Association of Polish Writers

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The Association of Polish Writers ( Polish: Związek Literatów Polskich , or ZLP for short) is, alongside the Association of Polish Writers, an important artists' association that advocates the rights and interests of Polish writers. Both organizations are based in the House of Literature ( Dom Literatury ) in Warsaw . The association has 22 regional branches and in 2004 had over 1,100 members.

history

At the suggestion of Stefan Żeromski , the "Professional Association of Polish Writers" ( Związek Zawodowy Literatów Polskich , ZZLP) was founded at the Congress of Polish Writers in Warsaw in 1920 , which was a federation of independent writers' associations until 1935 and was headed informally in Warsaw from 1928. From 1935 it was a unified association with regional branches.

At the end of the German occupation of Poland , the association was formally reactivated in 1944. The chair was initially Julian Przyboś (1945) and then Kazimierz Czachowski (1946–1947). During the presidency of Leon Kruczkowski (1946-1956) the association was renamed in 1949 in the "Association of Polish writers". The renaming was accompanied by a restructuring based on the Soviet model and a move towards socialist realism . Members of the association were granted privileges ( social security , pensions or pensions ) and in return had to comply with the party's recommendations in their artistic work . Therefore, in the following years, especially under the chairmanship of Antoni Słonimski (1956-1959), there were repeated conflicts between the association and the party.

In the 1960s, the proportion of dissidents who questioned the form of government of the People's Republic of Poland rose . During this time Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz (1959–1980) held the chair. Tensions reached a climax when the performance of the play Dziady of Adam Mickiewicz at the National Theater in the staging of Kazimierz Dejmek was prohibited in 1968 for political reasons. As a result, an extraordinary meeting of the Warsaw Department of the Union of Polish Writers was called and the resolution drafted by Andrzej Kijowski , which directed against the cultural policy of the People's Republic of Poland and called for the abolition of censorship , was adopted.

In the following years, the position of dissidents predominated within the association and, during the presidency of Jan Józef Szczepański (1980–1983) from 1980 to 1981, their rhetoric approached the opposition movement Solidarność . After martial law was proclaimed in December 1981, the association's activities were initially suspended and finally dissolved in July 1983. At the initiative of the party, some former members founded a new association with the same name at the end of 1983, which was loyal to the ruling party. Halina Auderska (1983–1986) and then Wojciech Żukrowski (1986–1989) took over the chairmanship .

Other alumni were denied readmission due to a status change. This led to a break within the writers and to the establishment of the “Association of Polish Writers” in 1989 as a result of the system change . After initial tensions between the two organizations, an agreement was reached. Piotr Kuncewicz (1990–2003) chaired the Association of Polish Writers, and Marek Wawrzkiewicz has held this position since 2004 .

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