Solidarity

Solidarność - Solidarity the winds of change.

It's impossible to do a blog about Poland without at some point mentioning Solidarity. Here is my personal observations based on my parents reaction at the time.

Without Solidarność I doubt the fall of the Berlin Wall would have taken place or Eastern Bloc countries such as Poland free to choose their own path? It effectively brought the Cold War to an end.

Just to be clear I am no expert on this subject I was at school in England when this happened and not returned to Poland since starting big school. My mum visited during those years and she used to tell me her experiences whilst in Poland.

My parents and all the Polish friends we knew felt this was the golden age for Poland.

Solidarity had begun, heavily supported and helped by the Polish Catholic church.

Pope John Paul II was Polish (double bonus) and everyone in the country both in Poland and Poles abroad had for the first time since 1945 hope that at long last Poland would be free of the Communist regime.

It wasn't plain sailing and people forget (this was 1980 after all) how many gave their lives, suffered under the Communist regime at that time for supporting or even displaying a Solidarność sticker (like the ones in these photographs) let alone beaten up by the Military Police or Secret Service.

There are many stories of bravery, even just printing leaflets or arranging meetings in churches to help gather support and plan events, fell foul to the early knock on the door.

Many Catholic priests were arrested, beaten and worse. Sadly there were still people who would report you to the Police maybe they didn't want things to change, they were happy with their lives who knows but at what cost?

Even during the late 80's we still heard stories of daring escapes from Poland over the border to West Germany and beyond. I know of one man who clung to the underside of the train the entire way to escape Poland, the same train we used to go on, that's a 2 day journey!

My parents would listen intently to the news which if you were around in the early 80's was on the BBC covering the events in Poland. We would pray for freedom at Mass on Sunday and hope Solidarity would finally get to power.

Sadly many of my father's friends would never see that day because they had already passed away in England after living here since the war.

There is a bitter irony because when Solidarity did get into power and the old regime crumbled it brought Poland to its economic knees. How can you change a country after 40 years overnight, I think Lech Wałęsa knew this.

They were very difficult times, mass unemployment, low wages, little food and a country falling apart after suddenly being given the chance to do what it wanted? Poles however started to build themselves back up and eventually got to where the country is today.

A few people who left Poland to live here (in the 2000's) still prefer the UK and would never go back, not because they get better wages for the jobs they do, but because here you get treated like a human being.

There is still that Communist mindset, masses of paperwork and queues for the simplest things, its 2020 Poland get your act together!

The stickers and lapel badges in this blog were my mum's brought back from her trips.

I still keep them in a box maybe it reminds me of those times or just my parents? They are worthless today forgotten but to some of us (even old kids like me) still mean something.

If nothing else Solidarność did bring one word to the World's vocabulary still used today Solidarity.

History of Solidarity - click here