Political prisoners in Poland

Political prisoners in Poland and Polish territories (under the administration of other states) have existed throughout much of the 19th and 20th centuries. In the 19th century, some Polish political prisoners started using their situation of imprisonment to act politically. This phenomenon became visible as early as in the aftermath of the Greater Poland Uprising of 1848.

The Russian Empire's first socialist party, the Polish Proletariat, established a political prisoner culture and tradition in Congress Poland, and used their imprisonment as a terrain of struggle. Political prisoners also existed under the interwar Second Polish Republic, under the Nazi occupation in World War II, and in the post-war People's Republic of Poland periods.

Until the elimination of the compulsory draft in Poland in 2009, conscientious objectors to the mandatory military in Poland service continued to be imprisoned for one year, and were recognized as prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International.

History

Throughout human history, people have been incarcerated for their political opinions or beliefs, and the threat they pose to the establishment.

Partitioned Poland

In the early nineteenth century, Poland was partitioned between Russia, Austria and Prussia. In those days, political offenders in Europe were usually put in prison or under house arrest temporarily. The individuals that posed the most risk to the political system were usually sentenced to exile.