The KOR Committee for Social Self-Defense (Polish: ''Komitet Samoobrony Społecznej KOR'') was a Polish

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

rule. It was created in 1977-1978 from the

Workers' Defense Committee The Workers' Defense Committee ( , KOR) was a Polish civil society group that was established to give aid to prisoners and their families after the June 1976 protests and ensuing government crackdown. It was a precursor and inspiration for efforts ...

(''Komitet Obrony Robotników''). It was one of the movements whose activities led to the creation of

Solidarity Solidarity or solidarism is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. True solidarity means moving beyond individual identities and single issue politics ...

. The KOR was absorbed into Solidarity in 1981.

History

The Committee for Social Self-Defense 'KOR' (with only fourteen members upon its formation in 1978) grew rapidly into an important 'political pressure group' shaping the doctrines of the emerging opposition movement of the 1970s in communist Poland. Their program was adopted on a mass scale in the summer of 1980 constituting the basis for the Solidarity ideology. Over the 5 years of its existence, KSS-KOR wielded tremendous influence on Poland's social self-organization, It aimed to defend "human and civil rights"; "oppose breaches of the law"; "safeguard civil liberties"; "fight political, religious and ideological persecution"; and to "provide help for the persecuted". The KOR members insisted on operating openly in public – wrote Jeremy Brecher – and for that, they were blacklisted by the authorities, beaten by the MO, and often imprisoned. They nonetheless persisted, opposing the communist regime in Poland, and triggering the process of social change which culminated in the collapse of communism two decades later. The creation of KSS KOR was preceded by the massive increases in

food prices Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices affect producers and consumers of food. Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing and food di ...

in 1976, which led to countrywide

June 1976 protests 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,

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship. Radom is the fifteenth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in its province w ...

, Ursus, Plock,

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

, Elblag, and 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 ...

, with 80,000 strikers. The authorities brought in paramilitary

ZOMO The Motorized Reserves of the Citizens' Militia (), 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 ...

battalions to crush the protests. More than 1,000 people were thrown to jail, repeatedly beaten, and even tortured. The KSS-KOR was formed specifically to help them survive the ordeal, they collected donations for legal defense, held public lectures, cultural events, and provided aid to families of the victims.

Notes

{{Authority control 1977 establishments in Poland Nonviolent resistance movements Solidarity (Polish trade union) Organizations established in 1977 Organizations disestablished in 1981