Solidarity in Poland

What happened

A wave of strikes led by electrician Lech Wałęsa at the Gdańsk shipyard forced Poland's communist government to sign the Gdańsk Agreement, allowing the first independent trade union in the Soviet bloc — Solidarity. The government imposed martial law in December 1981, but the movement survived underground.

Why it matters

Solidarity was the first mass challenge to communist rule from within the bloc and became a driving force in the collapse of communism in 1989.

Sources

• Library of Congress. Poland: Solidarity — Ending East vs. West · Primary source