Milicja Obywatelska (MO;Polish pronunciation:[miˈlit͡sjaɔbɨvaˈtɛlska]), known as theCitizens' Militia in English, was the nationalpolice organization of thePolish People's Republic.

Milicja Obywatelska MO Citizens' Militia
Milicja patch
Collar patch known aspalemka
Common name	Milicja
Abbreviation	MO
Agency overview
Formed	7 October 1944
Dissolved	10 May 1990
Superseding agency	Policja
Employees	80,000 (1980s)[1]
Jurisdictional structure
National agency	Polish People's Republic
Operations jurisdiction	Polish People's Republic
General nature	Civilian police
Operational structure
Headquarters	Warsaw
Agency executive	Franciszek Jóźwiak, First Director
Parent agency	Ministry of Public Security (UB) Ministry of Internal Affairs
Child agency	ZOMO,ORMO

The MO was established on 7 October 1944 by thePolish Committee of National Liberation under Chief CommanderFranciszek Jóźwiak to policeRed Army controlled areas of Poland duringWorld War II.^[2] It became the official police force with the founding of the Polish People's Republic in 1947, effectively replacing the pre-warPolicja as the main uniformedcivilian police of Poland during thecommunist era. The MO was headquartered inWarsaw while training for the force was conducted in the town ofLegionowo.

The MO was supported by twoparamilitary formations: the eliteMotorized Reserves of the Citizens' Militia (ZOMO) and the reservistVolunteer Reserve of the Citizens' Militia (ORMO). In most cases it represented a state-controlled force used to exertpolitical repression, especially with its elite ZOMO squads. The MO continued to exist after thefall of communism in Poland in 1989 until it was transformed back intoPolicja on 10 May 1990.

The Citizens' Militia (MO) was created on the basis of provisions of theJuly Manifesto of theSoviet-backedPolish National Liberation Committee (PKWN), State National Council. It was formally established bydecree on 7 October 1944 during the later stages of theEastern Front ofWorld War II.Milicja had been adapted from thecognate termmilitsiya used in the Soviet Union, itself derived frommilitia with itsetymology from the concept of a military force composed of ordinary citizens.

The MO was used to establish the authority of the PKWN in areas of Poland that came under control of theRed Army as it pushed through the country intoNazi Germany. The first generation officers and agents were drawn from the following groups and sectors of society:^[3]

• Servicemen from thePolish People's Army onsecondment.
• Partisans of theArmia Ludowa.
• Civilians withfar-left party affiliation: thePolish Workers' Party, thePolish People's Party and thePolish Socialist Party.

Poland came under the domination of the Soviet Union at the end of World War II and, following the rigged1947 Polish parliamentary election, the PKWN-derivedProvisional Government of National Unity was able to legitimise itself enough to supplant theLondon-basedPolish government-in-exile recognized by theWestern allies. The MO effectively became the officialcivilian police force of Poland replacing thePolicja. Former members of the anti-communist underground such as theHome Army, who tried to ensure an influence on everyday life, joined the new force, to the point that the entire outposts were Home Army members.^[4] The MO was supplemented by about a thousand former policemen employed in 1945, mainly in positions requiring special qualifications.^[5]

In 1948, Poland's strengthened turn towardStalinism brought the beginning of formalisedtotalitarian rule, "in which one Party ruled autonomously over all sections of society".^[6] Officers of the MO took the same solemn oath as the officers of the Security Service. Its main fragment read as follows:

I solemnly vow ...- to faithfully serve the Fatherland, the Party and People's Authority and to protect the law, order and public safety.

— Sławomir Cenckiewicz,Through the eyes of the security. Sketches and materials from the history of the security apparatus of the People's Republic of Poland, Kraków 2006, p. 509

The first chief commander of MO wasFranciszek Jóźwiak.^[7]The militia was then subordinated toMinistry of Public Security, and from 1955 toMinistry of Internal Affairs. From March 1946 to the end of the 1940s, local MO units with units of thePolish People's Army,Internal Security Corps,Ministry of Public Security andBorder Protection were subordinated to provincial security committees subordinate toState Security Commission. In the years 1944–1948, the Citizens' Militia was used to fight cursed soldiers' ', as well as servicemen of theUkrainian Insurgent Army and GermanWerwolf elements.^[8][9]

When on July 27, 1944, the Civic Militia was established by one of the two decrees of the Polish Committee of National Liberation (PKWN's decree was approved on August 15, 1944 by the National National Council),^[10] in Rzeczpospolita - "press organ of the Polish Committee of National Liberation" - August 16 1944^[10] was provided with:

We are creating the Citizens' Militia. The name is not accidental. The militia must be truly a civic militia and all its efforts to ensure public safety will find support from the public.

Given the fact that the first generation officers and men of the MO were drawn partly from the armed force the MO sported military ranks, a tradition shared with the other Warsaw Pact police forces.

Due to increasing terrorist threats, the MO created the Wydział Zabezpieczenia (Security Department) on February 22, 1976.^[11] This consist of 47 officers assigned to five sections.^[11] In 1982, the WZ has a unit that is on standby to conduct anti-hijacking operations and provide security onLOT Polish Airlines airplanes.^[12]

When the MO was first organized in 1945, it comprised the following:^[13]

• Main Office (Kancelaria główna)
• Political and Educational Board (Zarząd polityczno-wychowawczy)
• Investigation Service Board (Oddział służby śledczej)
• External Service Branch (Oddział służby zewnętrznej)
• Operational Battalion (Batalion operacyjny)
• Personnel Department (Wydział personalny)
• Finance and Economic Department (Wydział Finansowy i gospodarczy)

Until 1950, Poland was divided to 16 provinces. It was only from 1950-1975 when the country was divided to 17 provinces and five cities with voivodeship rights.^[13]

The MO had 20 municipal headquarters.^[13]

The Citizens' Militia was divided into a Public Order Department, Traffic Militia (Highway patrol), Criminal Investigations (Major crimes, forensics), Investigations Militia and an Infrastructure Security Section (Security of government buildings, airports, installations).

TheZOMO motorized riot troops, which played the most visible role in quelling demonstrations in 1980 and 1981, were reduced in size somewhat by the early 1990s and renamed Preventive Units of the Citizens' Militia (Oddziały Prewencji Milicji Obywatelskiej—OPMO). OPMO forces are restricted to roles such as crowd control at sporting events, ensuring safety in natural disasters, and assisting the regular police. In theory, higher government authority would be required for large OPMO contingents to be used.^[14]

From the 1960s through the 1980s, ORMO forces, which at one time numbered as many as 600,000 civilian volunteers, were used to augment regular police personnel at key trouble spots. In the early 1980s, ORMO harassed Solidarity members and prevented independent groups from organizing. Largely staffed by industrial workers who gained substantial privileges by monitoring their peers in the workplace, ORMO was the object of extreme resentment throughout the 1980s. Kiszczak attempted to promote ORMO as a valuable auxiliary police force, but the organization was abolished by the Sejm in 1990.^[14]

As a general rule, the MO wore grey and sky blue uniforms. The full dress variant of this was worn with the peaked cap, service dress was the same but the riot police wore combat helmets.

The most common types were:

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  FSO Warszawa MO car
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  RestoredPolski Fiat 125p and Nysa 522 RSD Milicja Obywatelska vehicles
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  FSO Polonez MR'78 militia car in Poznan 2011
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  Restored FSO Polonez MR'83 andNysa 522 RSD of Citizens' Militia of Polish People's Republic (from the reenactment group milicja.waw.pl)
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  Nysa 522 RSD
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  Star 200truckbus

• Ministry of Public Security (UB)

• The history of the police in Poland from WWII to the present^{[permanent dead link‍]}