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The Association of Polish Refugees (ZPU)

The history of the organisation began immediately after the Second World War when many Poles were still in the western occupation zones of Germany. They were particularly made up of former concentration camp inmates, forced labourers and prisoners of war, colloquially known as DPs (Displaced Persons). Once they had regained their freedom they began to structure their social, institutional and political life. Since there was a vital need for a central organisation to represent all Polish interests, in 1946 it was decided to set up an association entitled Zjednoczenie Polskich Uchodźców w Niemczech (ZPU). The new organisation arose from a merger of smaller associations and was a kind of institutional representation, a Polish parliament in Germany. At the same time, however, its further work was influenced by various parties and groups, and this was marked by contentiousness, internal disputes and many crises. Ultimately, the association was unable to cope with the many conflicts of interest and consequently disintegrated. This condition prevailed until the beginning of the fifties.

The former headquarters of the ZPU in Velbert and the office of the central ZPU board of management. This is where Kazimierz Odrobny and Witold Szwabowicz lived. It was also the headquarters of the League of Ukrainian Refugees.

Łukasz Wolak, 2016

The board of the ZPU maintained good relations with Polish priests throughout the Federal Republic of Germany. With a few exceptions, these contacts survived for many years. ZPU activists were glad to be involved with, and even actively participated in numerous pastoral initiatives. Among the most important events were pilgrimages from Poland to Neviges and Maria-Buchen, as well as the festivities on the occasion of the Millennial Celebration of the Christianisation of Poland, the so-called "Baptism of Poland" (Chrzest Polski) in 1966. In later years, the cooperation between the various Catholic initiatives and Polish clergymen tended to take place in individual, individual groups without any significant participation by the Board of Directors, until they were finally discontinued in their entirety.

In the 1970s, the fate of the organisation continued to in the hands of its chairman, Kazimierz Odrobny. These were extremely difficult years as the number of deaths among active members increased, resulting in a generation change at the ZPU. However there were hardly any willing successors for the vacant positions. The association did not allow economic migrants or "new" refugees from the People's Republic of Poland to join its central organs. This stance was in line with the chairman's vision, which saw the association as representing war refugees. Moreover, this was also the time when financial resources for current business were becoming increasingly scarce. In this respect, council meetings and board elections were repeatedly postponed for years. The celebrations for the 25th anniversary of ZPU's existence were celebrated by only a few local groups and there was no central event to mark the occasion. This was the first clear signal of the decline of the headquarters, i. e. the Executive Board. The hour of the association's demise was approaching. Kazimierz Odrobny took part in the 1975 international conference Polonia Jutra' 75 (roughly: 1975 - The Future of the Polonia), but this had no great impact on the further work of the ZPU. The chairman was already lacking the resources to coordinate the work of all the organisations in which he was involved. From today's perspective it seems as if the organisation's existence in the 1970s only continued on account of his personal will and authority. After his death in 1981, chaos and power struggles broke out within the association. From the whole structure, only the Munich district, which consisted of a larger group of activists and a few independent local groups, survived. Disputes and trench warfare among the officials meant that the association was no longer attractive to the "new" generation of Solidarność immigrants. Nevertheless, thanks to some of the "new" forces, a few local groups were reactivated, while others resumed their work more vigorously and with greater activity. In the mid-1980s, a fifth district with its headquarters in West Berlin was founded. Ultimately, however, all these measures only allowed the CPU to exist for a few more years. In 1993 the last president of the ZPU, Andrzej Prusiński, had the organization legally removed from the register of associations. The ZPU ceased to exist.