The 1980 general strike in Poland and the establishment of the independent Solidarity movement, which sought to create a state based on civic freedom, were symptoms of a crisis of the communist system. On December 13, 1981, General Wojciech Jaruzelski on behalf of the ruling Communist Party imposed...

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Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Paczkowski, Andrzej 1938- (Author)
Other Authors:	Manetti, Christina ca. 20./21. Jh (Translator)
Format:	Electronic eBook
Language:	English
Published:	Rochester, NY University of Rochester Press 2015
Series:	Rochester studies in East and Central Europe 14
Subjects:	NSZZ "Solidarność" (Labor organization) / History NSZZ "Solidarność" Geschichte 1980-1989 Revolutions / Poland / History / 20th century Democracy / Poland / History / 20th century Social change / Poland / History / 20th century Martial law / Poland / History / 20th century Anti-communist movements / Poland / History / 20th century Government, Resistance to / Poland / History / 20th century Demokratisierung Kriegsrecht > Staatsrecht Poland / Politics and government / 1980-1989 Polen
Online Access:	DE-12 DE-473 Volltext
Summary:	The 1980 general strike in Poland and the establishment of the independent Solidarity movement, which sought to create a state based on civic freedom, were symptoms of a crisis of the communist system. On December 13, 1981, General Wojciech Jaruzelski on behalf of the ruling Communist Party imposed martial law effectively quashing Solidarity. Jaruzelski won the battle, but Solidarity continued itsrevolution in secret and Poland remained politically destabilized. Elections held in June 1989 ended with the defeat of the Communists and the establishment in September of a coalition government inwhich half of the parliamentary seats went to Solidarity, whose representative was also appointed prime minister. The revolution inaugurated in 1980 by the dockworkers of Gdansk had come to fruition. Revolution and Counterrevolution in Poland, 1980-1989 recounts and analyzes the events of this formative decade in Polish history, with particular emphasis on the martial law period. Drawing on extensive archival research, Andrzej Paczkowski examines the origin and form of the Solidarity revolution, the course of the Communist counterrevolution, and the final victory won by Solidarity along with its international repercussions. Andrzej Paczkowski is professor of political studies at the Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw. Christina Manetti, Phd, is a translator and researcher of Polish history
Item Description:	Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 18 Jun 2021) Part 1. The beginning -- Poland : the weakest link? -- The Solidarity revolution : act one, 1980-81 -- "Defend socialism as if it were Poland's independence" -- Part 2. The attack -- The last days before -- "Night of the general" and day one -- Breakthrough -- Reprisals and the public mood -- The world looks on -- Battle over -- Part 3. Counterattack -- Operation "Renaissance" and Lech Wałęsa -- Underground -- Civic resistance -- "The anesthetic has worn off" -- The end of the campaign and Wałęsa's release -- Part 4. Toward positional warfare -- The Church between eternity and Solidarity -- Independent society -- The party returns to the ring -- The end of martial law -- Part 5. Endgame -- Solidarity's revolution : the finale, 1988-89 -- Escape from the Soviet Bloc and the fall of the empire -- Conclusion: The decade of struggle and its legacy
Physical Description:	1 Online-Ressource (xvi, 387 Seiten)
ISBN:	9781782046882
DOI:	10.1017/9781782046882