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To What Extent Was Solidarity To Blame For The Breakdown Of Communism In Poland? Essay, Research Paper

On June 4th

1989, the trade union movement Solidarity won elections in Poland hands down.

The first minority communist government in a former satellite state was

formed.? The Round Table agreement had

dramatically backfired and the assumptions that the Party had the legitimacy,

the money and the organisational facilities to win a majority of seats had

proved to be false.? From this point

onwards, communism in Eastern Europe began to crumble.? The anti-communist feeling in Poland had

been released in the formation of the mass ?trade-union? called Solidarity, and

without Russian tanks to restore order the Party fell unceremoniously from power.

Solidarity is often credited with seizing the initiative and bringing about the

breakdown of communism not only in Poland but also in Eastern Europe as a

whole, but was this really the case. Solidarity

sprung from a rebellious shipyard in Gdansk.?

Gdansk had emerged as a bastion of communist resistance in December

1970, when, in response to the price hikes, workers had come out on strike and

were shot by riot police and troops.?

Many of the demands made by the workers in 1970 were replicated in 1980.

In response to further price rises, introduced in July 1980 by Polish Premier

Babuich, strikes broke out all over Poland.?

However, government officials had little problem dealing with the

individual uncoordinated strikes by offering pay increases.? Only in Lublin was there a coordinated

strike, and this strike acted as an inspiration for the Gdansk strike in

August.? Led by agitator Lech Walesa,

the Gdansk workers initially protesting over price rises began to demand free

trade unions and other political changes.?

Aided by Polish intellectuals, a compromise was reached known as the 21

points which essentially brought Solidarity into being.? The first free trade union had been formed. The

coordination of the strike in 1980 was the essential factor in its success and

in the emergence and survival of Solidarity. The government, terrified of mass

uprising and civil war was content to play for time by agreeing to the 21

points.? Furthermore, the Polish

government wished to avoid intervention by Moscow, and by reaching a reasonable

compromise, the party was temporarily able to put and end to the strikes. The

intellectuals had played a key role in developing the working class

consciousness of national interests, and by making reasonable demands on the

communist government.? However, as early

as 24th August 1980, Polish party leaders were already planning to

crush Solidarity.? The movement owed as

much to good fortune as to its own strength. As

Solidarity membership rose to exceed 10 million by mid-1981 it quickly became a

national movement.? It gained the support

of the vast majority of Poles, and self-government became the call of a nation,

oppressed for almost 50 years.?

Solidarity also began to make demands on the government to introduce

reforms in April 1981. These closely resembled those introduced by Gorbachev

later in Russia and ?Glasnost? in the media quickly became apparent.? However, Soviet troops began to amass on

Poland?s eastern frontier and pressure was exerted from Moscow on Polish

leaders to crush the movement. Although

Western leaders put pressure on Moscow not to intervene, they could not prevent

the threat of sanctions.? The loss of

oil and gas supplies would be disasterous for Poland.? Furthermore, the threat of a referendum on the Jaruzelski

government in December 1982 proved too much for the Soviet government.? At 6.00am on 13th December 1982,

martial law was announced. Solidarity was outlawed and driven underground.? This could

have meant the end for the Solidarity movement.? It had accomplished little in the way of improvements, in fact,

economic conditions had worsened between August 1980 and December 1982.? However, there were several key factors that

allowed Solidarity to survive to see its final triumph in 1989. Through the

appointment of a Polish Pope, and by gaining his support for their policies,

Solidarity had gained an element of legitimacy amongst the people.? On October 16th, 1978 Cardinal

Karol Wojtyla was elected Pope John Paul II.?

Hailed as a ?great son of Poland? by the communist government, he was to

play a vital role in the events of the next 10 years. The

predominance of the Catholic church in Poland gave a Polish Pope substantial

influence within the country.? A skilful

and determined leader, it was he that on his visit to Poland in June 1979 first

implanted the ideas that inspired the birth of Solidarity in August 1980.? About two million people heard his speech

made on the fields outside Krakow. He spoke of the people?s right ?to have God

in their lives? and the ?right to freedom.? His words of inspiration, regarded

as gospel truths by the many catholic believers in Poland were to act as an

inspiration to the Solidarity movement through the year spent underground.? His second visit to Poland in June 1983 was

perhaps even more pivotal in ensuring the survival of the solidarity movement.

The visit of the Pope no doubt contributed to the end of martial law that was

lifted in July.? The end of martial law

brought a new hope to the people of Poland and a

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