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Union of Socialist Youth (Poland)

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Union of Socialist Youth
Związek Młodzieży Socjalistycznej
Founded10 September 1957 (1957-09-10)
Preceded byUnion of Polish Youth
Dissolved1976 (1976)
Merged intoPolish Socialist Youth Union
HeadquartersWarsaw, Polish People's Republic
Membership1.2 million (1975)
IdeologySocialism, Communism
Mother partyPolish United Workers' Party
National affiliationFront of National Unity
International affiliationWorld Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY)
NewspaperSztandar Młodych
Founding congress in 1957

Union of Socialist Youth (Polish: Związek Młodzieży Socjalistycznej) (ZMS) was a Communist youth movement, the main youth organization in the Polish People's Republic from 1957 to 1976 when it was merged[1] with two other organizations to create the Polish Socialist Youth Union.

History

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The organization was established in December 1957 as a successor of Union of Polish Youth. the ZMS was ideologically, politically and organizationally subordinate to the PZPR.[2]

The main goal of the ZMS activity was to prepare members to join the Polish United Workers' Party. Like the previously existing Stalinist organization, the Union of Polish Youth, the ZMS aimed to increase the organization's numbers, using mass forms of recruitment of new members bordering on coercion. In 1976, the ZMS initiated the creation of the ZSMP, the creation of which ended the ZMS's activity.

In 1957, the ZMS had 70 thousand members, in 1960 - 370 thousand, in 1964 - 800 thousand, in 1975 - 1.2 million.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "„Niech Wasz związek będzie synem i współtowarzyszem partii" - I Zjazd ZMS" (in Polish). dzieje.pl. 2016-08-26. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
  2. ^ "Związek Młodzieży Socjalistycznej" (in Polish). shtetl.org.pl. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
  3. ^ Mirosław Szumiło. "Szefowie młodzieżówki komunistycznej w Polsce 1944–1990". pp. 325–342.