ISBN 9788890916106 12 th International Conference on Social Sciences Amsterdam, 19-20 May 2017 Proceedings Volume I 30 The Social Policy of the Second Polish Republic Towards Disabled People Paweł Grata Abstract Problems of disable people were a very important social issue in the Second Republic of Poland. Social policy towards them was not unitary. It dealt with issues of war invalids (veterans and civilians), casualties of work accidents (who were insured) and poor disabled people (uninsured). A legal basis for these activities of the state and local governments was different and the support for the particular groups of disabled people was also various. The war invalids received more support than others. The help involved e.g. pensions, health care, prostheses and a chance to get a job. The casualties of work accidents received pensions and health care but their benefits were fewer than benefits for war invalids. Poor disabled people were in the worst position. The state, local governments, charity organisations tried to help them but their possibilities were too small in relation to the needs. Poor disabled people received neither benefits nor health care, they could not expect the help in retraining and finding a job and only few of them could count on a place in care facility (the number of these places was too small). Keywords: The Social Policy of the Second Polish Republic Towards Disabled People Key words: disabled people, social policy, The Second Republic of Poland, war invalids, pensions, social care Introduction The problem of disability has always been one of the most important issues for the social policy. After the period of the Partition of Poland, there were hundreds of thousands disabled people in the re-emerging country and this group was, to a large extent, internally diversified. Although we cannot say that the state policy towards this category of citizens was uniform, the way in which it attempted to solve the issues related to that social problem is worth examining. The most significant areas of such analysis are the legal bases and the types of support they guaranteed as well as the organizational and financial forms of support, the size of the population of the disabled and the extent to which the support was provided. Legal conditions In the interwar Poland, the activities which aimed at supporting the disabled were not uniform and they were based on a broad set of legal acts. The most fundamental were: the regulations concerning war-disabled persons, legislation on work accident insurance and the legal bases for the functioning of social welfare. The most diversified were the solutions related to the provision of financial means to the disabled in respect of an accident at work. In the area of the former Prussian Partition, the regulations of the German insurance ordinance of 19 th July 1911 were binding and, in the area of the former Galicia, the regulations of the act on work accident insurance of 28 th December 1887. Initially, work accident insurance НТНЧ’t МШvОr tСО КrОК ШП tСО RussТКЧ PКrtТtТШЧ. TСО sТtuКtТШЧ МСКЧРОН ШЧlв ШЧ 30 th January 1924 with the introduction of the КМt аСТМС mКНО tСО AustrТКЧ rОРulКtТШЧs ЛТЧНТЧР ТЧ tСТs PКrtТtТШЧ (JШurЧКl… 1924Ś 16/148ś CСвlКФ 2014: 72-74). The unification of the rules concerning insurance happened in 1933 when the act on social insurance of 28 th March 1933 was introduced. It covered all people in employment, expect several groups subject to separate regulations. According to the act, the benefits included: full or partial pensions in respect of an accident at work (dependant on the degree of an ТЧКЛТlТtв tШ аШrФ Кs аОll Кs ШЧ tСО lОvОl ШП ТЧМШmО), ШrpСКЧ’s pОЧsТШЧ, mОНТМКl suppШrt КЧН ЛОЧОПТts-in kind as well as the provision of a plКМО ТЧ ПКМТlТtТОs ПШr tСО НТsКЛlОН (ТЧ rОturЧ, tСО ОЧtТrО Шr К pКrt ШП pОЧsТШЧ аКs НОНuМtОН) (JШurЧКl… 1933Ś 51/396; PТątФШаsФТ 1983Ś 30-33).