifesto for “Greater Poland”!), they evolved gradually towards revolutionary syndicalism (for example, the ZZZ supported the CNT during the Spanish Civil War). In their third congress in 1937, the ZZZ broke with the régime and turned to opposition.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman]During the Nazi occupation, ZZZ activists (S. Kapuscinski, S. Szwedowski, J. Szurig, K. Zakrzewski, and L. Bigosinski) formed Zwiazek Syndykalistow Polskich (The Union of Polish Syndicalists). The ZSP had a military section and published newspapers like Akcja (Action), Sprawa (The Cause), Iskra (The Spark), Chlopska Sprawa (The Farmers’ Cause) and Mysl Mlodych (The Young Thought). In 1942 the ZSP set up Front Lewicy Patriotycznej (The Front of the Patriotic Left). Then in 1944, together with the semi-trotskyist Robotnicza Partia Polskich Socjalistow (Workers’ Party of Polish Socialists) and other groups from the radical non-communist left, it created Centralny Komitet Ludowy (The Central People’s Committee).[/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman]In addition to the ZSP, Syndykalistyczna Organizacja “Walka Ludu” (The Syndicalist Organization “the Fight of the People”) was active. During the Warsaw uprising in 1944, syndicalists formed Syndykalistyczne Porozuminie Powstancze (The Syndicalist Insurgent Agreement). Editor of SPP newspaper Syndykalista was P. L. Marek. In September 1944 representatives of four workers’ parties: the communist PPR (Polska Partia Robotnicza, The Polish Workers’ Party); the pro-soviet faction of the RPPS (PPS-Lewica, The Polish Social Party – The Left) and the syndicalists signed an agreement about the economic system. Under this, trade unions would manage industry and the National Council of Trade Unions would be the supreme economic organ in the state. But the communist government did not abide by this agreement…[/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman]The revival of Polish Anarchism began during Poland’s’ peaceful revolution in 1980-1981. At this time the ephemeral groups Zrzeszenie Autonomistow (Autonomist Association) in Poznan and the post-hippy Ruch Nowej Kultury (New Culture Movement) in Wroclaw began activities. This groups split up after Jaruzelski’s coup d’état, but in June 1983 the first serious anarchist group – Ruch Spoleczenstwa Alternatywnego (Movement for an Alternative Society) was founded in Gdansk. The Ruch became famous because punk RSA supporters took part in many violent demos against the martial law. In 1985 young pacifists, liberals and environmentalists aligned themselves in Ruch “Wolnosc i Pokoj” (Freedom and Peace Movement) and RSA joined them.[/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman]After the fall of communism, the WiP also collapsed – former activist of the Czas Przyszly faction are now to be found establishment parties like the Unia Demokratyczna and even the political police! The RSA inspired the creation in October 1988 of the new anarchist structure Miedzymiastowka Anarchistyczna (The Anarchist Inter-urbanal, analogous to Miedzynarodowka, meaning International), which was transformed in November 1989 into Federacja Anarchistyczna (The Anarchist Federation).[/FONT]
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[FONT=Times New Roman]The FA is not uniform. There are three main political “factions” in this rather inactive movement. There is the right-wing libertarian Ruch Wolnosciowy (Liberty Movement) led by Jacek Sierpinski from Katowice, the left-wing Akcja Rewolucyjnych Syndykalistow (Revolutionary Syndicalist Action) under the leadership of Marek Kurzyniec from Krakow and Jany Waluszko’s RSA in Gdansk. Waluszko is the principal (and very original) thinker of Polish modern anarchism. His philosophy is inspired more by Chinese Taoism and eastern European tradition (e.g., 17th century Polish “Sarmatianism”) than by Malatesta or Bookchin. Today’s Polish anarchist thought is also strongly influenced by contemporary Polish philosopher Leszek Nowak [1], who is the author of the interesting “non-Marxian historical materialism history” theory.[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman]Jaroslaw Tomasiewicz[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman](1992)[/FONT]

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[FONT=Times New Roman]1. Works by Nowak in English: „Epochs and Formations. An Attempt at a non-Marxian Generalization of Historical Materialism” in Leinfeller, Hübner, Leinfeller Wittgenstein, the Vienna Circle and Critical Rationalism, Vienna Hölder, Pichler, Tempsky 1979; “Historical Momentums and Historical Epochs. An Attempt at a non-Marxian Materialism”, Kritik Und Analyse 1; Property and Power. Towards a non-Marxian Historical Materialism, Dordrecht – Boston – Lancaster, Reidel 1983; “Science, that is, Domination through Truth” and “Ideology vs. Utopia. A contribution to the theory of Socio – Economic Formation” in Buczkowski, Klawiter Theories of Ideology and Ideology of Theories , Amsterdam, Rodopi, 1986; “Man and People. The Problem of the Individual in non-Marxian Historical Materialism”, Social Theory and Practise, 13, 1; “Spiritual Domination as a Class Oppression. A Contribution to the Theory of Culture in non-Marxian Historical Materialism”, Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 18, 2. “A Model of Socialist Society”, Studies in Soviet Thought, 34.[/FONT]

[erupt]

Any information on post-World War II underground activity?

[Babeufist]

[FONT=Times New Roman]No. Some anarchists (for example P.L. Marek) joined the Stalinist party, some tried to created any short-existing cooperatives. [/FONT]