The ZSMP was a member of the World Federation of Democratic Youth, which it left in 1989. Until 1989, the ZSMP was active in all youth circles. The ZSMP had its own newspaper, Ardour (Polish: Płomienie), and tourist office, Juwentur.
The organization's structures were divided into:
provincial boards,
municipal boards,
city boards,
workplace boards,
university boards,
school boards.
The basic organizational structure was a circle, consisting of 5-15 members. The party also had special brigades — there was a "Kim Jong Il Youth Brigade", which visited North Korea in October 1986 a few days before Wojciech Jaruzelski. According to its statue, the goal of the Polish Socialist Youth Union was to propagate “among its members and among the youth the ideology of Marxism-Leninism,” and its “honourable duty and right… is to prepare the best candidates for joining the PZPR.”
The activities of the ZSMP included such areas as tourism, sports, organizing training and vocational courses, and running interest groups. Among other things, the ZSMP was the owner of the “Juventur” Youth Tourism Office. Individual branches of the organization ran tourist clubs, such as Cycling Tourism Clubs and Hiking Tourism Clubs. The ZSMP organized many subject-specific competitions (e.g., the Construction Knowledge and Skills Tournament), in which the winners at the central level received university admission without having to take an entrance exam. In its prime, the Polish Socialist Youth Union had over 3 million members.
1990s
In 1990, the Union changed its program, advocating for a democratic and capitalist system. Since then, it has also experienced a major personnel crisis – about 1.5 million of its members left in the 1990s, dwindling its numbers to just a few thousands. The ZSMP retained its old banner, membership cards, badge, and its highest award named after Jan Krasicki; it also continued to use the communist-era Polish coat of arms, the crownless eagle. In December 1991, its political outlook was described as "a specific synthesis of Christian and socialist attitudes". From 1991 to 1999 (until the SLD was transformed into a party), it was a member of the social-democratic Democratic Left Alliance coalition.
In the 1993 Polish parliamentary election, the ZSMP was successful in winning 6 seats in the Sejm on SLD electoral lists. While in SLD, the Polish Socialist Youth Union started drifting away from its 1990 pro-capitalist declaration back into a socialist orientation. By the mid-1990s, it was considered to represent the "conservative" (orthodox) faction, known as grupa zachowawcza. It defended the achievements of Polish People's Republic and grew increasingly critical of the liberal wing.
When in SLD, the Polish Socialist Youth Union was a major actor in interparty struggle between the two factions, known by the street names they had headquarters in - Ordynacka ("liberals") and Smolna (former communist apparatus). The Polish Socialist Youth Union was a part of Smolna faction. Political scientist Anna Pacześniak described the conflict as follows:
Two groups formed within the party: the first one gathered former activists of the Association of Polish Students (ZSP) and was nicknamed ‘Ordynacka’ (in reference to a street in Warsaw where ZSP had its headquarters); the second one was created by the members of the Polish Socialist Youth Union (ZSMP) and was dubbed ‘Smolna’ (also in reference to a street). After the 1993 parliamentary election, people of ‘Ordynacka’ dominated the Party – they held key posts and were appointed as Prime ministers (Józef Oleksy, Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz) and ministers. They referred to themselves as ‘liberals,’ and to their colleagues of ‘Smolna’ as ‘hardliners.’ The ZSMP consisted mostly of blue-collar workers and peasants who were disrespected and disregarded in Warsaw, but who enjoyed strong support in local party organizations.
Later years
In 1999, the ZSMP had left SLD and radicalized. By 2001, the ZSMP had about 40.000 members, up from just a few thousands in the early 1990s. After it left SLD in 1999, the Polish Socialist Youth Union largely returned to its old political positions. In 2003, mimicking the tradition of drowning Morana, it drowned the effigies of George W. Bush and Polish president and SLD leader Aleksander Kwaśniewski. It argued that while SLD is not "completely corrupt", there is nothing good about it above the municipal level. The same year, the ZSMP also organized an exhibition of photos and art dedicated to Che Guevara.
In 2006, the Union was the subject of a minor controversy when it was found out that the Ministry of National Education was funding some of the organisation's activities, such as aid to children from poor families. The Polish Minister of Education at the time, Roman Giertych, vowed to halt any funding to the Union given its communist history. In response, ZSMP clarified that it received funding for humanitarian actions and that it is no longer associated with any party. By 2006, the organisation has amassed about 50 thousand members. In 2008, the SLD unsuccessfully tried to create a left-wing front together with post-communist radical left, including Union of the Left, Edward Gierek's Economic Revival Movement, and ZSMP. In 2009, the ZSMP ceded the buildings it stayed in ownership of after 1989, such as a ruined holiday resort in Ameliówka, as well as its old headquarters at Smolna 40, which it had been illegally occupying for years.
In 2016, the Polish Socialist Youth Union was reported to regularly visit Cuba, and the movement's leader, Bogusław Wontor, founded the Polish-Cuban Friendship Association (Polish: Towarzystwo Przyjaźni Polsko-Kubańskiej). By 2020, it remained in control of some properties, such as public pools.
References
↑Małecki, Mirosław (6 March 2020). "Historia Związku Socjalistycznej Młodzieży Polskiej". Magazyn Dolny Śląsk (in Polish). Obecnie ZSMP ma charakter stowarzyszenia społeczno-politycznego, a jej formalnym przewodniczącym jest Bogusław Wontor.
↑Graham, Lawrence S.; Ciechocinska, Maria K. (1987). The Polish dilemma: views from within. Westview Special Studies on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Boulder and London: Westview Press. p.23. ISBN0-8133-7160-0.
Czuchnowski, Wojciech (18 June 1999). "Czerwona legitymacja". Dziennik Polski (in Polish). Z Tytusem Fokszanem rozmawiamy w okazałej kamienicy administrowanej przez ZSMP, przy ul. Smolnej, w ścisłym centrum Warszawy. Organizacja nie jest właścicielem budynku, ale czerpie zyski z wynajmowania pomieszczeń. Jak duże? Nie można się dowiedzieć. Finanse to tajemnica socjalistycznej młodzieży. ZSMP na Smolnej zajmuje całe piętro.[We talk to Tytus Fokszan in an impressive tenement house administered by the ZSMP, on Smolna Street, in the very center of Warsaw. The organization does not own the building, but profits from renting out the premises. How much? It is impossible to find out. Finances are a secret of the socialist youth movement. ZSMP occupies an entire floor on Smolna Street.]
"Z życia koalicji". Wprost (in Polish). 9 June 2002. Zażądał on (ten NIK, nie pasek), żeby zielonogórskie ZSMP oddało 400 tys. zł, jakie młodzież socjalistyczna zainkasowała za szkolenie dla bezrobotnych. Rok temu w zetesempowskim ośrodku nad jeziorem bezrobotni szkolili się głównie w konkurencji 4 x 100 (gramów), a o szukaniu pracy to tam niewiele mówiono.[It demanded that the ZSMP in Zielona Góra return the 400,000 PLN that the socialist youth movement had collected for training the unemployed. A year ago, at the ZSMP centre by the lake, the unemployed were mainly trained in the 4 x 100 (grams) competition, and little was said about looking for work.]
"ZSMP odda kamienicę przy Smolnej 40". Ngo.pl (in Polish). 23 February 2009. Związek Socjalistycznej Młodzieży Polskiej zajmuje kamienicę przy ul. Smolnej 40 nielegalnie. Oddamy ją dawnym właścicielom - zapewnia ratusz. Socjalistyczna młodzieżówka, która z niej żyje, zmienia front: - Też ją oddamy.[The Polish Socialist Youth Association is occupying the building at 40 Smolna Street illegally. We will return it to its former owners, assures the city hall. The socialist organization that lives there is changing its stance: We will return it too.]
Szczepański, Jakub (21 June 2013). "Socjalistyczna młodzież polska, czyli trup wypada z szafy SLD". i.pl (in Polish). Tymczasem telefon 45-latka, a zarazem lidera socjalistycznych młodzieżowców ciągle milczy. Wątłe ślady po ZSMP wiodą do kolejnych ludzi związanych z SLD.[Meanwhile, the phone of the 45-year-old leader of the socialist youth movement remains silent. The faint traces of the ZSMP lead to other people associated with the SLD.]
↑Bańkowska, Anna (2016). "Lista SLD - „polityczny LSD - czerwony halucynogen dla Polaków"". IV Rozbiór Polski (in Polish). Archived from the original on 30 December 2016. Od 1983 działał w komunistycznym ZSMP pełniąc w nim m.in. funkcję przewodniczącego krajowej komisji koordynacyjnej.[From 1983, he was active in the communist ZSMP (Union of Socialist Youth of Poland), serving as chairman of the national coordination committee, among other roles.]
Stępińska, Agnieszka (2005). "Telewizyjna kampania referendalna jako arena rywalizacji politycznej. Referendum unijne w Polsce w 2003 r."Środkowoeuropejskie Studia Polityczne i Medioznawcze. 1. Poznań: Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu: 49. doi:10.14746/ssp.2005.1.04. Odrębne audycje przygotowały trzy lewicowe organizacje młodzieżowe: Sojusz Młodwej Lewicy, Stowarzyszenie Młodej Lewicy Demokratycznej oraz Związek Socjalistycznej Młodzieży Polskiej.[Three left-wing youth organizations prepared separate broadcasts: the Alliance of the Young Left, the Association of the Young Democratic Left, and the Polish Socialist Youth Union.]
"MEN finansował ZSMP, Giertych: to się skończy!". Wirtualna Polska (in Polish). 11 May 2006. Związek Socjalistycznej Młodzieży Polskiej to organizacja zrzeszająca osoby o poglądach lewicowych, w wieku 16-35 lat.[The Polish Socialist Youth Union is an organization that brings together people with left-wing views, aged 16-35.]
Szczepański, Jakub (21 June 2013). "Socjalistyczna młodzież polska, czyli trup wypada z szafy SLD". i.pl (in Polish). ZSMP to organizacja widniejąca w spisie tworzącym polską lewicę.[ZSMP is an organization listed in the register of the Polish left wing.]
↑Levi, Nicolas (2021). "Tangible and Intangible Legacies of 70 years of Polish-North Korean relations (1948–2018)". Prace Orientalistyczne i Afrykanistyczne. 10. Polska Akademia Nauk. Instytut Kultur Śródziemnomorskich i Orientalnych: 63. ISBN9788396083166.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: periodical has ISBN (link)
↑Sieklucki, Dominik (2007). Partie lewicy i centrolewicy w polskim systemie partyjnym: Aktywność SLD, PSL i UP na polskiej scenie politycznej (in Polish). Kraków: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego. p.20. ISBN978-83-233-2241-2.
↑Sadowska, Joanna (2010). Sercem i myślą związani z Partią Związek Młodzieży Socjalistycznej (1957-1976). Polityczne aspekty działalności (in Polish). Warsaw: Wydawnictwo TRIO. ISBN978-83-7436-216-0.
