51 Established in 1866 Falcon (Soko...

51 Established in 1866 Falcon (Sokof) followed the example of German gymnastic associations, Turnverein. Before 1914 there were already about 700 "nests" uniting almost 100000 members. It actively participated in the international gymnastic manner of moving In the 1890s, this organization was infiltrated by means of a nationalist organization called the National League. From that gravity on, paramilitary and nationalist overtones became prevalent-members of the Falcon massively participated in the military effort during the wars at the storming of Polish independence. Revitalized immediately after the war, Falcon was dissolved in 1950

MICHAEL MAGNER obtained his PhD in sociology from Universit?© Laval in 2002 He was a post-doctoral peer at the Institute of European and Russian Studies at Carleton University. His research interests include the history of communism and East European nationalism. He is shortly working for the Qu?©bec governmental administration.

Copyright Canadian Association of Slavists Mar-Jun 2005

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