Poland
Polish Guiding and Scouting started in 1910. The first troop of Guides in Poland was organised on 22 May 1911 in Lwów, at the same time as the first two Polish Boy Scout troops were established. On 1 January 1913, a Guide section was created within the Headquarters of Polish Scouting and Guiding. More and more troops of Guides and Scouts were organised all over Poland, which at that time was still partitioned among Austria, Prussia and Russia. Contacts took place between the Headquarters in Lwów and the parts of Poland under German and Russian rule, where Guiding and Scouting was not allowed and had to operate in secret. When the First World War broke out in 1914, contacts became difficult because fighting was taking place on Polish territory, and a special Guide and Scout authority was established in Warsaw. Throughout this period, before and during the First World War, Polish Guides and Scouts co-operated actively with all those who worked and fought for the independence of Poland.
A new epoch for Polish Guiding and Scouting began when, after the First World War, Poland became independent again, and the war with communist Russia was won. In 1918, the nationwide organisation Polish Scouting and Guiding Association (ZHP) was formally established. As it was no longer necessary to fight for Poland’s existence, peaceful work was conducted. Guides and Scouts were searching for their own methods of work and gave a lot of time to leader training.
The first national Guide and Scout Jamboree took place in 1924. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Brownie and Cub Scout section developed and work on the programme for Rangers and Rovers started, with Ranger and Rover troops being organised. In 1920, ZHP was represented at the 1st World Conference in Oxford and representatives of Polish Guides have attended World Conferences of Girl Scouts and Girl Guides since then. ZHP was a Founder Member of both WAGGGS and the World Organization of the Scout Movement.
When the Second World War broke out, many ZHP leaders left the country to continue Guiding/Scouting activity among émigré youth. The Guiding/Scouting communities which remained in the Nazi-occupied country formed an underground organisation linked to the Home Army. ‘Trefoil Union’ was one of the underground cryptonyms of the Guide Association and became well known, earning high respect from Polish society. Guides helped the weak, the poor, the homeless and children in need in different ways, and they participated in the Resistance Movement all over Poland. Polish Scouts continued their duty underground under the name of “Grey Ranks”. Depending on the age they helped in distributing underground press, organised mail service and undertook many other tasks including armed fighting.
When in 1944 the Red Army and the Polish Army advanced into Polish territory, the new communist regime was gradually established. Guiding and Scouting became increasingly difficult to practise due to political pressure and finally, in 1950, ZHP was suspended and an organisation for children with a few elements taken from Guiding and Scouting was organised in schools. Its name was ‘Scout and Guide Organisation’, not ‘Pioneer’ as in other Central and Eastern European countries. Poland resigned its membership of WAGGGS in 1950.
After the political changes of 1956, ZHP was re-established, and many former Guide and Scout leaders returned to rebuild Polish Scouting and Guiding as a co-educational merged organisation, not a joint one as before. But this traditional model was to survive for only a few years, as ZHP was gradually turned into a mass children’s organisation, increasingly permeated by communist indoctrination. The years between 1960 and 1980 were difficult because of a strong influence of the Communist Party on the Association, but a number of troops preserved the best Guide and Scout traditions.
During this period, some of the leaders worked hard to maintain the traditions of Polish Guiding and Scouting. The birth of Solidarity in 1980 led them to establish new Guiding/Scouting organisations, but the imposition of Martial Law resulted in their ceasing to function. However, many leaders continued working, both inside and outside ZHP, and in 1990 when the law on associations changed, several new Guiding/Scouting associations were registered.
ZHP decided, at its Congress at Bydgoszcz in 1990, to return fully to traditional values and methods, and worked intensively towards returning to both the Guide and Scout World organisations. The final part of this process was the Extraordinary Congress of ZHP on 10 June 1995, which amended the Association’s Statutes, making them fully compatible with the requirements of WAGGGS and WOSM. In 1996 ZHP regained its membership in the World Organization of the Scout Movement and in the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.