 | You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in Polish. (January 2021)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
| ZOMO Motorized Reserves of the Citizens' Militia | |
|---|---|
| Zmotoryzowane Odwody Milicji Obywatelskiej | |
 Patch of theCitizens' Militia (MO) and ZOMO | |
| Active | 1956 – 1989 |
| Disbanded | 7 September 1989 |
| Country | Polish People's Republic |
| Allegiance | Citizens' Militia (MO) |
| Type | Paramilitary police |
| Role | Politicalcoercion, throttling of protests, street and state security |
| Size | 13,000 (1980s)[1] |
| Nicknames | "CommunistGestapo", ZOMO-men |
TheMotorized Reserves of the Citizens' Militia (Polish:Zmotoryzowane Odwody Milicji Obywatelskiej), commonly known asZOMO, wereparamilitary-police formations during thecommunist era inPoland. These elite units ofCitizens' Militia (MO) were originally created to fight dangerous criminals, to provide security during mass events, and help in the case ofnatural disasters and other crises; however, they became known instead for their brutal and sometimes repressive lethal actions ofriot control and their role in quellingcivil rights protests.[2]
The first ZOMO units were deployed in 1956 and became particularly infamous for their ruthless handling of political opponents underPolish martial law (1981–1983). It was permanently disbanded after thefall of communism in 1989, though the term "ZOMO" remainssynonymous withpolice brutality to this day.[when?]
ZOMO units were created on December 24, 1956, under the direct command of the President of the Council of Ministers of thePolish People's Republic and first used in 1957. Their mission statement was defined as "the protection of the nation", and their main role was as a rapid-response police force, structured after and trained by the instructors from theSchutzpolizei ofEast Germany. From 1972, the duties of ZOMO includedcounter-terrorism (including counteringaircraft hijackings), with the elite Special Platoons of the ZOMO (pl.Plutony Specjalne ZOMO) created in 1978. As opposition to the communist government in Poland grew, the units were expanded to counter the growing unrest, and their role became more of anti-riot police. In 1968, ZOMO was used to disperse the student protests during the1968 Polish political crisis, leading to the reform of the formation. Two years later in 1970, thousands of troops from thePolish People's Army and ZOMO were used to quell thePolish 1970 protests, killing dozens of people and injuring more than 1,000.[2]
The ZOMO gained the most of their infamy during the period ofmartial law in Poland (1981–1983). During this time period their brutal actions against peaceful protesters often affiliated with the oppositionistSolidarity movement, and the subsequent lack ofprosecution of those responsible for deaths of protesters, were major factors in bringing down the communist regime. To parody the communistnewspeak during that time they were often sarcastically called "The beating heart of the Party" (pl.Bijące serce Partii). Since 1990 several trials against former ZOMO members and their political leaders took place, most prominently in the case of the massacre in theWujek Coal Mine (wherenine people were killed and 21 wounded whenKatowice's Special Platoon opened fire on the striking miners in 1981 in the bloodiest incident of the martial law era).[2]
From the mid-1970s ZOMO was reputed to be one of the best trained and equipped police formations in theEastern Bloc. A candidate for ZOMO had to have a height of at least 180 cm and a weight of at least 90 kg. After the 1968 expansion, people conscripted to the military could optionally serve their draft in ZOMO (during the martial law, the militaryreservists who had served in ZOMO were called up to the squads ofORMO, reserve units of MO). The formation numbered nearly 13,000 members in the late 1980s (twice the original designation of 6,600), quartered inbarracks in the major cities across the country.[1] The martial-law-era ZOMO members were equipped with various police and military vehicles (includingBTR-60armoured personnel carriers in the Special Platoons) and variousfirearms (includingshotguns,submachine guns andautomatic rifles) as well as various types of riot equipment (such asbatons,tear gas grenades,water cannon trucks,rubber bullets, metal and plasticriot shields and visored helmets). From 1968 they wore military-styleuniforms with a very similar camouflage pattern to the one used by thePolish People's Army.[2]
The ZOMO's last action took place on July 3, 1989, when they dispersed a demonstration against the presidential candidature of GeneralWojciech Jaruzelski, former First Secretary and head of theMilitary Council of National Salvation (WRON). The units were disbanded on September 7, 1989, following the fall of the communist system, and replaced with the OPP (riot control) andSPAP (rapid response and counter-terrorism) units ofPolicja (the Polish police).[2]
In contemporary Poland the word "ZOMO" (orzomowiec, the ZOMO-man) is apejorative term used by protesters to denote all kinds of riot police (just as the wordGestapo is sometimes used to describepolice brutality).
Media related toZOMO at Wikimedia Commons