This year marks the 40th anniversary of the peak moment of the Polish self-limiting revolution. In September and October 1981, the 1st National Congress of Delegates of Independent Self-Governing Trade Union “Solidarność” was held, attended by nearly 900 democratically elected delegates from all over the country. Not only was Lech Wałęsa officially elected the chairman of the union, but also the programme Self-governing Poland (Samorządna Rzeczpospolita) was presented. It was not only a unique lesson in democracy, but also a demonstration of the union's strength.
Delegates adopted the Message to the working people of Eastern Europe – a call for self-organization to the workers from Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, the German Democratic Republic, Romania, and Hungary. The adoption led to increased pressure on the Polish authorities from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Moscow demanded taking decisive action against Solidarność. Leonid Brezhnev was convinced that the trade union was trying to create a ‘fifth column’ in the USSR. The chairman of the KGB Yuri Andropov warned that the events in Poland inspired ordinary people to undertake grassroots political activities and organize solidarity actions with Poles. The revolution was smashed on 13 December 1981, when Wojciech Jaruzelski – the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party, Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense in one person – introduced martial law in Poland.
On the 40th anniversary of these events, the Editorial Board of “Wolność i Solidarność. Studia z dziejów opozycji wobec komunizmu i dyktatury”invites contributions to the next issue of the annual published by the European Solidarity Centre. The latest edition, will be focused primarily on the following issues:
We encourage you to submit articles that fall within the scope of the above-outlined framework, but also other texts related to the history of Solidarność, social resistance and democratic opposition in the communist countries. The deadline for submissions is 15 May 2021. The publication is planned for late autumn 2021.
Articles are published in Polish and English.