POLAND
Polish-Russian rivalry had existed for centuries. In 1919, Lenin's Bolshevik Russia (The USSR was not officially declared until 1922) attempted to invade Poland in order to spread communist revolution. The Poles succeeded in pushing back the Russians with victory at the Battle of Warsaw in 1920. However, animosity remained on both sides and only hardened after the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939 and subsequent joint German-Soviet occupation of Poland later that year. Soviet actions against Poles during their occupation (including their refusal to intervene during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising), Soviet support for the Lublin Poles and demands over Poland at both Yalta and Potsdam also increased anti-Soviet and anti-Russian fervour.
The appointment of Wladyslaw Gomulka as the Communist leader of Poland in 1956 managed to simultaneously satisfy both Communists and nationalists until his death in 1970. Throughout the 1970's, food shortages and price rises became common and the Polish economy was largely propped up by loans from Western banks, rich from investment by Arab businessmen who had seen their wealth increase exponentially following the OPEC oil embargo of 1973.
However, the opposition to Communism in Poland was very much working class in nature (striking coal miners in Poznan had caused civil unrest which had led to the appointment of Gomulka in 1956) and this opposition was given a nationalistic boost by the visit of the first Polish pope, Karol Wojtyla (or John Paul II), in June 1980. This was swiftly followed by the foundation of Solidarity, an anti-Communist trade union with strong links to the Catholic Church, by workers in the Gdansk shipyard in August 1980. Lech Walesa, an electrician, was appointed leader of Solidarity in 1981.
Membership of Solidarity soon soared to 9 million and captured the imagination of many western countries. After initially focusing on 'bread and butter' issues, this level of popular support emboldened Walesa to issue a list of 21 demands to the Polish government. Suddenly, Solidarity was acting like a political party that was challenging the government to implement some radical reforms. Members of the Warsaw Pact, led by the USSR, began pressuring the Polish leader, Wojciech Jaruzelski, to crush Solidarity, despite the fact that the Soviet Politburo had already secretly decided that they could not afford to intervene in Poland while the Red Army were entrenched in Afghanistan. In December 1981, Jaruzelski obliged, banning Solidarity, arresting Walesa and other leaders and placing Poland under martial law, much to the consternation of international opinion.
The appointment of Wladyslaw Gomulka as the Communist leader of Poland in 1956 managed to simultaneously satisfy both Communists and nationalists until his death in 1970. Throughout the 1970's, food shortages and price rises became common and the Polish economy was largely propped up by loans from Western banks, rich from investment by Arab businessmen who had seen their wealth increase exponentially following the OPEC oil embargo of 1973.
However, the opposition to Communism in Poland was very much working class in nature (striking coal miners in Poznan had caused civil unrest which had led to the appointment of Gomulka in 1956) and this opposition was given a nationalistic boost by the visit of the first Polish pope, Karol Wojtyla (or John Paul II), in June 1980. This was swiftly followed by the foundation of Solidarity, an anti-Communist trade union with strong links to the Catholic Church, by workers in the Gdansk shipyard in August 1980. Lech Walesa, an electrician, was appointed leader of Solidarity in 1981.
Membership of Solidarity soon soared to 9 million and captured the imagination of many western countries. After initially focusing on 'bread and butter' issues, this level of popular support emboldened Walesa to issue a list of 21 demands to the Polish government. Suddenly, Solidarity was acting like a political party that was challenging the government to implement some radical reforms. Members of the Warsaw Pact, led by the USSR, began pressuring the Polish leader, Wojciech Jaruzelski, to crush Solidarity, despite the fact that the Soviet Politburo had already secretly decided that they could not afford to intervene in Poland while the Red Army were entrenched in Afghanistan. In December 1981, Jaruzelski obliged, banning Solidarity, arresting Walesa and other leaders and placing Poland under martial law, much to the consternation of international opinion.
In response to martial law in Poland, Ronald Reagan imposed economic sanctions against the Jaruzelski government. This would eventually lead to the gradual liberalisation of the Polish government. Walesa was released from prison in 1982 and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983 (although he was forbidden to travel to Norway to receive it). Additionally in 1983, martial law was lifted but Solidarity remained banned. The resistance to communism in Poland was continued by the Catholic Church, led by John Paul II, whom the government could not, or would not, silence. However, the closest they came to attacking the Catholic Church in Poland was through the kidnapping and murder of Father Jerzy Popielusko in 1984. This event was met by shock and outrage by the Polish people and only served as another blow to Communist rule- 350,000 Poles showed their defiance to the regime by attending his funeral.
Economic problems continued to dog the Polish economy, which were made worse by western sanctions. Food prices rose dramatically and government concessions, such as the release of political prisoners, failed to appease the public mood for change. The Thatcher government in the UK made it very clear to Jaruzelski that the lifting of sanctions was linked to the legal restoration of Solidarity. This condition, coupled with Gorbachev's announcement that the Brezhnev Doctrine would no longer be enforced, led to this development in late 1988. In the spirit of Glasnost, it was also revealed that the Katyn Forest Massacre of 1940 was carried out by the Soviets, not the Nazis. This only increased the level of Polish nationalism and anti-Soviet sentiment.
With Solidarity back on the political scene, strikes were renewed and it was clear to most Poles that the Jaruzelski government could not ignore the opposition movement any longer. In April 1989, it was decided that free elections would be held for the Polish Senate and 35% of the seats in the Sejm (Polish parliament), as well as the establishment of the post of President, who would power over the military and foreign policy,
The June 1989 elections were a resounding success for Solidarity: they won 99 out of 100 seats in the Senate and 160 out of 161 of the 'free' seats in the Sejm. However, the general power sharing agreement with Jaruzelski was honoured and Jaruzelski was elected as the first President of Poland. He did not interfere with the rapid changes brought in by Solidarity and only remained in the position for one year, where upon he was replaced by Walesa. Although the Solidarity coalition fragmented after the collapse of communism, with Walesa leaving the party and increasingly coming into political conflict with them, both Walesa and Solidarity played a massive role in ending communist rule in Poland and inspiring similar movements elsewhere in the Eastern Bloc.
Economic problems continued to dog the Polish economy, which were made worse by western sanctions. Food prices rose dramatically and government concessions, such as the release of political prisoners, failed to appease the public mood for change. The Thatcher government in the UK made it very clear to Jaruzelski that the lifting of sanctions was linked to the legal restoration of Solidarity. This condition, coupled with Gorbachev's announcement that the Brezhnev Doctrine would no longer be enforced, led to this development in late 1988. In the spirit of Glasnost, it was also revealed that the Katyn Forest Massacre of 1940 was carried out by the Soviets, not the Nazis. This only increased the level of Polish nationalism and anti-Soviet sentiment.
With Solidarity back on the political scene, strikes were renewed and it was clear to most Poles that the Jaruzelski government could not ignore the opposition movement any longer. In April 1989, it was decided that free elections would be held for the Polish Senate and 35% of the seats in the Sejm (Polish parliament), as well as the establishment of the post of President, who would power over the military and foreign policy,
The June 1989 elections were a resounding success for Solidarity: they won 99 out of 100 seats in the Senate and 160 out of 161 of the 'free' seats in the Sejm. However, the general power sharing agreement with Jaruzelski was honoured and Jaruzelski was elected as the first President of Poland. He did not interfere with the rapid changes brought in by Solidarity and only remained in the position for one year, where upon he was replaced by Walesa. Although the Solidarity coalition fragmented after the collapse of communism, with Walesa leaving the party and increasingly coming into political conflict with them, both Walesa and Solidarity played a massive role in ending communist rule in Poland and inspiring similar movements elsewhere in the Eastern Bloc.
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