Praca społeczna jako obowiązek służbowy żołnierzy w garnizonach Korpusu Ochrony Pogranicza
Social work as a service duty of soldiers in garrisons of the Border Protection Corps

Summary/Abstract: The rebirth of the Polish state at the end of the war in 1918 crossed the 120-year period of partitions. The Polish state came back to life. Among the many important problems was to merge the territory, demarcate the boundaries and build a system of their protection. The complex and prolonged process of determining the extent of Polish territories had an impact on future relations with neighboring countries and the system of protection of the state border. In particular, after the end of the Polish-Russian war and the conclusion of a peace treaty, there was no normalization of the social and political situation in the eastern territories. The construction of a secure border protection system was also not achieved. The determined and delineated eastern border was not a calm border and remained in a state of constant danger. The escalation of banditry in 1921–1924 influenced the decision to establish a Border Protection Corps (KOP). The soldiers of the corps for the period of 15 years performed a heavy service, the purpose of which was to protect the inviolability of the state border and ensure security for citizens. In their daily service, they carried out tasks to strengthen Polish statehood and assimilate national minorities, and undertook numerous social works in the border areas. The involvement of soldiers in social work was aimed at gaining the trust of the population for the interests of the state, especially the sense of the need to cooperate with the bodies of the KOP. The purpose of the paper is to show the social work carried out by the KOP branches among the borderland population in order to maintain the security of the border and public order in the border zone. The scientific deliberations in the paper are concretised on the thesis that it is: Taking up social activities by soldiers of the KOP in the border area was a duty. The basic sources of paper are source materials of the Border Protection Corps from the Border Guard Archive in Szczecin. They are supplemented with studies referring to the entire military activities of the corps.

• Details
• Contents