|
Cold
War Files:
The Solidarity Movement of Poland:
Introduction
Poland’s break from communism was a long and involved process, and the driving force in this revolution was a worker’s union known as Solidarity. Solidarity was led by its charismatic chairman, Lech Walesa, an electrician from the Gdansk shipyards in northern Poland. One of the tenets of communism is that it is a worker-led ideology, in which workers stand up for their rights and demand revolutionary changes. But Walesa and Solidarity, led by the workers that the Communist Party of Poland purported to represent, stood up against Poland’s communist regime and were able to bring democracy to Poland. Thirteen years passed from the formation of the first worker’s union in 1976 to the free elections in 1989. Thirteen years is a long time for a continuous revolution and it is difficult to keep large numbers of people committed to a single cause for such a length of time. It is an indication of the resolve of the workers of the Poland that they persisted for so long and finally achieved their objective. Read on to learn more about how an electrician led ten million workers in a struggle for freedom.
Poland  | 1976 in Poland saw a wave of workers’ strikes in several cities across the country. Many workers were attacked and imprisoned by the authorities. In response, a group of dissident intellectuals formed the Workers’ Defense Committee, known as the KOR (Komitet Obrony Robtnikow). This committee supported the families of the imprisoned workers, offering legal and medical aid. In addition, the committee worked to pass news through an underground movement. In 1979 it published a Charter of Worker’s Rights.
In 1980 the government of Poland raised food prices by an official decree. Many workers again initiated strikes in protest. The Gdansk shipping yards became the hotbed of these strikes. One particular large shipyard, the Lenin Shipyard, had 17,000 workers on strike. Led by Lech Walesa, the workers locked themselves in the plant and raised demands. In August an Interfactory Strike Committee was formed to help coordinate the various strike movements occurring across the country. Using the KOR’s Charter of Worker’s Rights as a guideline, the Interfactory Strike Committee presented the government with a list of demands. On August 30th an agreement was reached between the government and the workers, allowing the workers to form independent unions, and giving them greater freedom of religious and political expression.
|
