25 Years Of Solidarity!
This July, the city of Gdansk will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Solidarity movement in Gdansk. In 1980, the Soviet-backed Polish government more than doubled the price of meat, setting off a wave of strikes throughout the Polish Nation. While the government was able to resolve the conflict in some areas, the workers of the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk held to their demands despite the very real threat of reprisal. Lech Walesa is elected the leader of this ‘Solidarity’ movement and as support for their struggle grows and becomes international, many of the workers demands are met.
The domino of Solidarity can claim to have affected the peaceful revolutions throughout Eastern Europe, the collapse of communism in general, and the success of political campaigns like Viktor Yushchenko’s. It also serves as inspiration for existing democratic governments, who see Solidarity’s triumphs as a demonstration of the value and necessity of participatory democracy.
Throughout Gdansk, are posters commemorating the occasion, as well as a tremendous banner hanging from one of the city’s tallest buildings claiming that ‘It all started in Gdansk.” In 25 years, the face of Poland has been changed and her hands have been freed, thanks to this honorable struggle.