Solidarity Movement; The Beginning of the Deterioration in the Socialist Bloc

In the early 1980s, the Solidarity trade union movement in Poland played a pioneering role in modern Polish history. Solidarity means solidarity. This labor movement created a seismic shift in competition with the Socialist Party, which subsequently challenged the socialist dictatorships and effectively realized the internal explosion of the Eastern Bloc. In 1989, the 'Round Table Talks' with the established dictatorial rulers led to the beginning of the deterioration of the Eastern Bloc, as the workers of Poland fought for nine years until the rulers of that country were willing to engage in dialogue and discussion with them. It should be emphasized that this popular movement could not have succeeded without the leadership of figures like Lech Wałęsa and the famous historian Adam Michnik, among others, and women played a significant role in this movement. The historical background of the movement dates back to 1956 when the workers of the city of Poznań launched a courageous protest movement under the banner 'We Need Bread.' In the same year, Khrushchev came to power in the Soviet Union. While he opposed some of Stalin's policies, he agreed to the violent suppression of the democratic movement in Hungary and prevented the advancement of the labor and popular movement in Poland. About one hundred thousand people participated in the 1956 labor protests in Poland. The so-called socialist government's policies effectively suppressed the democratic movement, resulting in the killing of 57 people and injuring around 600 Polish workers. After the events of 1956, parts of the Catholic Church and intellectual circles began to engage in independent activities and refused to be under the domination of Russian communism. They created a quiet and self-reliant movement, initiating critical discussions about the performance of Stalinist policies and the post-Stalinist dictatorship system. The leaders of the labor movement in the 1980s were able to draw on the intellectual support and freedom-seeking struggles of the 1960s and 70s. In June 1976, the leader of the Polish Socialist Party, Edward Gierek, unexpectedly announced that the prices of subsidized goods would increase. Due to the prevailing social poverty, people were particularly sensitive to discussions about price increases. From 1970 onwards, the socialist government regularly raised prices a few days before Christmas, which incited public anger. Protests and strikes were brutally suppressed in the 1970s. By 1978, illegal labor unions had emerged, and in 1979 they published the 'Labor Rights Charter,' marking a significant advancement for the labor and popular movement in seeking social freedoms. Anna Walentynowicz, who was dismissed from her job due to her activities to form free labor unions, became a key figure. When the Polish government raised the prices of meat and sausage in July 1980, strikes began in several small cities. The government retreated and accepted to pay compensatory amounts for the price increases, which was a form of state subsidy. However, this time the labor and intellectual movement had matured to the point where they no longer wanted to pay for the violence of the socialist government. Consequently, labor unions began striking from August 14, 1980, demanding the reinstatement of a crane operator named Anna Walentynowicz. This worker had been dismissed due to her activities to form free labor unions. Workers also demanded the return of an electrician named Lech Wałęsa to his workplace. Both were founders of free labor unions and sought to erect a statue for the victims of December 1970, seek amnesty for strikers, and increase monthly wages for workers. By the end of August 1980, more than 400 factories were on strike, and the country's economic situation was dire. While people lived in poverty, Poland's foreign debt had reached an astronomical $23 billion. Thus, one of the most important demands of Polish workers at that time was to stop meat exports to the Soviet Union. The ruling Socialist Party had lost the support of over 90% of organized workers in the country by the early 1980s. The Polish government, under Soviet control, was losing its social base and legal legitimacy to lead society and establish a socialist community. On Sunday, August 30, 1980, representatives of the labor strike committee and government representatives signed a historic agreement in the city of Gdańsk. The result of the Gdańsk agreement was, in fact, the establishment of the independent labor union Solidarity. By November 1980, the total number of Polish workers was 16 million, of which about 10 million were members of the Solidarity labor union. The irreparable government and general strike Professor Dieter Bingen, who teaches at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany, writes that the government and the Socialist Party were in a severe crisis and were neither willing nor able to implement real democratic reforms in the ruling system. Even after internal changes in the system, such as the replacement of the secretary of the Central Committee of the ruling party, the possibility of government reform seemed unlikely. Lech Wałęsa, one of the leaders of Solidarity, stated that a year after the signing of the Gdańsk agreement, which is referred to as a social agreement, Solidarity held its first national congress in Poland in September 1981. Wałęsa announced the union's strategy for saving the country's economy, and the government accused him of wanting to interfere in economic goals and state distribution policies. Subsequently, Solidarity sent a message to workers in brother socialist countries, which caused an extraordinary uproar. It was evident that the rulers of socialist dictatorships were terrified of new labor movements. General Wojciech Jaruzelski, who was Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, and simultaneously the leader of the Socialist Party in October 1981, increased threats to legally ban the Solidarity labor union after he came to power. The situation worsened day by day in the following weeks to the extent that Solidarity announced that if the government sought to limit the union's activities, Polish workers would go on a general strike. Simultaneously, Solidarity requested a public vote on the extent to which the population could trust and rely on the government and its policies. On December 13, 1981, Jaruzelski declared martial law, and many leaders of the free labor movement and intellectuals, including Lech Wałęsa, were imprisoned. In a statement published in the Soviet Union and in a radio speech, Jaruzelski justified the imposition of martial law, accusing Solidarity of seeking to overthrow the socialist government, causing anarchy, and that the goals of this union led to social anomalies. On October 8, 1982, the socialist government banned the activities of the Solidarity labor union by passing a new law. Additionally, the Polish government decided to negotiate with senior officials of the Catholic Church to neutralize it, but until then, it was unwilling to negotiate with the free labor union. It is natural that Polish intellectuals and members of the Solidarity movement in the 1980s believed that the socialist dictatorship was not reformable at all. Nevertheless, the prevailing atmosphere and the power of the labor and popular movement in Poland were significantly different from the situations in other dictatorships of the Eastern Bloc and much more advanced. Other communist party leaders in different dictatorships of the Eastern Bloc clearly put their societies under more repression and oppression than the situation in Poland and suppressed any freedom-seeking movements. One of the important reasons for the weakening of government policies at that time was the strength of the opposition movement, and due to the power of the freedom-seeking movement, martial law lasted only about 19 months and ended on July 22, 1983. General Jaruzelski, during a visit to the air force personnel in October 1982, pursued a moderate policy. This political path at that time led to a top-down amnesty order and the release of political prisoners on July 17, 1986. By the end of that year, an advisory council was formed that included both leaders of the democratic opposition and government officials. However, opposition representatives did not have voting rights, and their presence in the council was more symbolic. Nevertheless, the democratic opposition in Poland knew that the leaders of the dictatorship could no longer easily overlook them. At that time, the leaders of the labor movement could not imagine that a few years later the entire Eastern Bloc would collapse. Particularly, the Polish government's cultural policy softened in the second half of the 1980s until in November 1987, a civil affairs officer was officially appointed who worked under the then Minister of Culture. Nevertheless, the movements to liberalize the country progressed very slowly. The historical step of forming negotiation tables between representatives of the people and the government followed. Therefore, after the strikes in April and May 1988 and after the wave of strikes continued and intensified in August of that year, government officials concluded that only through direct negotiations with labor and people’s representatives could they exit the severe political, social, and economic crisis. Thus, negotiation tables were formed, which was a peaceful step. Direct negotiation tables were a unique and unprecedented phenomenon in the history of modern dictatorships, and during this process, the oppressors entered into peaceful negotiations with the oppressed. One of the negotiation tables between Polish government officials and opponents took place in February 1989. Dieter Bingen describes this phenomenon as an evolutionary process of replacing real socialism with a pluralistic democracy. In the process of the collapse of communist governments, these negotiation tables between rulers and oppressed people in Poland became a model for other democratic movements in the Eastern Bloc, including in East Germany. In Poland, these negotiation tables even later took on functions that resembled those of state institutions and gradually led to a legislative body. Initially, the proposals from the representatives of the people at the negotiation tables had to be approved and ratified by parliament, and there were still significant obstacles to achieving that. On April 5, 1989, a historic compromise was reached between representatives of Christian groups and representatives of the labor union with the government, breaking the monopoly of power held by the socialist dictatorship officials. Following the rise of representatives of the people through the negotiation tables, the country's constitution was amended. Among other things, the election law was changed, the possibility of labor union activities was enhanced, and the legal rights of associations and non-governmental organizations were increased. In this way, the pluralism of labor unions and freedom of expression were strengthened, and gradually the independence and popular sovereignty in Poland were reinforced. Until on June 4, 1989, the opposition movement won in free elections. Thus, Polish democrats achieved their first victory against a communist regime, demonstrating that it is possible to defeat violent dictatorships that relied on the support of a large military power like the Soviet Union.