History
- part 2
ZHP was a Founder Member of both
WAGGGS and WOSM.
When the Second World War broke out, the Guiding and 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 the 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 (Szare Szeregi in Polish).
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
communist countries. Poland resigned its membership in 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. But the 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 the strong influence of the Communist Party on the Association.
However, a number of troops preserved the best Guide and Scout traditions.
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Home ( of the meeting section )
Accueil (section
française)
Home (english section)
Acogida (sección en español)
When the Second World War broke out, the Guiding and 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 the 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 (Szare Szeregi in Polish).
Depending on the age they helped in distributing underground press, organised
mail service and undertook many other tasks including armed fighting.