Solidarity in Poland

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The Difficult Situation in Poland under Communist Rule

Poland's communist rule faced strong opposition, strikes, and protests. Leaders Brezhnev and Jaruzelski struggled to control Poland until communism ended in 1989.

Poland's challenges for Moscow

Poland showed stronger resistance than Hungary and Czechoslovakia due to its strong Catholic Church.
The Polish trade union 'Solidarity' united many workers opposing the communist government.
- Led by Lech Wałęsa, Solidarity (or Solidarność) was the first independent trade union in a Soviet-bloc country, founded in 1980.
Poland's history of independent nationalism made Soviet control harder.
Hungary and Czechoslovakia faced uprisings but lacked the mass support Poland had.

Brezhnev's control

Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev wanted to maintain control over Eastern Europe.
Brezhnev supported strong actions to stop Polish dissent to avoid a repeat of the 1956 Hungarian uprising.
- Moscow pressured the Polish government to suppress Solidarity and workers' protests.

General Jaruzelski's

General Wojciech Jaruzelski became Poland's leader in 1981 during rising unrest.
Jaruzelski imposed martial law in December 1981 to halt Solidarity and strikes.
Jaruzelski aimed to avoid Soviet invasion while controlling protests internally.
- Protesters and Solidarity activists faced arrests and repression under Jaruzelski.

Death of Jerzy Popiełuszko

Worker strikes in the 1980s challenged Poland's communist rule regularly.
Priest Jerzy Popiełuszko became a symbol of resistance, defending workers and human rights.
Secret police abducted and murdered Popiełuszko in 1984, sparking nationwide outrage.
- Popiełuszko's death intensified protests and solidarity against the regime.

The decline of communism

Poland's economy worsened, causing more strikes and unrest in the late 1980s.
General Jaruzelski initiated talks with Solidarity in 1989 allowing semi-free elections.
Solidarity won a landslide victory in June 1989, ending communist monopoly on power.
Lech Wałęsa became a key leader in the post-communist Polish government.

The end of communist rule

Poland became the first Eastern Bloc country to end communist rule peacefully.
The fall of communism in Poland inspired other Soviet satellite states to seek freedom.
The collapse of Soviet control marked major change in Europe by 1990.
Poland joined a path toward democracy and market economy after decades of communist rule.

Solidarity in Poland and Other Developments

Widespread anger and unrest were felt Poland in the early 1980s. There were protests over food shortages and the price of consumer products.

Solidarity

A trade union called Solidarity was established by Lech Walesa who was a dockyard electrician who wanted to assist the working class.
Solidarity wanted to end Soviet control of the country.
Solidarity encouraged continued protest against the government although had been officially suppressed in 1981 and its leaders were arrested.

Support for Solidarity from USA and the Pope

The USA and the Pope (the head of the catholic church) worked covertly to undermine communist control of Poland, providing finances to support Solidarity.
Pope John Paul II helped to secure the release of members who had been arrested.
The CIA also provided Solidarity with communication technology to keep the movement alive.
Solidarity quickly gained 10 million members by 1981.
Walesa was seen as a hero following support for his movement and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983.

The shooting down of KAL 007

In 1983, the United States accused the USSR of shooting down Korean Air Lines flight 007 which went missing off Russia's eastern coast.
All 269 people on board the flight were killed. The USSR admitted to shooting down the aircraft as it was an "unidentified aircraft" in the Soviet airspace.
The USSR claimed that they believed it was a US plane that had been spying on the USSR.
Reagan responded to the incident calling it ‘a crime against humanity’.
The USSR never apologised for the incident and continued to blame the CIA for spying.

‘Able Archer’ November 1983

In November 1983, a NATO ‘war game’, named ‘Able Archer’ was launched.
It was an exercise to test US and European readiness to deal with a nuclear strike.
This could have easily erupted into war for a number of reasons:
- There were increasing tensions due to the shooting down of Korean Air Lines flight 007.
- Reagan announced he would use SDI’s.
- Reagan raised the state of emergency to ‘high’ as part of the ‘war game’.
- Pershing II missiles were deployed.

‘Able Archer' protests

As a result, the USSR and members of the Warsaw Pact were worried that war was imminent.
The event caused great protest against nuclear weapons from those in the West.