ZOMO

Zmotoryzowane Odwody Milicji Obywatelskiej (ZOMO) (Motorized Reserves of the Citizens' Militia), were paramilitary-police formations during the Communist Era, in the People's Republic of Poland. These purportedly elite units of Milicja Obywatelska (MO, Poland's militsiya) were created to fight dangerous criminals, provide security during mass events, and help in the case of natural disasters and other crises; however, they became known instead for their brutal and sometimes lethal actions of riot control and quelling civil rights protests.

ZOMO units were created on December 24, 1956 under the direct command of the President of the Council of Ministers of the People's Republic of Poland 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 the Schutzpolizei of East Germany. From 1972, the duties of ZOMO included counter-terrorism (including countering aircraft 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 the 1968 Polish political crisis, leading to the reform of the formation. Two years later in 1970, thousands of troops from the Polish People's Army and ZOMO were used to quell the Polish 1970 protests, killing dozens of people and injuring more than 1,000.

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