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The Motorized Reserves of the Citizens' Militia (Polish: Zmotoryzowane Odwody Milicji Obywatelskiej), commonly known as ZOMO, were paramilitary-police formations during the communist era in Poland. These elite units of Citizens' Militia (MO) were originally created to fight dangerous criminals, to provide security during mass events, and help in the case of natural disasters and other crises; however, they became known instead for their brutal and sometimes repressive lethal actions of riot control and their role in quelling civil rights protests.[2]
The first ZOMO units were deployed in 1956 and became particularly infamous for their ruthless handling of political opponents under Polish martial law (1981–1983). It was permanently disbanded after the fall of communism in 1989, though the term "ZOMO" remains synonymous with police brutality to this day.[when?]
Early history
ZOMO units were created on December 24, 1956, under the direct command of the President of the Council of Ministers of the Polish People's Republic and first used in 1957. Their mission statement was defined as "the protection of the nation", and their main role was as a rapid-response police force, structured after and trained by the instructors from the Schutzpolizei of East Germany. From 1972, the duties of ZOMO included counter-terrorism (including countering aircraft hijackings), with the elite Special Platoons of the ZOMO (pl. Plutony Specjalne ZOMO) created in 1978. As opposition to the communist government in Poland grew, the units were expanded to counter the growing unrest, and their role became more of anti-riot police. In 1968, ZOMO was used to disperse the student protests during the 1968 Polish political crisis, leading to the reform of the formation. Two years later in 1970, thousands of troops from the Polish People's Army and ZOMO were used to quell the Polish 1970 protests, killing dozens of people and injuring more than 1,000.[2]
The ZOMO gained the most of their infamy during the period of martial law in Poland (1981–1983). During this time period their brutal actions against peaceful protesters often affiliated with the oppositionist Solidarity movement, and the subsequent lack of prosecution of those responsible for deaths of protesters, were major factors in bringing down the communist regime. To parody the communist newspeak during that time they were often sarcastically called "The beating heart of the Party" (pl. Bijące serce Partii). Since 1990 several trials against former ZOMO members and their political leaders took place, most prominently in the case of the massacre in the Wujek Coal Mine (where nine people were killed and 21 wounded when Katowice's Special Platoon opened fire on the striking miners in 1981 in the bloodiest incident of the martial law era).[2]
Personnel and equipment
From the mid-1970s ZOMO was reputed to be one of the best trained and equipped police formations in the Eastern Bloc. A candidate for ZOMO had to have a height of at least 180cm and a weight of at least 90kg. After the 1968 expansion, people conscripted to the military could optionally serve their draft in ZOMO (during the martial law, the military reservists who had served in ZOMO were called up to the squads of ORMO, reserve units of MO). The formation numbered nearly 13,000 members in the late 1980s (twice the original designation of 6,600), quartered in barracks in the major cities across the country.[1] The martial-law-era ZOMO members were equipped with various police and military vehicles (including BTR-60armoured personnel carriers in the Special Platoons) and various firearms (including shotguns, submachine guns and automatic rifles) as well as various types of riot equipment (such as batons, tear gas grenades, water cannon trucks, rubber bullets, metal and plastic riot shields and visored helmets). From 1968 they wore military-style uniforms with a very similar camouflage pattern to the one used by the Polish People's Army.[2]
Legacy
"ZOMO arrived for an action", a political caricature from the 1980s showing ZOMO squads forming the word "Gestapo"
The ZOMO's last action took place on July 3, 1989, when they dispersed a demonstration against the presidential candidature of General Wojciech Jaruzelski, former First Secretary and head of the Military Council of National Salvation (WRON). The units were disbanded on September 7, 1989, following the fall of the communist system, and replaced with the OPP (riot control) and SPAP (rapid response and counter-terrorism) units of Policja (the Polish police).[2]
In contemporary Poland the word "ZOMO" (or zomowiec, the ZOMO-man) is a pejorative term used by protesters to denote all kinds of riot police (just as the word Gestapo is sometimes used to describe police brutality).
Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski was a Polish military general, politician and de facto leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1989. He was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party between 1981 and 1989, making him the last leader of the Polish People's Republic. Jaruzelski served as Prime Minister from 1981 to 1985, the Chairman of the Council of State from 1985 to 1989 and briefly as President of Poland from 1989 to 1990, when the office of President was restored after 37 years. He was also the last commander-in-chief of the Polish People's Army, which in 1990 became the Polish Armed Forces.
The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million near the end of its existence, it was the second most-populous communist and Eastern Bloc country in Europe, and one of the main signatories of the Warsaw Pact alliance. The largest city and official capital since 1947 was Warsaw, followed by the industrial city of Łódź and cultural city of Kraków. The country was bordered by the Baltic Sea to the north, the Soviet Union to the east, Czechoslovakia to the south, and East Germany to the west.
The Combat Groups of the Working Class was a paramilitary organization in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1953 to 1989.
Riot police are police who are organized, deployed, trained or equipped to confront crowds, protests or riots.
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Czesław Jan Kiszczak was a Polish general, communist-era interior minister (1981–1990) and prime minister (1989).
Martial law in Poland existed between 13 December 1981 and 22 July 1983. The government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted everyday life by introducing martial law and a military junta in an attempt to counter political opposition, in particular the Solidarity movement.
Milicja Obywatelska, known as the Citizens' Militia in English, was the national police organization of the Polish People's Republic.
The Police is the Polish national civilian police force. It is a primary law enforcement agency in the country, tasked with providing public safety and order, investigating and preventing crime.
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The June 1976 protests were a series of protests and demonstrations in the Polish People's Republic that took place after Prime Minister Piotr Jaroszewicz revealed the plan for a sudden increase in the price of many basic commodities, particularly food. Prices in Poland were at that time fixed, and controlled by the government, which was falling into increasing debt.
The Pacification of Wujek was a strike-breaking action by the Polish police and army at the Wujek Coal Mine in Katowice, Poland, culminating in the massacre of nine striking miners on December 16, 1981.
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The 1988 Polish strikes were a massive wave of workers' strikes which broke out from 21 April 1988 in the Polish People's Republic.
The 1982 demonstrations in Poland refers to anti-government street demonstrations organized by underground Solidarity to commemorate the second anniversary of the Gdańsk Agreement. The bloodiest protest occurred in southwestern Poland, in the town of Lubin, on 31 August 1982. The Lubin demonstration resulted in three protesters killed by Communist services, and an unknown number of wounded. On the same day, rallies and demonstrations took place in several cities across the country. According to Solidarity sources, there were four more victims—in Wrocław, Gdańsk, Nowa Huta, and Toruń. According to official government sources, there were demonstrations in 66 cities.
The 1989 Polish prison riots refers to an outbreak of violence, which took place at four maximum-security prisons in northwestern Poland in late 1989. The riots were the result of political changes which had taken place in Poland in early and mid-1989. Inmates in several prisons hoped that collapse of the Communist system would result in the release of repeated offenders, due to an amnesty, but it did not happen. In the riots that ensued, seven people were killed, and hundreds were wounded.
The Volunteer Reserve of the Citizens' Militia was a paramilitary reserve organization of the Citizen's Militia (MO), the police force of the Polish People's Republic.
The dissident movement in the Polish People's Republic was a political movement in the Polish People's Republic whose aim was to change the political system from unitary Marxist–Leninist government imposed by the USSR to democratic form of government.
Equality marches or equality parades are the Polish equivalent of pride parades, which aim to improve LGBT rights in Poland. They have been held in various Polish cities and towns since 2001.
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