EDUCATIONAL ISSUE IN THE POLISH SOCIALIST PARTY ACTIVITIES DURING THE INTERWAR YEARS OF THE 20TH CENTURY

Abstract

The article analyses the educational activities of the Polish Socialist Party during the interwar years that were aimed at the development of educational institutions with the Polish language of instruction, extra-curricular education, the raising of the teachers’ professional qualifications, and level of national consciousness of the Polish population. Members of the party joined the establishment of schools, libraries, reading halls, and organized courses: Polonistics, teaching, courses with an elementary and secondary school curricula, theatre and vocal groups, party schools, and universities. Founded by the members of the Polish Socialist Party, the Society of the Labour University with its educational activities played an important role in combating the illiteracy of the population and in formation of the national consciousness of Poles. It was shown that the Polish Socialist Party paid due attention to the protection of the cultural, linguistic and educational rights of the national minorities. These problems repeatedly appeared on the agenda of the party congresses, however they were violated by the parliamentarians from the Polish Socialist Party in the Sejm. There were analysed the party's projects, designed to provide territorial autonomy to the non-Polish population which was compactly inhabiting the south-eastern province of Poland. While defending the rights of the national minorities, the members of the Polish Socialist Party spoke in favour of the development of schooling with education in their native languages, the opening of a separate Ukrainian university in L’viv. They protested against the persecution of students and teachers of the Secret Ukrainian University in L’viv, introduction of utraquism in the school, numerus clausus, and the «ghetto benches» in the higher education institutions for the Jewish students. Keywords: Polish Socialist Party, Poland, educational activity, educational institutions, national minorities