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 GDANSK SHIPYARD
In the summer of 1980 the Gdansk shipyard
became the focus of
nationwide strikes in Poland, forcing the
communist government to concede to worker demands for the right to form an independent trade union. Solidarity, with Lech Walesa as
its chairman, was born. But in December 1981, under pressure from Moscow, Polish leader General Wojciech Jaruzelski imposed martial law, suspended Solidarity,
arrested most of its leaders and interned Walesa in a remote country house.
Released 11 months
later, Walesa continued to oppose the regime but was protected by
international attention and a Nobel Peace Prize, awarded in
1983. In 1989, talks between Walesa, Solidarity and the Jaruzelski regime marked the beginning of the end of communism in Poland.
In December 1990, Walesa was elected President of Poland and served one five-year term in office. Party
divisions and what others called Walesa's dictatorial style brought about his defeat in
the 1995 elections
— Angela Leuker |
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Europe Then & Now, a TIME photographic exhibition based on this issue, opens Aug. 18, 2003, in the Olivier Exhibition Foyer of the National Theatre, London. |
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E-mail your letter to the editor
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Warsaw
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Lech Walesa
Leader of the Solidarity movement and former Polish President
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Posted Sunday, August 10, 2003; 16.11BST
“After leading the failed shipyard strike in 1970, I thought: ‘God, let me come back here and carry out once again the fight with this gang and win.’
I was entirely devoted to the cause. Nothing counted — money, wife, children, life, death. Nothing. I only did what I believed in. And I believed in the strike. Later, in 1989, as communism collapsed, I knew that democracy and pluralism would also bring divisions. For this reason, I had doubts about whether handing over power to the masses would be good for Poland.
In spite of the fact that Solidarity was my baby, I was afraid that if the workers didn’t have work and bread, they might resort to violence — building gallows to settle accounts with former communist leaders.
As President, I wanted to beat lawlessness with law, lack of democracy with democracy, and I expected the nation would understand my intentions and give me a second term in office. But I didn’t get it. Looking back, maybe I should have done more to explain my belief that a presidential system with decrees would be better for the country.”
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