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Solidarity ( Polish ) is a Polish trade union federation founded in September 1980, originally led by Lech Walesa. In the 1980s, it gathered a broad anti-communist social movement ranging from people associated with the Roman Catholic Church down to members of the anti-communist left. The union was backed by a group of intellectual dissidents (KOR), and it was based on the rules of nonviolence.
The survival of the Solidarity was an unprecedented event not only in Poland, a satellite of the USSR ruled by a one-party Communist regime, but also in the whole Eastern bloc.
It meant a break in the hard-line stance of the Party which in another protest in 1970 had ended in bloodshed with dozens of people killed by machine gun fire and over 1,000 injured. In 1968, the Prague Spring was crushed by the Soviet Army tanks in the streets of the capital of CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia ( Czech: Ceskoslovensko Slovak: Cesko-Slovensko before 1990 Ceskoslovensko ) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1992 (except for the World War II period). On January 1, 1993, it peacefully split into the Czech Repu.
The factors contributed to the initial success of the Solidarity in particular and dissident movement in general in the 1980s were deepening internal crisis of socialism due to degradation of morale, worsening economic conditions and the impending defeat in the Cold WarThe Cold War (c. 1945- 1991) was the open yet restricted rivalry that developed after World War II between groups of nations practicing different ideologies and political systems. On one side was the Soviet Union and its allies, often referred to as the E. (See Soviet invasion of AfghanistanThe Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was a 10-year war which wreaked incredible havoc and destruction on Afghanistan. The 'shooting' war is generally held to have started December 24, 1979. Soviet troops ultimately withdrew from the area between May 15, 198 and Collapse of the Soviet Union)
The ideas of the Solidarity movement spread like wildfire throughout Poland; more and more new unions were formed and joined the federation. The program, although concerned with trade union matters, was universally regarded as the first step towards dismantling the Party monopoly.
"The Rural Solidarity", a union of farmers, was created in May 1981Events January-February January Sarawak Chamber found January 1 Greece enters the EEC January 1 Palau becomes self-governing January 4 Sheffield police arrests Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper January 16 Protestant gunmen shoot and wound Bernadette D. By the end of 1981, Solidarity had nine million members. Using strikesStrike action (or simply strike is a deliberate refusal to work on the part of multiple employees. This is a tactic often employed by labor unions during collective bargaining with an employer. A strike may consist of workers refusing to attend work or pi and other industrial action, the union sought to block government initiatives. On December 13December 13 is the 347th day of the year (348th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 18 days remaining. Events 1545 Council of Trent begins 1577 Sir Francis Drake sets out from Plymouth, on his round-the-world voyage 1642 Abel Janszoon Tasm, 1981, the government leader Wojciech JaruzelskiWojciech Witold Jaruzelski voy-tsyekh vit-old yar-uz-el-shkee (born July 6, 1923) in the family of Polish gentry was a communist Polish political and military leader, Prime Minister from 1981-1985, and President from 1985-1990. Following Nazi-Soviet pact started a crack-down on Solidarity, declaring martial law, suspending the union, and temporarily imprisoning most of its leaders. Poland then banned Solidarity on October 8, 1982. Martial Law was formally lifted in July, 1983, though many heightened controls on civil liberties and political life, as well as food rationing, remained in place through the mid- to late 1980s.
Throughout the mid- 1980s, Solidarity persisted solely as an underground organization, supported by the Church and the CIA. But by the late 1980s, Solidarity was sufficiently strong to frustrate Jaruzelski's attempts at reform, and nationwide strikes in 1988 forced the government to open a dialogue with Solidarity.
In April 1989, Solidarity was legalised and allowed to participate in the upcoming elections. In these limited elections union candidates won a striking victory which sparked off a succession of peaceful anti-communist counterrevolutions in Central and Eastern Europe starting on June 4. By the end of August a Solidarity-led coalition government was formed and in December Walesa was elected president, resigning from his post in Solidarity.
Since then, the organisation has become a more traditional trade union, but a political arm was founded in 1996 as Solidarity Electoral Action ( AWS - now having a negligible political significance). Solidarity currently has around 1.5 million members.
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