27 March 1981
Solidarność
Solidarność poster
BG D17/594
In August 1980 strikes broke out in many parts of Poland. The strike at the Lenin shipyard in Gdansk is most well known. The workers won their battle quickly, and in 1981 the fight shifted to the political front when Solidarność [Solidarity] demanded legal status. In December 1981 martial law was declared, and from that time Solidarity grew underground. In 1990 trade union leader Lech Walęesa was elected president of Poland.
The IISH has a large collection of documents and printed material from and about Solidarity: posters, a tape of its first congress in September 1981, protest songs, telex messages, periodicals, etc.
See also:
• Solidarność (Polska) Collection
Today in the Biographies Dutch Labour Movement
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Died on 27 March |