Independent student association

The Independent Student Association ( Niezależne Zrzeszenie Studentów, NZS ) is a Polish student association and was established on September 22, 1980 following the events and workers' strikes in August . It was a student protest against the political regime of the time in the People's Republic of Poland .

history

The name of the association was determined at a meeting of 60 founder groups from universities all over the country. Gathered August 1980 at the Technical University of Warsaw . The name was chosen in a democratic vote. Warsaw was also designated as the seat of the NZS, a statute was adopted and an 11-person all-Polish founding committee was set up with the following composition: Mirosław Augustyn, Piotr Bikont , Wojciech Bogaczyk, Stefan Cieśla, Jacek Czaputowicz, Teodor Klincewicz, Barbara Kozńysof, Osi Krzski Kurztońka , Leszek Przysiężny and Marek Sadowski.

The NZS was, so to speak, the student equivalent of Solidarność and brought together young people who wanted independence from the state student organizations and, moreover, a democratization of academic life, the preservation of basic human rights and political freedoms in the country, the respect for Polish traditions of independence and patriotism.

For a long time, the authorities delayed the registration of the NZS. Only after student strikes, especially in Łódź , where they signed the so-called Łódź Agreement after the longest student occupation strike in Europe, did the communist regime at the time agree to the association's registration, which took place on February 17, 1981. Jarosław Guzy became the first chairman of the NZS. The organization, in addition to the classic pro-student activities and calls for a reform of the higher education system, also supported the activists of the Solidarność movement politically.

After the introduction of martial law , the NZS was banned and many of its activists were arrested. In some academic strongholds, however, the NZS set up for an underground activity. In the second half of the eighties of the 20th century a collaboration with its youthful counterpart, the Federation of Fighting Youth (Polish Federacja Młodzieży Walczącej, FMW ) paved the way . The FMW was founded in Warsaw in 1984 and primarily brought together secondary school students, young workers and students.

After 1989

After 1989 the NZS was legalized again. Gradually he also changed the profile of his work, for example with the decision to limit political initiatives to matters relating to the representation of student interests and the organization of cultural events.

Following on from its historical roots, the NZS was also committed to the democratic change during the Orange Revolution in Ukraine and works with the opposition movement against Aljaksandr Lukashenka in Belarus .

Over 190,000 people have passed through the NZS in more than 25 years of its work. Today many of them are in the headlines of the newspapers: politicians, journalists, business people and cultural workers.

Chair of the NZS

• 1981–1982: Jarosław Guzy, Jagiellonian University in Cracow , from April 1981 until the ban in February 1982 after martial law was imposed
• 1989–1989: No formal chairpersons elected
• 1989–1990: Artur Olszewski, Wroclaw University of Technology
• 1990–1991: Paweł Piskorski , University of Warsaw
• 1991–1992: Filip Kaczmarek, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan
• 1992–1993: Krzysztof Lisek , Medical Academy Gdansk
• 1993–1994: Miłosz Bieniecki, Silesian Medical University of Katowice
• 1994–1995: Witold Repetowicz, Jagiellonian University in Krakow
• 1995–1996: Robert Macierzyński, University of Opole
• 1996–1998: Adam Bielan , Warsaw University of Economics
• 1998–1999: Jacek Zieliński, Cracow University of Education
• 1999–2001: Marek Czerniak, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan
• 2001–2003: Piotr Sulima, University of Warsaw
• 2003–2004: Paweł Szczeszek, Technical University of Częstochowa
• 2004–2005: Bartłomiej Bagrincew, Katowice Business Academy
• 2005–2006: Marek Czerniak, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan
• 2006–2008: Marcin Leoszko, University of Białystok
• 2008–2010: Piotr Wiaderny, Bydgoszcz University of Technology and Natural Sciences
• 2010: Jakub Michalis, Politechnika Warszawska

Web links

• Official website of the Independent Student Association (NZS)
• History of the Independent Student Association (NZS)
• Independent Student Union (NZS) strikes

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mariusz Patelski, From the March Revolt to the June Elections. The environment of the Opole students in the years 1968–1989 against the background of the political changes in the People's Republic of Poland, Elmar Schübl, Harald Heppner, universities in times of upheaval. Case studies on central and eastern Europe in the 20th century, Lit Verlag GmbH and Co.KG Vienna 2011, pp. 233–246