The Polish Writers' Union or the Union of Polish Writers ( pl, Związek Literatów Polskich, ZLP) was established at a meeting of Polish writers and activists in Lublin behind the Soviet front line, during the liberation of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

by the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

in 1944. Its initial name (Professional Union of Polish Writers) came from the similar organization formed in 1920 by renowned Polish novelist

Stefan Żeromski Stefan Żeromski ( ; 14 October 1864 – 20 November 1925) was a Polish novelist and dramatist belonging to the Young Poland movement at the turn of the 20th century. He was called the "conscience of Polish literature". He also wrote under ...

, called ''Związek Zawodowy Literatów Polskich'' which was deactivated during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The name was shortened to Polish Writers' Union at the 1949 conference in Szczecin, in order to reflect the new government-imposed policy of

Socialist realism in Poland Socialist realism in Poland ( pl, socrealizm) was a socio-political and aesthetic doctrine enforced by the pro-Soviet communist government in the process of Stalinization of the post-war Polish People’s Republic. The official policy was introduce ...

advanced by the Polish communist party of that period. In the following years, the two official organs of ZLP were ''Twórczość'' monthly and the weekly ''Nowa Kultura''. After the socialist revolution of 1956 the Union became less of a political arm of the United Workers' Party, and more of a true writers' organization devoted to creative output and the well-being of its members. In

communist Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

, the ZLP was the only official representation of the country's literary community. In 1980, the Union consisted of 1,349 participants gathered in its 17 regional chapters. It had an annual budget set by the state with numerous special funds and permits allowing for food supplements, medical clinics, foreign travel, cars, vacations,

stipend A stipend is a regular fixed sum of money paid for services or to defray expenses, such as for scholarship, internship, or apprenticeship. It is often distinct from an income or a salary because it does not necessarily represent payment for work p ...

s and cash prizes for the inner circle. Its leaders lived a life of privilege, while some of the writers are known to have worked for the secret police, spying on others.

Martial law in Poland

On 13 December 1981 the authoritarian government of the People's Republic of Poland introduced

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

in an attempt to crush political opposition. Pro-democracy movements such as Solidarity were banned and their leaders detained. The Union of Polish Writers was suspended. Some of its

dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 20th ...

members were jailed and dozens blacklisted. At the

Polish United Workers' Party The Polish United Workers' Party ( pl, Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza; ), commonly abbreviated to PZPR, was the communist party which ruled the Polish People's Republic as a one-party state from 1948 to 1989. The PZPR had led two other lega ...

Central Committee meeting the writers loyal to the new regime condemned the leaders of ZLP as disreputable. The Union was disbanded in 1983. It was reinstated the same year by communist hardliners based on a new pledge of loyalty, which caused a deep rift in its highly politicized community. Many former members did not renew their cards. After the collapse of the Soviet union in 1989, the ZLP lost its state sponsorship. An alternative, new writers' union was also formed, called

Stowarzyszenie Pisarzy Polskich The ''Stowarzyszenie Pisarzy Polskich'' is a Polish Writers' Association, an organization of Polish writers, poets, playwrights, critics and translators. SPP, established in 1989 is a continuation of the Professional Union of Polish Writers, fou ...

(The Society of Polish Writers). As of now, both organizations have their headquarters at the ''Dom Literatury'' (Literary House) in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

at ul.

Krakowskie Przedmieście Krakowskie Przedmieście (, literally: ''Cracow Fore-town''; french: link=no, Faubourg de Cracovie), often abbreviated to Krakowskie, is one of the best known and most prestigious streets of Poland's capital Warsaw, surrounded by historic palaces ...

street, in a historic building which they own collectively.

Postwar presidents

Julian Przyboś Julian Przyboś (5 March 1901 – 6 October 1970) was a Polish poet, essayist and translator, one of the most important poets of the Kraków Avant-Garde. Life Przyboś was born in Gwoźnica near Strzyżów to a peasant family. From 1912, he ...

(1944–1945) * Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz (1945–1946, 1947–1949, 1959–1980) * Kazimierz Czachowski (1946–1947) * Leon Kruczkowski (1949–1956) * Antoni Słonimski (1956–1959) * Jan Józef Szczepański (1980–1983) * Halina Auderska (1983–1986) after 1986, honorary president of ZLP * Wojciech Żukrowski (1986–1989) * Piotr Kuncewicz (1990–2003) * Marek Wawrzkiewicz (2003–)

Martial law in Poland

Postwar presidents

Notes and references

Further reading