Związki Strzeleckie | |
 Badge of the Riflemen's Association "Strzelec" | |
| Type | Volunteer paramilitary formations |
|---|---|
| Location |
|
Membership (1912) | 7,500 members |
| Website | https://www.zsstrzelec.com.pl
https://www.strzelecosw.pl https://www.zwiazek-strzelecki.pl https://www.kgstrzelec.pl |
The Polish Riflemen's Association, known as Związek Strzelecki (or more commonly, in the plural form as Związki Strzeleckie) formed in great numbers prior to World War I.[1] One of the better known associations the "Strzelec" ('Rifleman'), was a Polish paramilitary cultural and educational organization created in 1910 in Lwów as a legal front of the Związek Walki Czynnej (ZWC - Union of Active Struggle). It was somewhat reinstated in Poland in 1991, after the fall of communism.
An important part of the Association's mission was training young Poles in military skills. Before World War I, the Riflemen's Association provided military training to over 8,000 people, and its trainees subsequently formed an important part of the Polish Legions in World War I. Prominent members and leaders of the Riflemen’s Association included Józef Piłsudski, Henryk Dobrzański, Kazimierz Sosnkowski, Edward Rydz-Śmigły, Władysław Sikorski, Marian Kukiel, Walery Sławek, Julian Stachiewicz, Aleksander Prystor and Włodzimierz Tetmajer.
- ^ M.B.B. Biskupski (2012). "Temporary Coordinating Commission of Confederated Independence Parties (KTSSN)". Independence Day: Myth, Symbol, and the Creation of Modern Poland. OUP Oxford. pp. 8–9. ISBN 978-0191633409.