ZWIAZEK HARCERSTWA POLSKIEGO

THE POLISH SCOUTING AND GUIDING ASSOCIATION

Member of the World Organization. Founded, 1919-1946. Regained WOSM membership in 1996.

Zwiazek Harcerstwa Polskiego (ZHP - The Polish Scout Association) is a Scout and Guide organization with a total membership of almost 450,000 (210,000 males, 240,000 females) operating in a country with a population of 38 million people. There are 600 districts and 25 regions in the association.

ZHP, after a transformation in the early nineties, has regained the respect of Polish society. It has established relationships with State and local authorities while safeguarding its independence. ZHP has a strong tradition of forest camping, and traditional Scout activities are combined with modern ideas to reach the educational objectives of the association.

ZHP has very well developed special skill activities, such as Sea Scouting, parachuting, ballooning, scuba diving. Last year the association started a program entitled "My Homelands" which offers a framework for the activities of every unit. The first part of this program concluded at the World Camp of Polish Scouting and Guiding in August 1995 which gathered six thousand Scouts and Guides including 400 from abroad. The part of the program which is being implemented now is a project called "Water is Life", focusing on developing better understanding and protection of the natural environment. ZHP is a "Scout and Guide National Organization" in accordance with the Statement on Relationships between WAGGGS and WOSM.

World War II began in September,1939, with the invasion of Poland by Germany. Polish Scouting went underground and many Scouts served in the ranks of the Home Army and the Polish Underground. The Polish government was established "in exile" in London and Poles took their place with the Allies. Poles in exile from their homeland formed Scout units wherever they settled. There were units in many lands and even in German concentration camps and Soviet labor camps.

At the end of the war, a Communist government took power in Poland and many Poles chose to remain abroad. They brought with them and continued their Scouting tradition. With the takeover of Scouting in Poland by the Communists in 1946, the World Organization ceased to recognize the Polish Scouting Association. Polish Scouting continued in exile and in spite of the Communists, continued underground in Poland throughout the Communist period. With the end of Communist rule, Polish Scouting emerged as a free organization. In 1995, Polish Scouting was again recognized member of the World Organization of the Scouting Movement.

Even though ZHP in Poland and ZHP outside Poland carry the same name, they are in fact different organizations. ZHP outside Poland is the continuation of the pre-1939 organization which, together with the Polish President, Government and other institutions, moved first to France, then to London after the Fall of France in WW2.

ZHP in Poland is also, in another sense a continuation of the pre-1939 organization. It renewed its peace time activities in post-war Poland, but suffered many ups and downs and reorganized as a result of the varying levels of suppression or support offered by the communist authorities of the Polish People's Republic. The last vestiges of political coloring were severed after the fall of communism, and scouting in Poland underwent a number of schisms. It remains the largest Polish Scouting organization, and is the only Polish scouting organization having membership in WOSM/WAGGGS.

Andzrej Malkowski ,1888-1919,is the Founder of Polish Scouting...

"Scouting has existed in Poland since 1910.... Our country was divided into three parts and grabbed by three neighbors: Russia, Germany and Austria. So the Scouting movement was the best method to engage young people in the fight for freedom. And this is the main reason why Polish Scouting survived all suppressions: we always fought against restrictions. Polish scouts were fought in the Polish Army during the World War, 1914-18, during rebellions in 1918 and 1919 (against German authorities in the western part of Poland), during the World War 1939-45. During World War II it acted as a part of the Polish resistance. I think it was the only youth organization fighting against Germans in Europe.

After the World War, the Communists came to power and they wanted to create their own scout organization or to change the existing one. So they banned most of the pre-war scout activities (they were afraid of the scout power). This state lasted for a few years. In 1956, the Scout leaders couldn't bear it any more and they reformed the organization. But it didn't look as before. Later there were many attempts to suppress Scouting and many of them were unfortunately successful.

But, my group in the 80's fought against Communism and is one of the groups that resisted all suppressions. Although some of my friends were imprisoned--one of them for half a year. "

 Scout and Guide Promise:

THIS INFORMATION WAS OBTAINED FROM WOSM REPORTS, PIET KROONENBERG’S "THE UNDAUNTED" AND FROM CORRESPONDENCE WITH PIOTR BORYS, INTERNATIONAL COMMISSIONER OF THE POLISH SCOUTS.

If you have any additional information, please send it to me at:

 Last updated on March 1, 1999