SOLIDARITY: WHAT WAS IT?
Global Conflict and the Crisis of Diplomacy
CONTENTS:
Introduction 2
Part I: Historical roots of Solidarity 3
Part II Solidarity- main contributors 6
Part III The role of the Church, the people 9
Part IV Opponents 10
Conclusion 11
Bibliography 13
Introduction
Rebellion, insurrection, protest, movement, revolution are only few of many ways in which scholars describe actions of Solidarity. Those actions, which took place during the Soviet regime in Poland, largely pertained to the collapse of the communism itself as well as to the end of the Cold War. But what exactly Solidarity was? A union? A party? Was it a spontaneous movement or perhaps an unpopular strike of a working class? Why has it come into being in the first place? Who created it and who hated it? And finally why and what did it win? The aim of this essay I to answer all of these questions.
In part one of this paper, I will try to talk about the historical roots of solidarity, from the period of turbulent insurgencies of the XVIII century, until the ineffective communist rule during the Second Polish Republic. I will try to explain the background for the possibility of the rise of the most formidable, yet non-violent revolutionary movements that have appeared in Europe after the World War II
In part two I have concentrated on the Organization itself. I introduce its main members, their impact on the structure as well as challenges they had to face.
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... with the cooperation of non-black populations who gave their solidarity to the cause, enough attention was brought to the plight ... accident or death. The crowing achievement of the Industrial Workers Movement in the early 20th century is the incorporation of the ... properly compensated or cared for. Factories that produced steel, machinery parts, fabrics and other products often employed young boys and ...
In part three I examine the role of the Church on the popularity of the movement as well as the reaction of people on Solidarity in general.
Finally, I will write about the opponents of Solidarity, what was their reaction to the insurgency and how did they behave until the end.
In conclusion I examine the impact Solidarity had on a national as well as an international platform. Lastly, I build a definition of Solidarity, which is based on the proofs provided in this essay.
Historical roots of Solidarity
A Polish fox meets a German fox at the border between Poland and East Germany.
“Why do you want to go to East Germany?” the German fox asks the Polish fox. “I want to eat some sausage,” replies the Polish fox. “Why do you want to go to
Poland?”
“I want to bark,” replies the German fox.
Indeed, in early 80’, Poland was the only country, where people could speak their minds relatively freely, compared to other USSR countries. To understand why poles were the first nation to successfully unite against the USSR and not being afraid to fight and speak up, we must move a few centuries back in time.
Fighting poles until 1945
There was a time in a polish history when the country was the largest by landmass in Europe, occupying approximately 1 million square kilometers. Unfortunately, this huge power and major culturally entity was unfortunate enough to geopolitically lie in an unfavorable position, between imperial Russia, Austria and Prussia. Those countries decided to restore the regional balance of power in Eastern Europe by partitioning Poland into three subordinated areas. The country had disappeared from maps for 123 years. Throughout this time Poles didn’t lose hope that their country can once again exist. The idea of independence was kept alive, uniting Poles together and causing them to refuse to adapt to suppressor’s will. This period was rich in patriotic uprisings, which although doomed for failure, were full of courage and persistence. Poles didn’t stay quiet, they protested against the repressive policies of partitioning powers, they also proudly represented and tried to help the country outside of its borders-on emigration. World War I added to the grief of the next generation of fighting Poles, who were confronted against each other, fighting in three different armies. Although its terrible destruction, the same war had brought Poles with independence.
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The freedom, nobody from the living Poles had experienced in their lifetime before. This short period of independence was, however, marked by fighting for polish survival with country’s tenacious neighbors. Unfortunately, it seems that Poland emerged as an independent entity because of the temporary weaknesses of country’s old opponents, Russia and Germany. Few years later, those countries grew imperialistic, opening a new difficult chapter in Polish history. Although abandoned by its own allies and left with little chances, Poles once again resisted when their country was attacked by Hitler in 1939. This ineffective but persistent resistance reached the top once again in Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943 and then in Warsaw Uprising in 1944. It is, however, not only the resistance that is worth mentioning when we talk about historical roots of polish insurgency. I think it is crucial to remind of the structures the Poles had been able to develop during occupations, like the Polish Underground State, which was a secret state existing along with the formal state. Interestingly, not only had the underground had its own parliament, delegates, the press and a whole education system at every level, but also its own army with staff bureaus and specialists units. This has served as not only information for the future Solidarity, but also as a motivation and inspiration during hard times of struggling with the communist regime.
From the ruins of war to the ruins of the communist regime
World War’s II oppressions were way more severe then ever with human loses far higher than of any other state of that time. The magnitude of the land and human destruction had a huge effect on the tradition of polish insurrection. People were fed up with war and thus, in opposition to armed conflict. It was the time of the wake of the awareness that if it came to the conflict in the future, new means of resistance would be found. This is why the next series of polish uprisings formed by Solidarity were characterized by a non-violence doctrine. Although the allies had won, the war wasn’t a victory for an anti-German Poland. The new system didn’t resemble liberation at all, although it really wanted to. While one murderous totalitarian system was destroyed, another was brought in and Poles were to experience it. Polish communism consisted of three main phases, each of the next one luckily consisting of fewer atrocities then the previous. First and the most maleficent was the Stalinist communism that lasted from 1944 until 1956. Oppression, terror and church prosecution gained momentum and were executed by the security apparatus. Second stage of communism in Poland lasted under Gomulka leadership and was less atrocious due to the “thaw” after Stalin’s death. The last stage starts around the year of 1970 and is marked by the rule of Gierek, whose approach is the mildest of all and allows for communist opponents to raise their hopes and boost their courage to act. What caused Solidarity to rise were, however, not only political repressions and human rights encroachments, but also poor economic conditions due to inefficient central-panning economy.
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Solidarity appears in 1980, when communism is still strong, but moving towards a phase, where forms of opposition could arise. Polish economy is negligent of the basics needs of people like supply of food, housing, services. Standard of living and working is very low.
Industrial working class, in whose interest the system has risen, has no say in government at all. Polish industrial workers have already ineffectively rebelled against harsh working conditions and pay inequalities in 1956, 1970, and 1976, which resulted in considerable numbers killed. One of their main demands is the legality of the free trade unions to discuss conditions of work. This demand becomes one out of 21 core postulates in 1980, during the strike in shipyard in Gdansk. This strike soon turns into a general national movement, where the whole country is in solidarity. It results in the Gdansk Agreement, negotiated between the workers and the government. The agreement democratizes some branches of life and legalizes Solidarity as a free trade union, having a huge impact on social morale and the unification of people. After the imposition of martial law on December 13th 1981, polish economy worsens and Solidarity gains even more support. This forces the government to start negotiating with Solidarity, slowly giving away its power.
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Solidarity- main contributors
It is said that at its height, Solidarity had almost 10 million members. There were only few, however, without whom this (r)evolution might not have happened. The length apportioned for this paper does not allow me to mention all of the crucial and brave people, who contributed to the break of Communism in this beautiful country, which is why I decided to choose those, who in my opinion, must be known about.
First person, both very important and mostly associated with the movement, is Lech Walesa. Born in small town of Popowo, as one out of seven children; an employee number 61,878 of the Lenin Shipyard, who wouldn’t have even stayed in Gdansk, if it wasn’t for the fact that he missed the train taking him to Gdynia. Few years later he would become one of the few people, who mobilized thousand of workers and in 1980 and later he would become the main leader of the Solidarity movement.
International Community had appreciated his contributions to the abolition of Communism, by presenting him with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.
“Lech Walesa’s contribution is more than a domestic Polish concern……. Lech Walesa’s activities have been characterized by a determination to solve his country’s problems through negotiation and cooperation without resorting to violence. He has attempted to establish a dialogue between the organization he represents – Solidarity – and the authorities. The Committee regards Walesa as an exponent of the active longing for peace and freedom, which exists, in spite of unequal conditions, unconquered in all the peoples of the world.”
He was also the first polish president to be freely elected, for the first time since the beginning of the Second World War. It was him, who has shaped the 20th century and led Poland out of Communism.
Fighting for one’s rights is never easy, nor had it been for Walesa. As other prominent communist opponents, he was imprisoned several times for his beliefs. He and his family were under constant surveillance, his home and workplace were bugged and his conversations always tapped.
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Imprisoning was something Adam Michnik, a key communist opponent, was well familiarized with as well. Born to a family of Jewish communists, he was used by Gomulka to wage anti-Semitic campaign. He was expelled from the Warsaw University for his participation in the 1968 protest and put into prison several times, once for refusing to sign a loyalty oath and voluntarily leave the country. He was later an advisor to Walesa’s informal Solidarity Committee, later becoming a member.
To understand Solidarity, it is crucial to mention Jacek Kuron, one of the founding members of the Workers Defense Committee (KOR: Komitet Ochrony Robotników), an organization that pave the way to Solidarity. Together with another prominent figure, Karol Modzelewski, who came up with the name Solidarity, Kuron co-wrote the Letter to the Party, stressing the need for democracy and criticizing the current political system. This resulted in years in imprisonment for both of the activists. They were both intellectuals, who recognized that Walesa had great leadership potential, despite his lack of higher education. Interestingly, one of Walesa’s efficient requirements to signing the Gdansk Agreement was the release of Kuron and Michnik from the jai. It was Kuron who steered Solidarity along a moderate course of “evolution”. He was also one of the Solidarity leaders to participate in the Round Table Talks.
“Without Jacek it would have been impossible”
Lech Walesa
The last person I would like to mention in my paper is the leader of a small group (to which Walensa belonged) aiming to legalize free trade unions as well as the member of the previously mentioned Workers Defense Community- Anna Walentynowicz. Fired from the work at the Lenin Shipyard, Walentynowicz joined Walesa in 1970 strike, where they both witnessed killings on workers. She and her fellow conspirators produced their own newspaper: Coastal Worker, which she had distributed back at the Lenin Shipyard after finding a lower-paying job. Her another firing caused all the workers to go on strike in 1980, eventually helping Anna to get her job back. At the beginning, Walentynowicz was as almost symbolic of the union as Walesa. Although they traveled together to let people know about Solidarity, being critical of Lech policies, Anna eventually left Solidarity.
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The role of the Church
Even though Solidarity was a polish movement, Catholic Church played huge role in its success. It was the only legal opposition and the most powerful non-governmental organization in their country in one. Although Poland was mostly catholic, people of all religions agreed on that and were inspired by the speeches of the John Paul II. The most important catholic leaders of Solidarity were Lech Walesa, Anna Walentynowicz and Jerzy Popieluszko. Jacek Kuron and Adam Michnik were, on the other hand, of different beliefs- pro-Jewish and partly Jewish, respectively.
I’d like to stress an important, if not pivotal role of the first polish pope on people in Poland.
Karol Wojtyla was voted pope in 1978, when Poland was almost in the midst of fury and desperation. The Pope perfectly knew what was going on in his country and strongly believed Christianity was an inseparable part of Poland’s rich cultural history. He was the advocate of the protection of human rights and freedom of religion, known for being the pope who connected the regions of the world together.
Hundreds of thousands of people listened to his speeches during his first visit to Poland a year later. He has never made any criticism of communist authorities, nonetheless conveyed a clear message. He emphasized the values of liberty and freedom, providing an invisible support for the opposition movement. He wanted to raise the spirits of people and he had managed to to that. Millions listened to him with attention and were eager to embrace their country’s historical origins, tradition and faith. Solidarity thus adopted the non-violence doctrine and protested by organizing strikes all over the country, paralyzing the government and pressuring it to make concessions. Pope’s successive trips to Poland had a tremendous influence and contributed to the collapse of the Communism in Eastern Europe between 1989/1990. Interestingly, even Gorbahev admitted this by saying “It would have been impossible without the Pope” .
Another catholic figure crucial for understanding what Solidarity was and how large was the mass of people, who rejected the ideas of communism in Poland, is the priest Jerzy Popieluszko. He was a strict opponent of communism and strongly supported Solidarity. His sermons could be listened by millions through Radio Free Europe, making him famous for his strong standing against the regime. After numerous attempts, he was assassinated by the polish intelligence agency in 1984. He has definitely become a religious symbol of Solidarity. His history can be viewed in a movie directed by Agnieszka Holland called “ To kill a Priest” (1984) as well as “AKA: Popieluszko: Freedom is inside us” (2009) directed by Rafal Wieczynski.
The people
What was the reaction of the people on Solidarity? Solidarity was nothing else but the people. Citizens, who suffered from the way the government was conducting its, not only politics, but managing country’s economy and shaping the conditions of the lives of people. That is why, around 10 million polish citizens were members of Solidarity. It was a movement, which was very unique. Solidarity was non-violent, unifying people from different backgrounds: workers, intellectuals and people of different religions under one the Church together.
Opponents
The main and most dangerous opponent of Solidarity was obviously country’s own communist government. The party knew the only way to stop more and more popular as well as demanding Solidarity is to suppress it. The institution attempted to destroy the union by instituting martial law in 1981. The organization was delegalized, toppling Gdansk Agreements. Marital law additionally paralyzed the economy, causing outrage among people.
The government was equipped in Security Service (Sluzba Bezpieczenstwa) as well as paramilitary police called Motorized Services of the Citizens’ Militia (ZOMO: Zmotoryzowane Odwody Milicji Obywatelskiej) and state police institution called Citizens’ Militia (MO: Milicja Obywatelska).
ZOMO became particularly infamous during the martial law, when the army was commanded to conduct brutal actions against peaceful protesters without any prosecution, even in case of deaths. ZOMO was also, on the other hand, one of the factors, which brought down communism, as they pertained to the intensified hatred of the polish people towards the government, additionally unifying them.
The same government had troubles fighting with the underground structures created almost right away after the martial law. Strikes had increased and the economy had worsened. In order to appease the strikers, government under Gorbachev’s policies, had to shift its politics towards moderation, thus releasing political prisoners. Many other strikes had to take place in order for Solidarity to be legalized once again. The government was weak, and the movement finally started exacting more power and rights from the institution to the point where it was allowed to field candidates for the upcoming election. Solidarity had won and the world was never the same since then. The striking victory commenced series of peaceful anti-communist revolutions across the Central and Eastern Europe.
Conclusion
What was Solidarity? I will have to positively answer to all of the questions I have asked in the introduction of this essay.
Yes, Solidarity was a spontaneous movement of people; it also was an unpopular strike among the people in the party. Yes, Solidarity was a first legal trade union; and finally, yes, Solidarity was a party during the elections. It was a non-violent resistance movement unique in its methods. It was based on the polish ability to organize against the oppressor. It was the lesson people learned from the history and experience of their country. Without tough history there would be no Solidarity.
Solidarity unified three different groups: the Catholic Church, industrial workers, and activist intellectuals, whose core figures were introduced in this essay. Solidarity gathered together almost all polish people against the communist regime and against the government equipped in the army it had used on its citizens. While greatly affecting almost all the Central and Eastern Europe, Solidarity had killed precisely no one.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Abrams Irwin, Frängsmyr, Tore; Nobel Lectures, Peace 1981-1990; World Scientific
Publishing Co., Singapore, 1997
Ash, Timothy Garton, Lech Walesa, Time Magazine, April 13th 1998
Davies, Norman; Heart of Europe: The Past In Poland’s Present; Oxford 1986
Davies, Norman; Solidarity: A Retrospective; Syposium Organized by the University
College Cork and Jagiellonian University of Cracow, September 18th 2010, web
Document: Poland: Shipyard Workers Strike in Gdansk; dailymotion 01.09.1980, web, 25.02.2011
Gedye, Robin; Tributes as Solidarity ‘Godfather’ dies at 70, The Telegraph, web, Jun 18th 2004
Jean-Yves Potel “The Promise of Solidarity”
Kirk Heather “Be not afraid: the Polish (r)evolution, “Solidarity” ”
Lukowski, Jerzy; Zawadzki, Hubert; A Concise History Of Poland, Cambridge
Ney- Krwawicz, Marek; Warsaw Uprising 1944; London Branch of the Polish Home Army Ex-Serviceman Association; web
Religion News Service; Pope Stared Down Communism in Homeland- and Won; cbcnews, 2005
Weschler, Lawrence; The passion of Poland, from Solidarity through the state of war, Pantheon, 1984, p.228
Zagacki, Kenneth S. “Pope John Paul II and the Crusade Against Communism: A Case Study in Secular and Sacred Time,” Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 4:4 (2001), pp. 689-710
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[ 1 ]. Jean-Yves Potel “The Promise of Solidarity”
[ 2 ]. Kirk Heather “Be not afraid: the Polish (r)evolution, “Solidarity”
[ 3 ]. Davies, Norman; Heart of Europe: The Past In Poland’s Present; Oxford 1986
[ 4 ]. Lukowski, Jerzy; Zawadzki, Hubert; A Concise History Of Poland, Cambridge
[ 5 ]. Ney- Krwawicz, Marek; Warsaw Uprising 1944; London Branch of the Polish Home Army Ex-Serviceman Association; web
[ 6 ]. Davies, Norman; Solidarity: A Retrospective; Syposium Organized by the University College Cork and Jagiellonian University of Cracow, September 18th 2010, web
[ 7 ]. Davies, Norman; Solidarity…; 2010; web
[ 8 ]. Document: Poland: Shipyard Workers Strike in Gdansk; dailymotion 01.09.1980, web, 25.02.2011
[ 9 ]. Weschler, Lawrence; The passion of Poland, from Solidarity through the state of war, Pantheon, 1984, p.228
[ 10 ]. Abrams Irwin, Frängsmyr, Tore; Nobel Lectures, Peace 1981-1990; World Scientific Publishing Co., Singapore, 1997
[ 11 ]. Ash, Timothy Garton, Lech Walesa, Time Magazine, April 13th 1998
[ 12 ]. Gedye, Robin; Tributes as Solidarity ‘Godfather’ dies at 70, The Telegraph, web, Jun 18th 2004
[ 13 ]. Zagacki, Kenneth S. “Pope John Paul II and the Crusade Against Communism: A Case Study in Secular and Sacred Time,” Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 4:4 (2001), pp. 689-710
[ 14 ]. Davies, Norman; Solidarity: A Retrospective; Syposium Organized by the University College Cork and Jagiellonian University of Cracow, September 18th 2010, web
[ 15 ]. Religion News Service; Pope Stared Down Communism in Homeland- and Won; cbcnews, 2005