Conference of Solidarity Support Organizations (CSSO) was an international organization of national groups that supported the trade union

Solidarność Solidarity (, ), full name Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" ( , abbreviated ''NSZZ „Solidarność”''), is a Polish trade union founded in August 1980 at the Gdańsk Shipyard, Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Polish People's Rep ...

and human rights in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

during the final years of the

Polish People's Republic 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. ...

. Member organizations agreed to the CSSO Letter of Agreement of January 8/9, 1983, and there were eventually more than twenty international chapters.

History

The CSSO emerged from a series of informal interorganizational meetings throughout 1982 among Solidarity support organizations. To provide a formal basis for cooperation, and to increase the unity of these support organizations, organizers drafted an agreement. To join the CSSO, organizations had to ratify the CSSO Letter of Agreement. In it, groups agreed to support and recognize Solidarity in Poland, along with the Coordinating Office Abroad of NSZZ Solidarnosc (based in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

). Member organizations still had the freedom to support their own initiatives in Poland and were not required to support the Brussels office, nor proscribe any other links or channels with Solidarity. The CSSO ultimately included 46 organizations in 13 countries. The CSSO was designed as a forum in which member organizations could exchange ideas and share experiences pertaining to protest activities in Poland. The organization held meetings in which member representatives would consider joint CSSO resolutions and actions. The CSSO did not control the activities or funds of the member organizations. .

Achievements

The greatest impact of the CSSO was in fostering trust among the leaders of the member organizations. This did indeed foster collaboration and thus improved the efficacy of numerous initiatives and programs. Most of the accomplishments came from the member organizations themselves. These accomplishments range from: a massive

smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. More broadly, soc ...

of materials to Solidarity and other groups in Poland; to the above-ground Family-to-Family assistance to the families of the imprisoned and persecuted Solidarity activists; to the ''Independent Polish Agency'' news agency providing information and photographs to the news media across the globe; to the professional periodic publications such as ''Kontakt'' (Paris), ''Pogląd'' and ''Meinung'' (

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

), ''Voice of Solidarity'' (

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

), ''ARKA de Informaciones'' (

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), and ''Porando-geppo'' (

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); to political action, lobbying and raising awareness activities in every country; to assistance to the ''Brussels Coordinating Office'' and activists in their work on behalf of Solidarity; to sending financial resources to Solidarity and opposition groups in Poland. The membership of the CSSO organizations consisted primarily of the citizens of the countries where these organizations were located and usually included members who were not of Polish heritage. David Phillips, the first CSSO Secretary, was not of Polish ancestry. In fact in some organizations, the majority were not of Polish heritage, though sometimes did include non-Poles who were nevertheless fluent in Polish – Yoshiho Umeda (CSSO Asian Coordinator), and Jan Axel Stolz, who served as CSSO Secretary.

CSSO Participating Organizations (1989)

* Solidarity Victorian Fellowship, Notting Hill Victoria AUSTRALIA * Action Group in Support of Solidarity,

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

CANADA * Friends of Solidarity,

Kitchener, Ontario Kitchener is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario, about west of Toronto. It is one of three cities that make up the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and is the regional Administrative centre, seat. Kitchener was known as Berlin until a ...

CANADA * Friends of Solidarity Edmonton Alberta CANADA * Friends of Solidarnosc Association

Vancouver British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Met ...

CANADA * Group of Solidarity in St. Catharines St. Catharines Ontario CANADA * Polish Canadian Action Group Toronto Ontario CANADA * Polish Socio-Political Group Independence-Solidarity Calgary Alberta CANADA * Solidarity Support Committee of Toronto Toronto Ontario CANADA * Solidarnosc Assistance Association Ottawa Ontario CANADA * Stowarzyszenie Przyjaciół Solidarności - Winnipeg Winnipeg Manitoba CANADA * Stot Solidarnosc

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

DENMARK * Edition Spotkania Paris FRANCE * KONTAKT Vanves FRANCE * Radio Solidarnosc Paris FRANCE * Solidarite pour Solidarnosc Roubaix FRANCE * Committee to Support ISTU Solidarity in Japan Tokyo JAPAN * Comite de Apoyo a Solidarnosc

Mexico DF Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

MEXICO * Inst. De Estudios de Culture y Sociedades Europeas Mexico DF MEXICO * Solidaridad Mexico Mexico DF MEXICO * Solidarity Organization in New Zealand, Inc.

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

NEW ZEALAND * Solidaritet Norge-Polen Oslo NORWAY * Polen-Solidaritetskommittee I Uppsala Uppsala SWEDEN * Svenska Stodkommitten for Solidaritet Lund SWEDEN * Polish Solidarity Campaign London UNITED KINGDOM * Solidarity Action Committee - Manchester

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

UNITED KINGDOM * Voice of Solidarity - publishing committee London UNITED KINGDOM * Wyre Forest Polish Solidarity Campaign

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a market town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester, England, Worcester. Located north of the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour and east of the River Severn, in th ...

Worc. UNITED KINGDOM * Brotherhood of Solidarity Members Chicago IL USA * Committee in Support of Solidarity Cleveland OH USA * Committee of Solidarity Members - Former Political Prisoners New York, NY USA * Friends of Solidarity Families Project Buffalo NY USA * Friends of Solidarity, Inc Washington DC USA * Polonia Solidarity Association Reading PA USA * Solidarity - California Los Angeles CA USA * Solidarity and Human Rights Association Buffalo NY USA * Solidarity International New York NY USA * Solidarity International of Connecticut, Inc. New Britain CT USA * Solidarity Support Committee of Rhode Island Providence RI USA * Solidarnosc Association Seattle WA USA * Support of Solidarity Boston MA USA * "Solidarnosc" - Venezuela

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

VENEZUELA *Arbeitsgruppe "Solidarnosc" - Eschweiler Achen Eschweiler WEST GERMANY * Gessellschaft Solidarnosc, e.V.

* Hilfskomitte Solidarnosc

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

WEST GERMANY * Solidarität der freien Polen in Bayern, e.V.

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

WEST GERMANY

Legacy

Papers and holdings of the CSSO have been preserved in countries where there were active chapters, or an active Polish diaspora population. This also includes Andre Blaszczynski's papers.

References

External links

* ( Media:CSSO Letter of Agreement.pdf) {{DEFAULTSORT:Conference Of Solidarity Support Organizations Solidarity (Polish trade union)