Federation of Fighting Youth
Encyclopedia
The Federation of Fighting Youth was a radical anticommunist organization of Polish youth, existing in the mid and late 1980s. It was founded in June 1984 in Warsaw
's district of Grochów
by a group of high school students.
In September 1984, a "Riot" (Bunt) underground publication informed about creation of the Federation, it also featured an appeal to Polish youth. The Federation's activists published their own magazine, called Information Service of the FMW (Serwis Informacyjny FMW). It was printed in the format of a samizdat
, in the period November 1984 - May 1985. In October 1984, high school students in Gdańsk
founded their own branch of the Federation, and began publishing their own biweekly Monit
.
In October 1985, a group of activists of the FMW decided to create the so-called Activity Groups (Grupy Wykonawcze), which began to actively fight the Communist system, by painting slogans on walls, distributing leaflets, and persecuting members of Communist apparatus of repression. The FMW gathered not only high school students, but also college students, as well as laborers. At the beginning of 1985, the Federation got its own printing press, and quickly established itself in numerous Polish towns and cities. Altogether, it had around 1,000 members, and was regarded as an open platform for those who wished for a free and democratic Poland. The FMW organized underground lectures, and distributed underground press among Polish youth. It collected money for incarcerated members of opposition, also helped families whose members were in prisons. It closely cooperated with such organizations, as Independent Students Union, Solidarity, Fighting Solidarity
, and Solidarity Citizens' Committee
. In the 1980s, the FMW was under surveillance of the Communist secret services. Among its major centers were Krakow, Gdansk, Warsaw, and Lodz, and FMW's members were famous for their anticommunist radicalism.
The Federation ceased to exist in 1989.
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
's district of Grochów
Grochów
Grochów is a suburb of Warsaw, officially part of the borough of Praga Południe. Currently it is one of the most notable residential areas of right-bank Warsaw. It is heavily built up with blocks of flats. However, there are still many houses remembering the times from before the Second World War...
by a group of high school students.
In September 1984, a "Riot" (Bunt) underground publication informed about creation of the Federation, it also featured an appeal to Polish youth. The Federation's activists published their own magazine, called Information Service of the FMW (Serwis Informacyjny FMW). It was printed in the format of a samizdat
Samizdat
Samizdat was a key form of dissident activity across the Soviet bloc in which individuals reproduced censored publications by hand and passed the documents from reader to reader...
, in the period November 1984 - May 1985. In October 1984, high school students in Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
founded their own branch of the Federation, and began publishing their own biweekly Monit
Monit
monit is a free, open source process supervision tool for Unix and Linux. With monit, system status can be viewed directly from the command line, or via the native HTTP web server...
.
In October 1985, a group of activists of the FMW decided to create the so-called Activity Groups (Grupy Wykonawcze), which began to actively fight the Communist system, by painting slogans on walls, distributing leaflets, and persecuting members of Communist apparatus of repression. The FMW gathered not only high school students, but also college students, as well as laborers. At the beginning of 1985, the Federation got its own printing press, and quickly established itself in numerous Polish towns and cities. Altogether, it had around 1,000 members, and was regarded as an open platform for those who wished for a free and democratic Poland. The FMW organized underground lectures, and distributed underground press among Polish youth. It collected money for incarcerated members of opposition, also helped families whose members were in prisons. It closely cooperated with such organizations, as Independent Students Union, Solidarity, Fighting Solidarity
Fighting Solidarity
Fighting Solidarity was a Polish anti-communist underground organization, founded in 1982 by Kornel Morawiecki in Wrocław in response to the delegalization of Solidarity and government repression of the opposition after martial law was declared in 1981...
, and Solidarity Citizens' Committee
Solidarity Citizens' Committee
The Solidarity Citizens' Committee , also known as "Citizens' Electoral Committee" , previously named "Citizens' Committee with Lech Wałęsa" was an legal political organisation of the democratic opposition in communist Poland...
. In the 1980s, the FMW was under surveillance of the Communist secret services. Among its major centers were Krakow, Gdansk, Warsaw, and Lodz, and FMW's members were famous for their anticommunist radicalism.
The Federation ceased to exist in 1989.
Most famous activists
- Tomasz Arabski, now director of prime minister Donald TuskDonald TuskDonald Franciszek Tusk is a Polish politician who has been Prime Minister of Poland since 2007. He was a co-founder and is chairman of the Civic Platform party....
's office, - Slawomir Cenckiewicz, now a professional historian,
- Krzysztof KwiatkowskiKrzysztof KwiatkowskiKrzysztof Kwiatkowski is a Polish politician, Minister of Justice of Poland in Cabinet of Donald Tusk. He is also a member of Senate . He did not die in that one plane crash.- External links :* *...
, now deputy minister of justice, - Bogdan Rymanowski, now a journalist of TVN 24TVN 24TVN24 is Poland's first 24-hour news channel, launched on 9 August 2001. Being a part of the TVN Network, TVN24 is owned by ITI Group. It gained broader popularity after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the USA, which was the first major incident to be covered by TVN24...
,
See also
- Confederation of Independent PolandConfederation of Independent PolandKonfederacja Polski Niepodległej was a political party founded on 1 September 1979 by Leszek Moczulski and others declaring support for the pre-war traditions of Sanacja and Józef Piłsudski...
(Konfederacja Polski Niepodległej) - Freedom and Peace (Wolność i Pokój)
- Orange AlternativeOrange AlternativeOrange Alternative is a name for an underground protest movement which was started in Wrocław, a town in south-west Poland and led by Waldemar Fydrych , commonly known as Major in the 1980s...
(Pomarańczowa Alternatywa)