Czeslaw Wycech
Encyclopedia
United People's Party (Poland)
The United People's Party was an agrarian political party in the People's Republic of Poland. It was formed on 27 November 1949 from the merger of the communist Stronnictwo Ludowe party with remnants of the independent People's Party of Stanisław Mikołajczyk .ZSL became - as intended from its very...
. During World War II he was a member of the Polish Underground State, responsible for organizing underground education
Education in Poland during World War II
This article covers the topic of underground education in Poland during World War II. Secret learning prepared new cadres for the post-war reconstruction of Poland and countered the German and Soviet threat to exterminate the Polish culture....
. He was the Minister of Education in the Council of National Unity
Council of National Unity
Rada Jedności Narodowej was the quasi-parliament of the Polish Underground State during World War II...
(1945-1947). Within the People's Republic of Poland, he was a member of the Polish parliament (Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
) and also held other governmental posts.
Biography
Wycech was born to a peasant family on July 20, 1899 in WilczogębyWilczogeby
Wilczogęby is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Sadowne, within Węgrów County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland....
. A teacher by profession, he graduated from the Teacher's Institute in Warsaw in 1926. He was involved with the peasant movement
Peasant movement
Peasant movement is a social movement involved with the agricultural policy.Peasants movement have a long history that can be traced to the numerous peasant uprisings that occurred in various regions of the world throughout human history. Early peasant movements were usually the result of stresses...
from around 1917 to 1919; around that time he joined the Polish People's Party "Wyzwolenie" (PSL "Wyzwolenie") and in 1931, the People's Party (SL). He joined the Polish People's Party (PSL) post-World War II in 1945 which by 1949 had become the United People's Party
United People's Party (Poland)
The United People's Party was an agrarian political party in the People's Republic of Poland. It was formed on 27 November 1949 from the merger of the communist Stronnictwo Ludowe party with remnants of the independent People's Party of Stanisław Mikołajczyk .ZSL became - as intended from its very...
(ZSL). From 1946 until 1971 he was one of the top leaders of PSL and ZSL.
Wycech was an educational activist; during World War II he was an important participant in the underground education in occupied Poland
Education in Poland during World War II
This article covers the topic of underground education in Poland during World War II. Secret learning prepared new cadres for the post-war reconstruction of Poland and countered the German and Soviet threat to exterminate the Polish culture....
. He was one of the founders of the Secret Teachers Society (Tajna Organizacja Nauczycielska) in 1939; he later became a member of the Polish Underground State and he was the President of the Department of Culture and Education in the Government Delegation for Poland from 1940 until 1945. He was the President of the Association of Polish Teachers (ZNP) from 1944 until 1945 and from 1945 to 1947, he was the Minister of Education in the Council of National Unity
Council of National Unity
Rada Jedności Narodowej was the quasi-parliament of the Polish Underground State during World War II...
.
He was a deputy chairman of the Polish Council of State
Polish Council of State
The Council of State of the Republic of Poland was introduced by the 1947 Small Constitution. It consisted of the President of the Republic of Poland, the Marshal and Vicemarshals of Constituent Sejm, President of the Supreme Chamber of Control and could consist of other members...
from 1956 until 1957. From 1944 to 1971 he was member of the Polish parliament (Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
, earlier the State National Council
State National Council
Krajowa Rada Narodowa in Polish was a parliament-like political body formed in the late stages of the Second World War in the Soviet Union, as part of the formation of a new Communist Polish government...
). From 1957 to 1971 he was the Marshal of the Sejm.
In 1959 he was decorated with the Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Order of the Builders of People's Poland
Order of the Builders of People's Poland was the highest civil decoration of Poland in the times of the People's Republic of Poland.-History:...
for his contributions to peasant studies, development and education.
Works
- Nauczycielstwo w walce o demokrację (1947)
- Materiały do dziejów ruchu ludowego (1949)
- Z przeszłości ruchów chłopskich, 1768-1861 (1952)
- Ks. Piotr Ściegienny (1953)
- Powstanie chłopskie w roku 1846 (1955)
- 60 lat ruchu ludowego (1957)
- Podstawowe zagadnienia społeczno-polityczne ruchu ludowego (1958)
- Polityczna myśl ludowa w świetle programów stronnictw chłopskich (1959)
- Aktualne zadania polityczne i organizacyjne zjednoczonego Stronnictwa Ludowego (1962)
- Społeczna gospodarka rolna w polskiej myśli politycznej (1963)
- Z dziejów tajnej oświaty w latach okupacji 1939-1945 (1964)
- Wincenty Witos w świetle własnej twórczości pisarskiej (1966)
- Towarzystwo Oświaty Demokratycznej «Nowe Tory» 1931-1939 (1966)