It is generally believed that the most crucial factor of the fall of communism in Poland was an increasing number of strikes and street demonstrations in the 1970s and 1980s. The reasons of the demonstrations varied from tiniest everyday matters to dissatisfaction with the government at the end of the 1970s. In the communist People‘s Republic of Poland, the dissatisfied citizens took to the streets in order to manifest their needs and beliefs and to make the authorities listen to the voice of the people. After the changes of 1989 and the introduction of democracy, the street has become one of many public spaces in which people can make their voice heard.

Solidarność Walcząca (Fighting Solidarity)

Was founded in Wrocław in the early 1980s as a group opposing the authoritarian government in Poland. The group’s name explains its ideology. Fighting Solidarity broke out from Solidarność (Solidarity) because the latter organisation’s fighting methods were deemed ineffective. The word Walcząca (Fighting), as well as the symbol of the group, are a reference to Polska Walcząca (Fighting Poland)—an important symbol of Polish resistance in the Second World War. Not only the sign but also the structures of that time clandestine organization were used and the Fighting Solidarity became the most conspiratorial group of the communist times. Its members were so secretive that close friends did not know they were working for the same organisation. Former members believe that even tough their resistance did not directly cause the fall of communism in Poland, it facilitated the process. The organisation remained active only because the society strongly supported it. Even though the main ideology was simply the disagreement with the political system, to survive in the resistance the activists needed really strong faith in their ideals because they lived under a constant threat of being caught by Milicja Obywatelska (Civic Militia). When organising the demonstrations, the activists prepared banners, distributed flyers, planned routes, and made sure that the materials would not fall into the authorities’ hand before the day of the protest.

Młody Wrocław (Young Wrocław)

Is an organisation active from 2006. It was established to involve young people in public space and to help the inexperienced to speak out. Wrocław inhabitants take interest in protests widely publicised by the media, such as the problems of the Tibetans or Belarussians with the authorities, whereas protests about everyday problems, such as rents in dormitories, are not popular. Therefore happenings are often organised, because they attract more attention, but do not require involvement of the onlookers. The members of the organisation believe that the lack of the society‘s involvement is caused by the current position of the Poles: on the one hand they are too rich to sympathise with the sufferers, on the other hand they are too poor to have the excess of time and money which they could dedicate to others.

Description of the Exhibition

The exhibition was to show how the protesters functioned in the former political system and how they function today. The most important elements were stories of two former members of Fighting Solidarity, Michał Gabryel and Wojciech Myślecki, as well as of Chairman of Young Wrocław, Tomasz Stefanicki. They show that the figure of a protester has not changed a lot: participation in public space is a result of their attitudes and needs. However, the ways of getting through to the society as well as the society’s involvement have changed.

Katarzyna Huss, born in 1985, studies Mathematics and Polish philology at the University of Wrocław. Translation by Katarzyna Huss and Malwina Zaremba.