Very, very symbolic.
Posted on 12/13/2006 11:28:04 AM PST by lizol
Martial law: Communist apocalypse of 1981
25 years ago, on a freezing Sunday morning, Poles woke up to General Wojciech Jaruzelski announcing that martial law had been imposed.
Report by Slawek Szefs
13.12.06
One hour before midnight on December 12th 1981, all telephone connections in Poland had been broken. Radio and television programs were discontinued at midnight. Army units with tanks and special riot police squads rolled out of their garrisons.
During that night, with the official date of December 13th, the State Council issued a decree proclaiming martial law throughout the country.
Communist party first secretary and Prime Minister General Wojciech Jaruzelski had also been appointed head of supreme military body, assuming absolute dictatorial power. In a 6 a.m. televised address to the nation, which had been repeated over and over again that Sunday, general Jaruzelski announced:
' The Military Council For National Salvation has been called into being tonight. In accordance with its constitutional prerogatives, the State Council introduced martial law at midnight on the entire territory of our country.'
First arrests were made among the Solidarity leadership and most active Union members. Archive files of the Communist secret service reveal surveillance recordings of meetings Lech Walesa held with his co-workers just before detention.
' We can't believe them, they want to trick us. Let's face it; they know we want to dismantle the system. If we attain a full degree of self-government, the system goes. It was clear from the beginning there will be struggle. We have to adopt such methods that Polish society understands what we are fighting for.'
The justification for martial law had been alleged attempts by Solidarity and the pro-democratic forces rallied around the first independent trade union in the then Communist block to take over the country. In the opinion of the Communist party bosses, the very consideration of such scenario could trigger a Soviet military intervention.
A sonorous voice of support for the fighting democratic forces of the Polish political underground had come from US President Ronald Reagan.
' Poland is not East or West. Poland is at the center of European civilization. It has contributed mightily to that civilization. It is doing so today by being magnificently unreconcilled to oppression.'
Many analysts claimed it had been the strong reaction of the American side that trimmed pressure of the Soviet military brass for intervention in Poland.
But besides its international dimension, martial law in Poland was first and foremost the daily fear and hardship of thriving in a state ruled by Communist military dictatorship. The horror of the situation had been accurately captured by British news photographer Chris Niedenthal in what became the symbol of the Polish situation in world media - an armored vehicle with soldiers in front of Moscow cinema, one of Warsaw's most popular movie theaters then. It had just started running ' Apocalypse, Now', the title of the famous film featuring prominently on the huge billboard above the entrance.
' I simply took it, because I saw it - the juxtaposition of all three facts. Anybody who saw it would have realized it's a great picture. It was just a question how to take it, which is not easy under martial law. I quickly grabbed some shots and ran!'
An American volunteer working for a Christian mission based in Vienna recalled the atmosphere of shock and uncertainty during trips to martial law Poland.
' One of our colleagues was in Warsaw. He heard on the radio with his Polish friends that martial law was declared. Of course, it was very frightening thinking about what was going to happen to Poland. But he also had to think about himself. And here he was in Poland as a foreigner. He was able to take some Americans out to the West. It was a freighting thing for us. We were sitting in Austria, not knowing if he would get out to what we called "freedom" then. Back in those years, to come to Poland was very difficult. There were border restrictions and we never knew if we would actually get to come in and visit our friends.'
The imposition of martial law in Poland took by surprise many Poles traveling abroad at the time. Sociologist Marek Garztecki was in London.
' I arrived in Britain and on the second day someone knocked on my door and said there's a war in Poland. What kind of war? I went out and bought the Evening Standard. There was this picture of tanks in the streets and a big headline "State of War in Poland". Obviously, I was very scared. I left my family, my first child and my wife, here. A few days later, the Solidarity people stranded in Britain formed a kind of committee. In due course, the underground Solidarity leadership decided to form a network of Information Offices, a kind of Solidarity embassies.'
Martial law in Poland, although officially lifted a year later, extended well into 1986. The various restrictions on public activity had been dropped very gradually. The paranoid and aggressive behavior of the Communist authorities sensing the imminent crumbling of the system was fueled by growing discontent and anger of society.
The period preceding the downfall of Communism in Poland was marked by frequent street clashes with riot police, outlawed strike actions at workplaces and stubborn civil disobedience.
Thousands of Poles paid a high price for this contempt of the regime. Some, like the protesting miners at the Wujek colliery, even the highest.... And though a quarter of a century has passed since the imposition of martial law, Poles remember vividly the plight they had been subjected to by the Communist rulers of the country.
Bump
Ping.
Thanks for the ping, freepmail sent!
Only if Mao gives up his chair.
An incredible picture in many respects.
On a cold and snowy Sunday morning of December 13th, 1981, Poles woke up to find their country under Martial Law. The prime minister Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski had ordered the army and special police units to seize control of the country, apprehend Solidarity's leaders, and prevent all further union activity in order to "defend socialism".
Under Martial Law, the communist regime applied draconian restrictions on civil liberties, closed all universities, and imprisoned thousands of Solidarity activists, including Lech Walesa. During the following months the government undid much of Solidarity's work and finally dissolved the union itself. Official pressure overcame repeated attempts by the Solidarity supporters to force the nullification of the December coup.
Some 10,000 opposition activists were jailed and dozens were killed in clashes with police.
By the end of 1982, the junta felt sufficiently secure to free Walesa, whom it now characterized as the "former leader of a former union". After gradually easing the most onerous features of the state of emergency, Warsaw lifted martial law in July 1983, but Jaruzelski and his generals continued to control the most influential party and government posts. In October 1983 Walesa received a Nobel Peace Prize which raised the spirits of the underground movement, but the award was attacked by the communist controlled government press.
Poland regained her independence in 1989 after the downfall of Russian enforced Communism in Eastern Europe.
He looks evil.
Thanks, answered most welcome letter.
Amazing picture.
Putin would love to see Poland under the boot again.
Ha!
Bump
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
