Bierna obrona przeciwlotnicza i przeciwgazowa obiektów przemysłowych na obszarze województwa kieleckiego w latach 1922–1939

In the years 1922 – 1939 in the Kielce province, just like in the rest of the country, works on the creation of a system of passive airborne and antigas defence of industrial objects were initiated. Unfortunately, until the beginning of the 1930s, local and state civil and military authorities failed to notice threats connected with a sudden development of aviation. The activities connected with preparing the industry to limit the consequences of air and chemical attack focused mostly on conceptual and some modest practical undertakings. It was only in the late 1930s, when the scale of air armaments of the Third Reich and the USSR became dangerous for Poland, that the preparatory works developed significantly. Despite the fact that the Kielce province was not very developed in terms of industry, the organization of defence of plants, steelworks, mines and processing plants required great financial and organizational effort. In terms of the preparation of passive air defence and gas defence of industrial objects, the activity of social organizations played an important role. The most important of the organizations was the Airborne and Antigas Defence League. Members of the League made civil and military authorities aware of the need to organize the defence of personnel and property of plants working during air raids and gas attacks. They also trained instructors and personnel for the needs of passive airborne and antigas defence. Additionally, Polish Red Cross organized training on sanitary rescue whereas the Association of Fire Brigades of the Republic of Poland took care of fire protection of industrial objects. The preparation of passive airborne and antigas defence encountered many legal and economic problems. For instance, for a long period of time there was no relevant legislation and also there was aversion to German and Jewish capital participating in the costs of defence of industrial plants. In September 1939 when the war broke out, the defence system for the industry in he Kielce province, just like in other parts of Poland, was insufficient and unable to effectively defend plants against air raids. There were no properly trained personnel, no equipment and frequently no plans for passive airborne and antigas defence of ndustrial objects.