ZOMO
ZOMO
ZOMO was a mobile, paramilitary police formation of the Citizens' Militia under Poland's Ministry of the Interior, tasked with suppressing mass disorder and dispersing demonstrations. During martial law in 1981, it became a central force against the Solidarity movement and worker resistance; its special platoon opened fire on miners during the pacification of the Wujek coal mine.
In depth
ZOMO was created after the Poznań unrest of 1956 and operated from 1957; its initial remit covered dangerous crime, disasters, and security at mass events. Its use against the student protests of 1968, the workers' protests of 1970, and the Radom protests of 1976 established it as an instrument of the state's political coercion. On 16 December 1981 at the Wujek coal mine in Katowice, army and police forces confronted about 3,000 striking miners; gunfire from a ZOMO special platoon killed nine miners and wounded 23. ZOMO was disbanded in September 1989.
Sources
- Wikipedia (EN) supports the Polish expansion, paramilitary-police character, creation in 1956, use under martial law, and disbandment in 1989.
- eng.ipn.gov.pl Institute of National Remembrance account supports ZOMO's role in the 16 December 1981 Wujek mine pacification, including the special unit's gunfire and nine miners killed.
- przystanekhistoria.pl Institute of National Remembrance historical article supports that officers of the special ZOMO unit shot miners at Wujek and identifies the formation as the Motorised Reserves of the Citizens’ Militia.