Blok Mniejszości Narodowych (, BMN; English: Bloc of National Minorities; Belarusian: Блёк нацыянальных меньшасьцяў, Bliok nacyjanałnych mieńšaściaŭ; Ukrainian: Блок національних меншин, Blok Natsional'nykh Menshyn; German: Block der Nationalen Minderheiten; Yiddish: בלאָק פון נאַשאַנאַל מינאָריטיעס, Blok fon Nashonal Minorities), was a political party in the Second Polish Republic, representing a coalition of various ethnic minorities in Poland, primarily Ukrainians, Belarusians, Jews and Germans. The Bloc was co-founded by Yitzhak Gruenbaum, a Polish-Jewish politician. BMN took part in the Polish legislative election, 1922, Polish legislative election, 1928 and Polish legislative election, 1930, doing very well in the 1922 elections (19.5% and the second largest party) and '28 elections (14% and the third largest party). In 1930 elections which were considered not free, it fared poorly (3% and the ninth largest party). In the political shakedown following the 1930 elections, the Bloc was dissolved.
In the Second Polish Republic, ethnic minorities constituted 1/3 of total population.
Famous quotes containing the words bloc, national and/or minorities:
“Unpleasant questions are being raised about Mother’s Day. Is this day necessary? . . . Isn’t it bad public policy? . . . No politician with half his senses, which a majority of politicians have, is likely to vote for its abolition, however. As a class, mothers are tender and loving, but as a voting bloc they would not hesitate for an instant to pull the seat out from under any Congressman who suggests that Mother is not entitled to a box of chocolates each year in the middle of May.”
—Russell Baker (20th century)
“The national anthem belongs to the eighteenth century. In it you find us ordering God about to do our political dirty work.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“But for the national welfare, it is urgent to realize that the minorities do think, and think about something other than the race problem.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)