8 Kolobrzeska, Bydgoszcz, Poland
On August 14, 1980, the shipyard workers started a strike that changed the reality of the People's Republic of Poland and the whole of Central and Eastern Europe. Demands were given to reinstate the activists of the Free Trade Unions of the Coast, erecting a monument dedicated to the victims of December '70, guarantees that the strikers would not repress, and a wage increase. Lech Wałęsa became the head of the Inter-Enterprise Strike Committee, and the strikers' demands were listed in 21 items on two wooden boards.They demanded, above all, the approval of free trade unions independent of the party and employers. Today, wooden plaques with handwritten postulates strikers are inscribed on the UNESCO World Documentary Heritage "Memory of the World". Walking the trail of freedom, you will get to know places related to the history and life of the project's protagonist. We invite you for a tour of the places that were the scenery of those events.
The first Gdańsk protests took place in August 1946. At that time, port dockers opposed low wages and high labor standards. In 1968, waves of unrest engulfed Gdańsk universities, but the protest was brutally pacified. Two years later (December 1970), the demand for a change in price policy was made by workers. The authorities responded with the use of militia and military units. Several dozen inhabitants of the Coast lost their lives in riots lasting several days. The bloody pacification compromised the authorities and the state system. The memory of these events became an important axis of later social opposition.
The next riots took place in August 1980. They quickly turned into a nationwide protest, culminating in the signing of agreements, the first real (short-term, as it turned out later) agreement between the state authorities and Polish society. As a result, the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" was established, with about 10 million adult Poles joining in a short time. The Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers in December 1970 was built, which is still considered one of the most important monuments in our country. An invigorating wave of changes has spread across half of Europe, relegating the socialist order to the past.
The Freedom and Lech Wałęsa Trail includes several places in Gdańsk whose history is connected with the Solidarity Trade Union and its leader. A commemorative plaque will be hung in each of these places.
European Solidarity Center
The European Solidarity Center was opened on August 31, 2014, on the anniversary of signing the August Agreements in Gdańsk. The building was built in a very important place for the history of Poland and the world, on the grounds of the former Gdańsk Lenin Shipyard. It was here in August 1980 that Solidarity was born. The European Commission honored this place - the Health and Safety Hall, Gate No. 2, Solidarity Square with the Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers 1970 and ECS - the European Heritage Label.
The modern, multimedia ECS exhibition is dedicated to Solidarity and the changes it influenced throughout Central and Eastern Europe. On the area of 3 thousand sq m presents moving souvenirs, photos, film and sound materials, archival documents, manuscripts, maps, underground publications, newspapers, objects of independent art. You will find here, among others a shot jacket by Ludwik Piernicki, a 20-year-old shipyard worker, victim of December '70, plates of 21 demands, hanging during the strike in August '80 at the gate of the Gdańsk Shipyard Lenin, the crane on which Anna Walentynowicz worked, Jacek Kuroń's desk, his wife's gift ... Altogether, almost 1,800 unique items.
Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers 1970
The Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers is one of the most important Polish monuments. It is located right in front of the European Solidarity Center.
On December 14, 1970, the shipyard workers in Gdańsk found out on government increases in the prices of meat and other goods. In protest, the crowd of thousands of workers left the factory, through the streets of the city he reached the seat of the provincial committee the ruling party. Groups of students and random passers-by joined the shipyard workers. There were riots. The Gdańsk protest spread to other Polish cities Coasts: Gdynia, Szczecin and Elbląg. The communists sent 550 tanks, 700 transporters against the rebels armored personnel carriers, 5,000 militia officers and 27,000 soldiers. The army surrounded the Gdańsk Shipyard. When the workers tried to leave the factory into the city - they were fired at ammunition. At least four protesters were killed, there were nearly a hundred wounded. The military and the militia also bloodily pacified the protests in Gdynia, Szczecin and Elbląg. Balance of the tragedy: 40 killed, nearly 1,200 wounded, 3,000 people were sent to prison. The data on the number of victims and repressions were concealed by the authorities. In many cases, the dead were buried secretly at night. Shipyard workers managed to honor their colleagues who died in December 1970. Soaring three crosses with powerful anchors - symbols of hope, they commemorate the bloody victims of strikes, but are also a symbol of faith in a better tomorrow. In the lower part of the monument, there are reliefs depicting allegories of the work of a shipyard worker, national solidarity and clashes between society and the regime. They are accompanied by the words of the Psalm of David "The Lord will give strength to his people, the Lord will give his people a blessing of peace" and a fragment of a poem by Czesław Miłosz.
Gate No. 2 of the Gdańsk Shipyard
Gate No. 2 of the Gdańsk Shipyard is located right next to the square where the Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers 1970 stands. It was because of her that in December 1970 a crowd of workers left the factory and the army opened fire on them.
In August 1980, the striking shipyard workers used Gate 2 as a kind of shield - against a possible attack by the army and militia. They gave up demonstrations in the streets of the city to prevent a repeat of the tragedy of December. The gate to the shipyard was padlocked and guarded by workers' guards. The negotiator, who on August 31, 1980 signed an agreement with the protesters on behalf of the government, also entered through it.
The industrial guard building is adjacent to Gate No. 2. It was at its top that the protesters hung up two boards with 21 orders.
BHP hall (Occupational Health and Safety Hall)
The historic BHP Hall is located in a brick building from the 19th century, which was renovated in 2006 and currently serves as a year-round conference and exhibition center and museum. The owner of the hall is NSZZ Solidarność. It was here, in August 1980, that the workers created a kind of strike self-government - the Inter-Enterprise Strike Committee (MKZ). It was here that on August 31, 1980, Lech Wałęsa and the deputy prime minister of the Polish People's Republic (in the years 1970-1981), Mieczysław Jagielski, signed the most important of the August Agreements.
Visitors can see the Solidarity - Roads to Understanding exhibition here, which shows the history and ideas of the solidarity struggle for: freedom of speech and religion, rule of law, equality, freedom, dignity of work and the right to organize in defense of one's rights.
The support of the Catholic Church was of great importance to the workers on strike in August. St. Brygid Church became the center of pastoral care over the striking workers. After the declaration of martial law on December 13, 1981, thanks to the then parish priest, Father Henryk Jankowski, became an important point of resistance against the communist regime and a place of support for the outlawed "Solidarity" and its members.
The struggles of "Solidarity" are also part of the history of the most important church in Gdańsk - the Gothic St. Mary's Basilica. Holy masses for the intention of the Fatherland were held there. Great independence demonstrations that lasted until the collapse People's Republic of Poland set off from the Basilica, and gathered thousands of people.
On the freedom trail you will also see "White House, the seat of the SB, or Art on the Island.
The Zaspa estate is an obligatory point on the freedom trail. The large-panel residential buildings raised on the tarmac of the former airport - sad and gray in the communist times - today the largest collection of Monumental Painting in Poland. As part of the cyclical Monumental Art Festival, it has already been established 30 large-format images.
