Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth


Patriotyczny Ruch Odrodzenia Narodowego was a Polish popular front that ruled the Polish People's Republic. It was created in the aftermath of the martial law in Poland. Gathering various pro-communist and pro-government organizations, it was supposed to show unity and support for the government and Polish United Workers' Party. PRON was created in July 1982 and dissolved in November 1989.

Members

The Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth included the following member parties:
PartyPolish nameEmblemFoundationDissolutionIdeology
Polish United Workers' PartyPolska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza21 December 194830 January 1990Communism
United People's Party
Zjednoczone Stronnictwo Ludowe27 November 194929 November 1989Agrarian socialism
Alliance of DemocratsStronnictwo Demokratyczne18 September 1937Still activeCentrism

It also included the following organizations when founded:
It was later joined by many other organizations, such as All-Poland Alliance of Trade Unions, Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego and Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Dzieci. Few members of those organizations were aware of their membership in PRON, as PRON members included organizations, not individuals. PRON membership was required by communist propaganda, and necessary for any organization that wanted to exist on political scene with support of the government.
PRON was mentioned in the amended Polish communist constitution, where it replaced the Front of National Unity. Like its predecessor, it was dominated by the PZPR; the minor parties had to accept the PZPR's "leading role" as a condition of their continued existence.
PRON's chairman was the writer Jan Dobraczyński. The foundation committee included in addition to Dobraczyński: Marian Orzechowski, Janusz Reykowski, Andrzej Przypkowski, Edmund Męclewski, Jan Majewski, Andrzej Elbanowski, Józef Chlebowczyk, Władysław Ogrodziński, Walenty Milenuszkin, Wiesław Nowicki, Jerzy Stencel, Elżbieta Ciborowska, Jerzy Kejna, Piotr Perkowski, Józef Kiełb, Jerzy Ozdowski, Stanisław Rostworowski, Gizela Pawłowska, Zbigniew Gertych, Klemens Krzyżagórski, Anatola Klajna and Zbigniew Siatkowski.
It was the sole organisation to put forward candidates in the 1985 election, which proved to be the last elections in which no opposition candidates were permitted to run. As such, it won every seat in the Sejm.

Electoral history

Sejm elections