PPS (Polish Socialist Party) (1892 -- 1948) | Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust

PPS,

The Polish Socialist Party (Polish: Polska Partia Socjalistyczna, PPS) is a left-wing Polish political party, it was one of the most important parties in Poland from its inception in 1892 until its dissolution in 1948. It was re-established in 1987 and remains active.

Józef Piłsudski, founder of the resurrected Polish state, was a member and later leader of the PPS in the early 20th century.

The PPS was founded in Paris in 1892 (see the Great Emigration). In 1893 the party called Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania, (SDKPiL), emerged from the PPS, with the PPS being more nationalist and oriented towards Polish independence, and the SDKPiL being more revolutionary and communist. In November 1892 the leading personalities of the PPS agreed on a political program. The program, largely progressive for the time of its creation, accented:

Independent Republic of Poland based on democratic principles

Direct universal voting rights

Equal rights for all nations living in Poland

Equal rights for all citizens, regardless of race, nationality, religion and gender

Freedom of press, speech and assembly

Progressive taxation

Eight-hour workday

Minimum wage

Equal wages for men and women

Ban on child labor (till age 14)

Free education

Social support in case of injury in the workplace

During the Second Polish Republic the PPS at first supported Józef Piłsudski, including his May Coup, but later moved into the opposition to his authoritarian Sanacja regime by joining the democratic 'centrolew' (center-left) opposition movement. Many PPS leaders and members were put on trial by Piłsudski's regime and jailed in the infamous Bereza Kartuska prison.

The party was a member of the Labor and Socialist International between 1923 and 1940.

The party supported the Polish resistance during World War II as the underground Polish Socialist Party – Freedom, Equality, Independence (Polska Partia Socjalistyczna – Wolność, Równość, Niepodległość). In 1948 it suffered a fatal split, as the communists applied the salami tactics to dismember any opposition. One faction, which included Edward Osóbka-Morawski wanted to join forces with the Polish Peasant Party and form a united front against the Communists. Another faction, led by Józef Cyrankiewicz, argued that the Socialists should support the Communists in carrying through a socialist program, while opposing the imposition of one-party rule. Pre-war political hostilities continued to influence events, and Stanisław Mikołajczyk, leader of the Peasant Party, would not agree to form a united front with the Socialists. The Communists played on these divisions by dismissing Osóbka-Morawski and making Cyrankiewicz Prime Minister.

A new party of the same name, which seeks to carry on the tradition of the original PPS, was established by left-wing opposition figures such as Jan Józef Lipski in 1987. However, the new PPS remains a marginal group within the political landscape of the Third Republic.

Its main propaganda outlet was the Robotnik ('The Worker') newspaper.