On 8th December 1923 the decision of creation the Polish YMCA was made. That event was called the first general assembly of the Polish YMCA, which evolved from the mission of American YMCA in Poland.
The mission of American YMCA was regarded as accomplished, however, the relationships between the Polish and American organizations remained very close until 1949 when YMCA in Poland was banned by the communist regime.
The Polish YMCA was reactivated only in 1989 and the first NGS was Marek Wiktor Leyk, who stayed on this position for the following 10 years. Now, he was the key faciliator of the celebration of 100th anniversary.
At present there is no formally recognized national YMCA movement in Poland, however, YMCA is still present and active in this country. That’s because of YMCA Europe Mission in Poland, which was set soon after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine (help to the refugees) and because of a few former YMCA members who still remember the good times of the Polish organization.
On 8th December 2023 a group of former YMCA volunteers and staff came together in Warszawa to celebrate 100th anniversary of foundation the Polish YMCA. They met at 3/5 Foksal St. (the place where the reactivation meeting of the Polish YMCA took place in 1989).
In the meeting participated 19 people – former YMCA leaders and guests – significant persons who were involved in YMCA programmes in various forms. That meeting was dominated by reminiscences from the best times of the organization.
The celebration in Warszawa was continued in Olsztyn (another place where YMCA was very active in its heyday) on 15th December. In Olsztyn, the commemoration was much more official and had a form of 3 joint events:
The reception at the seat of the Regional Assembly of Warmia-Mazury Voivodship, where the vice-marshal of the Assembly, Myron Sycz honored the YMCA anniversary. During the reception M.W. Leyk presented his newest book “A Decade with the Polish YMCA” as well as a film about Polish YMCA.
The inauguration concert of The Olsztyn Jazz Band in the building of Olsztyn Philharmonic Orchestra. The concert was opened by an instrumental version of YMCA song.
Opening the exhibition “Jazz in Anecdote” prepared by Jazz Museum in Warszawa. The Polish YMCA played a very important role in the development of jazz culture in Poland and that was emphasized by the director of Olsztyn Philharmonic in Olsztyn, Mr. Janusz Ciepliński in his opening speech.
In the Olsztyn events, YMCA Europe was represented by Olga Lukina (executive secretary) and Adam Rychlik (coordinator of YE Mission in Poland). Also, the presence Michał Szymańczak, former deputy General Secretary of YMCA Europe and YMCA World gave the celebration special significance.
The celebration YMCA in Warszawa and Olsztyn of 100th anniversary of founding the Polish YMCA was touching and appealed to the people who still have sentiment to the old Polish YMCA.
These occasions in combination with the projects that have been run by YMCA Europe in Poland for 2 years give hope that the Polish YMCA can be rebuilt and can regain a respectful position in the Polish communities. We need to continue the work towards these goals.
YMCA Europe expresses its gratitude to Marek Wiktor Leyk for his initiative and commitment to organizing the anniversary celebrations in Poland. It was a big effort awarded by a big success. Now he works as the chief of department for minorities by the Warmia-Mazury Regional Assembly.
