National Democracy (Poland)

National Democracy (Polish: Narodowa Demokracja, often abbreviated as ND or known as Endecja; [ɛn̪ˈd̪ɛt̪͡s̪jä]) was a Polish political movement that operated from the second half of the 19th century, during the partitions of Poland, until the end of the Second Polish Republic. It effectively ceased to exist following the Germano–Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939.

Throughout its history, National Democracy underwent several phases of development. Initially founded to advocate for Poland's sovereignty against the foreign imperial powers, the movement adopted a right-wing nationalist orientation after the country regained independence. Its key founder and principal ideologue was Roman Dmowski, with other influential figures in the movement including Zygmunt Balicki and Jan Ludwik Popławski.

National Democracy found its main base of support in Greater Poland (western Poland), where early momentum was driven by opposition to Imperial Germany's Germanization policies in Polish territories. Over time, the movement's focus shifted toward addressing what it perceived as economic competition between Polish Catholics and the Jewish community. The party's supporters primarily consisted of the ethnically Polish intelligentsia, the urban lower-middle class, segments of the middle class, and a significant youth wing.

During the interbellum Second Republic, the ND was a strong proponent for the Polonization of the country's German minority and of other non-Polish (Belarusian, Jewish, Lithuanian and Ukrainian) populations in Poland's eastern border regions (the Kresy). With the end of World War II, the occupation of the country by the Soviet Union, and the establishment of the Polish People's Republic, the National Democracy movement effectively ceased to exist.