Polish Scout Association
| The Polish Scouting and Guiding Association | |||
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| Polish: Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego | |||
| Headquarters | ZHP Headquarters Warsaw | ||
| Location | Warszawa, Konopnickiej 6 | ||
| Country | Poland | ||
| Founded | 1 November 1918 | ||
| Founder | Andrzej Małkowski, Olga Małkowska | ||
| Membership | 138,112 | ||
| Affiliation | World Organization of the Scout Movement, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts | ||
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The Polish Scouting and Guiding Association (Polish: Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego, ZHP) is the coeducational Polish Scouting organization recognized by the World Organization of the Scout Movement and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts. It was founded in 1918 and currently is the largest Scouting organization in Poland (138,112 members in 2012). The first ZHP was founded in 1916, the current one is the fourth organization with this name. It is a public benefit organization as defined by Polish law.
The Polish Scout movement was started in 1910. Initially the ideas of Scouting were implemented by Andrzej Małkowski and his wife Olga. The three main branches of Polish Scouting included the Strzelec paramilitary organization for boys, a sport and education society Sokół and the anti-alcoholic association Eleusis. However, it wasn't until the Partitions of Poland came to an end that the ZHP would be officially founded by the merging of existing groups.
Soon after the merger in 1918, the ZHP members fought in all the conflicts Poland was engaged in around this time: Great Poland Uprising, Polish-Bolshevik War, Silesian Uprisings, and Polish-Ukrainian War, much like their predecessors during the Siege of Mafeking.
All of the units joined together in 1918 and formed the ZHP, one of the founding members of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. Although many units retained their own traditions, a common law, common symbols and a common oath was introduced. The primary difference between most Scouting organizations and the Polish Harcerstwo was described by Andrzej Małkowski:
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