Association of the Polish Academic Youth in Lithuania in 1926–1938

Abstract

Upon the institution of the Lithuanian University in Kowno (Kaunas), graduates of three Polish gymnasiums (in Kowno, Poniewież, Wiłkomierz) faced an opportunity to undertake higher education. At the same time, many young Poles who were born in Lithuania studied abroad, mostly in Austria, Belgium and France. For obvious reasons, they made attempts to establish their own organizations and associations. This trend was highly diverse in structural terms, which made it difficult to cooperate. In Kowno alone, three such establishments were created: Union of Polish Students of the Lithuanian University (now Vytautas Magnus University), the Students’ Corporation “Lauda”, and the Union of Polish Girl Students of the Lithuanian University “Znicz”. Nonetheless, there were various establishments for Polish students from Lithuania, and this situation not only led to a fragmentation of Polish academia, but it even faced disintegration and internal disputes. This happened when the World Union of Poles Abroad (Warsaw) recommended that fellow Poles living abroad consolidate as much as possible and cooperate in one uniform system of organization. This idea, despite enmity between Poland and Lithuania, would reach as far as Kowno. Such an attempt was made despite some resistance from some youth activists in the latter half of the 1920s. It followed from the fear that other new organizations might appear and make it even more difficult to collaborate, whereas existing ones were not keen on relinquishing the autonomy they already had. In order to avoid this kind of controversy, the idea emerged to establish a federation that would not abolish existing student institutions, but would unite them in one principal organization. To this end, on 27–28 August 1927, a congress of Polish youth from Lithuania was organized. The event proved very successful because a new organization was established: the Union of Polish Academic Youth in Lithuania (ZPMAL). The basis of its functioning was defined by the statute, which consolidated all Polish university students living in Lithuania. As the central body, the Union was to coordinate common activities and safeguard the ideological profile of its members and take care of the Polish minority. While leaving the structure of existing units intact, the statute obliged their members to be members of the ZPMAL at the same time.

Although the ZPMAL met all required changes stipulated in the statute, it was dissolved on 10 January 1938. Attempts at reversing this decision were ultimately rejected on 6 April 1938, and this date is regarded as the day of the final closure.