All-Polish Youth - Pre-war All-Polish Youth

Pre-war All-Polish Youth

The organisation, properly the Academic Union "All-Polish Youth" (Związek Akademicki "Młodzież Wszechpolska"), was founded in 1922 as an ideological youth organisation with a strong nationalist sentiment, and was the largest student organisation in the Second Polish Republic. The Founding Convention of the All-Polish youth took place in March 1922, with Roman Dmowski being selected honorary chairman.

The term "All-Polish" is intended to represent a desire to unify all Polish lands, and accentuate national ties and the equality of all people of Polish origin regardless of their wealth or social status. In the inter-war period, members of the organisation participated actively in academic life, and became the heads of many student organisations. The goals of the organization were focused on three issues:

1. Defending the autonomy of universities against centralising forces of the government.
2. Campaigning for lower tuition fees.
3. Exclusion of non-Polish, especially Jewish students from higher education.

All-Polish Youth was more radical than any of organizations of the National Democracy camp. It openly praised Mussolini and his Italian fascism for its hardline stances towards the left and realisation of "national revolution". Part of the members, including Jędrzej Giertych, also praised Hitler's Germany but understood that it is with the contradiction with Polish national interests. Members of All-Polish Youth also praised authoritarian regimes of the Mediterranean, Salazar's Portugal and Franco's Spain.

They also favoured economically boycotting the Jews, limiting their access to higher education (numerus clausus) and actively campaigned for ghetto benches, segregated seating for Jewish students