| Bloc of National Minorities | |
| Native Name: | |
| Foundation: | 1922 |
| Dissolution: | 1930 |
| Ideology: | Minority politics Ethnic minority interests Regionalism Federalism |
| Position: | Centre |
| Headquarters: | Warsaw, Poland |
| Country: | Poland |
The Bloc of National Minorities (Polish: Blok Mniejszości Narodowych, (pronounced as /pol/, BMN; Belarusian: Блёк нацыянальных меньшасьцяў, ; Ukrainian: Блок національних меншин, ; German: Block der Nationalen Minderheiten; Yiddish: בלאָק פון נאַשאַנאַל מינאָריטיעס,) was a political party in the Second Polish Republic, representing a coalition of various ethnic minorities in Poland, primarily Ukrainians, Belarusians, Jews and Germans.
The Bloc was co-founded by Yitzhak Gruenbaum,[1] a Polish-Jewish politician. It was formed on 17 August 1922 at a conference in Warsaw.[1] Its united electoral committee consisted of three representatives each from Belarusians, Jews, Germans and Ukrainians (except for natives of Eastern Galicia who boycotted the elections).[1]
BMN took part in the 1922 Polish legislative election, 1928 Polish legislative election and 1930 Polish legislative election, doing very well in the 1922 elections (19.5% and the second largest party) and 1928 elections (14% and the third largest party). In 1922 the bloc received the most votes in Volhynia, Polesia, and Chelm lands.[1] On its party list there were elected 66 sejm representatives and 22 senators.[1] In 1928 the bloc consisted of the Ukrainian National Democratic Alliance (UNDO), Ukrainian Peasant Union, Zionist organizations "Mizrahi" and "Hitachdut" (Unity) and few Belarusian and German groups.[1] During the 1928 elections, the bloc earned 55 mandates to the Sejm and 21 to the Senate.[1]
In the 1930 elections (which were considered not free), it fared poorly (3% and the ninth largest party). In the political shakedown following the 1930 elections, the Bloc was dissolved.
In the Second Polish Republic, ethnic minorities constituted 1/3 of total population.