National-Socialist Commune

The organization was established in 1888 on the initiative of Stanisław Barański.[1] Barański brought together young Poles, mainly a group of medical students in Paris, as well as members and supporters of the previously existing socialist organizations Równość and Lud Polski. The organization adopted a red flag with an eagle in the background and the motto Freedom, Equality, Independence.[2] The official publication of the National-Socialist Commune was Pobudka, published monthly in Paris and edited by Barański himself. In the Pobudka edition, Barański was assisted first by Antoni Złotnicki and then by Jan Lorentowicz. From the first issue onwards, Bolesław Limanowski[1] supplied the magazine with his articles. Besides them, other authors who published texts in the journal under pseudonyms were Marian Abramowicz, Władysław Grabski, Jan Wacław Machajski, Tadeusz Jaroszyński, Antoni Lange, Maria Sulicka, Maria Szeliga, Gabriela Zapolska and Jan Lucjan Tolkemit.[3]

In January 1889, the National-Socialist Commune published its program in Pobudka:[4]

Poland seeks two things: to recover independence as the only guarantee of national liberties, given the existence and prosperity of the Polish nation threatened by the invasion, and a radical revolution of the prevailing socio-economic relations based on free leasing and private property, which it must be replaced by one based on the principles of economic equality, political freedom and national independence.

— Program of the National-Socialist Commune

The organization also called for the nationalization of land, real estate, and work tools, as well as universal suffrage for citizens regardless of their ethnicity, sex, and religion.[5] At the same time, they emphasized that the independence of Poland and the social issue are inseparable issues from each other, impossible to solve independently of each other. The National-Socialist Commune aspired to unleash a "political revolution" with the goal of Polish independence, which would later evolve peacefully towards socialism.[4] The base of the movement sought to be the "culturized proletariat." The National-Socialist Commune considered all parties fighting for political freedom and the expansion of social equality to be allies, as long as they did not hinder their activities with moderate and reformist aspirations. The organization had openly Marxist influences, but its main theoretical reference was Limanowski, since the National-Socialist Commune prioritized the consideration of Polish realities and its political and social relations, first seeking its own path to socialism before aspiring to an internationalist project.

Starting in January 1889, the National-Socialist Commune, while retaining its political and ideological autonomy, joined the Liga Polska on the basis of a special agreement, which it recognized as the highest national revolutionary institution.[6] At that time, the commissar of the Liga Polska in Paris was Henryk Gierszyński,[1] who had previously collaborated with the National-Socialist Commune. As ideological disputes within the Liga Polska grew, National-Socialist Commune activists became increasingly fervent advocates of creating a national liberation party that was also openly and radically socialist. This evolution was accompanied by the fact that Gierszyński was succeeded by the activist Zet Bolesław Motz, who began to compete fiercely with the National-Socialist Commune for influence among Paris-based Polish youth. Starting in 1891, Pobudka, headed by Lorentowicz[3] after Barański's death, was particularly active in promoting his own party idea.

From November 17 to 23, 1892, delegates from the National-Socialist Commune participated in the Paris congress at which the Foreign Union of Polish Socialists (ZZPS) was established and is considered the founding congress of the Polish Socialist Party. After the congress, the Paris branch of ZZPS was established on the basis of the National-Socialist Commune.[7]