''Sokół'' (, English: Falcon), or in full the Polskie Towarzystwo Gimnastyczne "Sokół" (), is the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

offshoot of the

Czech Sokol movement The Sokol movement (, ) is an all-age gymnastics organization founded in Prague in the Czech lands of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a sound body". Sokol, ...

, and the oldest

youth movement The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise. ...

organization of Poland. Created in

Lwów Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

in 1867, by the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the movement had its units – ''gniazda'' ("Nests") – in all parts of Poland, as well as among the Polish communities abroad. The group's goal was to develop fitness, both physically and mentally, with a motto ''

mens sana in corpore sano () is a Latin phrase, usually translated as "a healthy mind in a healthy body". The phrase is widely used in sporting and educational contexts to express that physical exercise is an important or essential part of mental and psychological well-b ...

'' ("a fit spirit in a fit body").

History

Sokół was formed February 7, 1867 in

, then a capital of

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

Galicia. The basic aims of the society were promotion of gymnastics and national revival in all parts of partitioned Poland. In 1885 the first chairman, Józef Millert managed to convince the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

authorities to allow for Sokół "nests" to be formed in German-held parts of Poland. After the

Revolution of 1905 The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, t ...

the Sokół expanded into the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. As opposed to the

Scouting movement Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, includin ...

which emerged in Poland simultaneously (largely promoted by

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

socialists Socialism is an economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the economic, political, and socia ...

), the Sokół tended to be right wing, with the majority of important posts taken by supporters of

Roman Dmowski Roman Stanisław Dmowski Polish: (9 August 1864 – 2 January 1939) was a Polish right-wing politician, statesman, and co-founder and chief ideologue of the National Democracy (abbreviated "ND": in Polish, "''Endecja''") political movement ...

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

. It promoted

gymnastics Gymnastics is a group of sport that includes physical exercises requiring Balance (ability), balance, Strength training, strength, Flexibility (anatomy), flexibility, agility, Motor coordination, coordination, artistry and endurance. The movem ...

and healthy life, as well as traditional moral values. The movement opposed

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

, as a

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of the gro ...

sport. Because of that, many members left the organization in early 20th century and founded their own

football club In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as ...

s, among them the

Czarni Lwów Czarni Lwów was one of the first Polish professional sports clubs with a well-developed football section as well as ice hockey, among several other sports. The football club was started in the late 19th century in Lwów as a school football se ...

- the first football team in Poland.

In Greater Poland

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; ), is a Polish Polish historical regions, historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest city in Poland. The bound ...

, Sokół became an important group dedicated to Polish independence. In the

German partition The Prussian Partition (), or Prussian Poland, is the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth acquired during the Partitions of Poland, in the late 18th century by the Kingdom of Prussia. The Prussian acquisition amounted to ...

of Poland, from the beginning, the Sokół movement met with police persecutions, controls, harassment and provocations. This stopped only after the Sokół accepted constant police supervision. Another change was that only adults could become members. Because of this, Sokół president Bernard Chrzanowski, and vice-president Ksawery Zakrzewski, suggested setting up independent youth organizations, which would have rented, for a nominal pay, the gymnastic chambers by hours or days. Alfred Filip Zawadyński was the first founder of Sokół, in Sokołów Podlaski, Poland. German police began to harass and persecute all the new organizations again, and for a time forbade any further activity. Attorney Chrzanowski argued that the police had no proof and could present no link, neither personal nor financial, between these organizations and Sokół. He took the case all the way to the Supreme Court of Justice in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. It was shown that the president of "Iskra", Kazimierz Syller, "Brzask" Stanisław Szulc, and of "Ogniwo" Edmund Maćkowiak, nor any other adult member had ever been members of Sokół. The jury canceled the laws, but this caused even more harassment from the police and attempts to penetrate the organizations by informers began.

Between wars

After Poland regained her independence, in 1919 the nests formed in various partitions were united in the ''Union of Gymnastic Societies "Sokół"''. After the Polish defeat in 1939 the new

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

authorities banned the Sokół and it was not allowed to emerge after the war. It was not until 1988 that the ban was lifted by the Communist authorities of Poland. During that time only minor nests continued their activity abroad, among the Polish diaspora in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

('' Polish Falcons''),

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and several other countries. The following year, on January 10, the first nest since World War II was officially registered and on March 1, 1990, the society was again registered in Poland. Currently the organization has 86 nests and claims to have approximately 10,000 members both in Poland and abroad.

Post WWII

In 1947, the organization was officially delegalized by the communist authorities 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. ...

. All information relating to the "Sokół" Polish Gymnastic Society was subject to

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

. The society was registered on 10 January 1989 and then on 1 March 1990 its name was changed to Union of "Sokół" Gymnastics Societies in Poland (''Związek Towarzystw Gimnastycznych "Sokół" w Polsce''). Currently, the union has an estimated number of 8,000 members organized in 80 groups known as ''gniazda'' (nests). The "Sokół" union continues the traditions of its pre-WWII predecessor and is committed to instilling the values of patriotism, education and civic duty in its young members as well as strengthening the love of the country and a sense of national identity. In 2017, the Polish

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

passed a special resolution commemorating the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the "Sokół" Polish Gymnastic Society.

Gallery

File:1934 Przemarsz orkiestry Towarzystwa Gimnastycznego "Sokół" ze Śląska ulicami Poznania 1-P-1130-4.jpg, A march of the "Sokół" Gymnastic Society Orchestra, Poznań, 1934 File:PIC 1-P-1080-3 Zlot jubileuszowy okręgu 1935.jpg, TG Sokół Katowice, 1935 File:1934 Sejm Śląski. Politycy śląscy oraz władze i członowie Towarzystwa Gimnastycznego "Sokół" 1-P-2629-1.jpg, Silesian authorities and "Sokół" members,

Silesian Parliament Silesian Parliament or Silesian Sejm () was the governing body of the Silesian Voivodeship (1920–1939), an autonomous voivodeship of the Second Polish Republic between 1920 and 1945. It was elected in democratic elections and had a certain inf ...

, 1934 File:Compétition de gymnastique de « Sokols » à Dechy (années vingt).jpg, A gymnastics competition of the "Sokół" Society in Dechy, France, 1920s File:Drużyna krakowskich "Sokołów" - przemarsz ulicami Krakowa (1914).jpg, A team of members of "Sokół" Society joins the Polish Legions, Kraków, 1914 File:Zlot Sokoli Łódź 1928.jpg, A poster announcing a meeting of the "Sokół" Society in

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

, 1928 File:125th anniversary of TG Sokół in Sanok (June 7, 2014) 12 majorettes salute.jpg, 125th anniversary of TG Sokół in

Sanok Sanok (in full the Royal Free City of Sanok — , , ''Sanok'', , ''Sianok'' or ''Sianik'', , , ''Sūnik'' or ''Sonik'') is a town in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of southeastern Poland with 38,397 inhabitants, as of June 2016. Located on the San ...

, 2014

References