Solidarity (Solidarność)


The trade union that overthrew communist rule in Poland

Solidarity (Solidarność) was a trade union which played a pivotal role in the overthrow of communist rule in Poland and the rest of Eastern Europe.

It was founded in 1980 by striking workers at the Gdańsk Shipyard who had been outraged by the firing of a woman employee five months before she was due to retire. She was fired for participation in an illegal trade union. The strikers made 21 demands of the government. These mixed together demands for improved pay and conditions with demands for trade unions to be legal and for free speech and a free press. In theory, trade unions and free speech were allowed in Poland but in practice they were crushed. Led by electrician Lech Wałęsa, Solidarity quickly grew and became a nationwide union of 10 million people. It was a sensational development in the communist world and received enormous international attention.

In 1981, the communist government declared martial law and Solidarity leaders were imprisoned or went into hiding. But the government was obliged to negotiate with Solidarity in 1989 which led to free elections and the removal of the communist government. This, in turn, encouraged movements for freedom in other communist-ruled governments throughout Eastern Europe.

This original poster shows Solidarity’s iconic red logo, which became a global symbol of resistance to communist oppression. The writing at the edge means “of the Łódź Region”. Łódź is a Polish city south-west of Warsaw.

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