"BLACK THURSDAY" - a new movie about protests in Poland in 1970 (SEE TRAILER)

"Black Thursday" is a historical drama about the tragic Polish workers riots of December 1970, directed by Antoni Krauze.

The story is based on the riots by shipyard workers that erupted Polish port cities and the real life story of Brunon Drywa, a shipyard worker who died tragically during the riots from a gunshot in his back.

Filming took place between February 16 and March 31. 2010, at historically authentic locations in Gdynia, Gdańsk and Warsaw. Interiors were filmed in a specially adapted harbor yard in Gdynia.

The leading role of Brunon Drywa is played by Michał Kowalski accompanied by an all-star Polish cast including Marta Honzatko, Marta Kalmus, Krystyna Janda, Wojciech Pszoniak and Piotr Fronczewski .

"Black Thursday" is currently one of the most awaited history dramas in Poland, due to its subject, a significant topic still not fully presented in the Polish cinema.

The trailer is actually a video clip to the song “Ballad of Janek Wisniewski”, performed by Kazik Staszewski, containing scenes from the new movie.

Janek Wisniewski is a fictional name, invented by the author of the ballad Krzysztof Dowgiallo to symbolize an 18-year shipyard worker Zbigniew Godlewski killed in the Polish city of Gdynia by the military or police on December 17, 1970, during the Polish 1970 protests.

Dowgiallo witnessed a moment, when people were carrying on doors an anonymous young man's body through the cordons of police and tanks. That image inspired him to write the poem. Not knowing his name at the time, the author decided to give him a name that is typically Polish. Later it was discovered the man was actually named Zbigniew Godlewski and lived in nearby Elbląg. In 1970 he was shot dead along with some 40 other people.

Lyrics:

Boys from Grabowek, boys from Chylonia
Today the militsiya opened fire
We stood bravely, we pitched accurately
Janek Wisniewski fell

On a door we carried him along Swietojanska
Against the cops, against the tanks
Boys, shipyard workers, avenge your comrade
Janek Wisniewski fell

The bangers sound, the gas spreads
Blows fall on the workers
Elderly, children, women are falling
Janek Wisniewski fell

One is wounded, another killed
Blood was spilled at dawn in December
It's the Party shooting at the workers
Janek Wisniewski fell
Bloody Kociolek is the Tricity's executioner
Because of him the children, women are dying
Wait bastard, we're gonna get ya
Janek Wisniewski fell

Shipyard workers of Gdynia, workers of Gdansk
Go home, the battle is over
The world heard about this, and said nothing
Janek Wisniewski fell

Don't cry mothers, that wasn't in vain
There's a banner with a black ribbon above the shipyard
For bread and freedom, and a for new Poland
Janek Wisniewski fell

Pictures of body of Janek Wisniewski (Zbyszek Godlewski) being carried by the demonstrators.

Polish 1970 protests

The Polish 1970 protests (Polish: Grudzień 1970) were protests that occurred in northern Poland in December 1970. The protests were sparked by a sudden increase of prices of food and other everyday items. As a result of the riots, brutally put down by the Polish People's Army (under communist government control) and the Citizen's Militia, at least 42 people were killed and more than 1,000 wounded

Background

Władysław Gomułka's temporary political success could not mask the economic crisis into which the People's Republic of Poland was drifting. Although the system of fixed, artificially low food prices kept urban discontent under control, it caused stagnation in agriculture and made more expensive food imports necessary. This was unsustainable, and in December 1970 the regime suddenly announced massive increases in the prices of basic foodstuffs. It is possible that the price rises were imposed on Gomułka by his enemies in the Party leadership who planned to manoeuvre him out of power. The rises were a fatal miscalculation, for they proved to be a major shock to the society and turned the urban workers against the regime. Gomułka believed that the agreement with West Germany had made him more popular, but in fact most Poles appear to have felt that since the Germans were no longer a threat to Poland, they no longer needed to tolerate the Communist regime as a guarantee of Soviet support for the defence of the Oder-Neisse line.

The events

Demonstrations against the price rises broke out in the northern Baltic coastal cities of Gdańsk, Gdynia, Elbląg and Szczecin. Gomułka's right-hand man, Zenon Kliszko, made matters worse by ordering the army to fire on the workers as they tried to return to their factories. The regime was afraid of a wave of sabotage that was being started. Another leader, Stanisław Kociołek, appealed to the workers to return to work. But in Gdynia the soldiers had orders to stop workers returning to work, and they fired into the crowd of workers emerging from their trains on December 17: hundreds of workers were killed or wounded. The protest movement then spread to other cities, leading to strikes and occupations. The government set in motion 5,000 members of special squads of police and 27,000 soldiers, equipped with heavy tanks and machine guns. Over 1,000 people were wounded, and at least 40 killed (other numbers often cited are 39 and 44 though the exact death toll remains unknown), 3,000 arrested, by modern accounts. However, only six people were reported dead by the government at the time. All those who perished were buried overnight, with only the closest relatives present, in order to avoid spreading the riots.

You humorless person. I thought my comment was witty. Conversely to your argument on not being forced to read and comment on threads, you should be prepared for some criticism if you do post something. My little comment had merit in that I am an English first in America whether it be Spanish, Korean or Polish.

My interest in your post was to see if this was on the order of “The Lives Of Others”. A brilliant movie and one of my favorites. Unfortunately looking past the language barrier, I found this trailer a low budget, acid trip music video.

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