Congress of Poles in the Czech Republic
Encyclopedia
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. It fulfills two main tasks. It coordinates activities of other Polish organizations in the country, and represents Polish minority
Polish minority in the Czech Republic
The Polish minority in the Czech Republic is a Polish national minority living mainly in the Zaolzie region of western Cieszyn Silesia. The Polish community is the only national minority in the Czech Republic that is linked to a specific geographical area. Zaolzie is located in the north-eastern...
in negotiations with the Czech government. Current chairman is Józef Szymeczek.
It was created on 3 February 1990, in Český Těšín
Ceský Tešín
Český Těšín is a town in the Karviná District, Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. The town is commonly known in the region as just Těšín . It lies on the west bank of the Olza River, in the heart of the historical region of Cieszyn Silesia...
, as Rada Polaków (The Council of Poles), and was renamed to the current name in 1991. Founders of the Council argued that the Polish Cultural and Educational Union
Polish Cultural and Educational Union
Polski Związek Kulturalno-Oświatowy is a Polish organization in the Czech Republic. It represents the Polish minority in the Czech Republic together with the Congress of Poles...
, the only Polish organization in communist Czechoslovakia, did not fulfill its function to represent the Poles, and therefore new organization is needed.