Protesting, 40 Years Ago

[bigwheelzip]

I was fully expecting the labor movement at the Gadansk shipyard to be mercilessly crushed in a sea of martyrs, but 40 years ago the labor spokesman prevailed and signed the government agreement that acknowledged the creation of the Solidarity union, weakening communism's grip.
Lech Walesa.

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[Absalom]

The road to freedom wasn’t smooth, of course. Martial law did come the following year, and numerous people died in the suppression of protests over the next few years. Then Gorbachev came in 1985, and the long game was soon up. Five years later Walesa was Poland’s first freely elected president.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

At the time I thought Lech Walesa (sp?)was the bravest or most foolish man in the world. He had no understanding of a Republic or democracy, but knew Socialism and Fascism were total failures. But he bet his life and all those he cared about on the possibility of a free and better future! But the bullet free and neighboring "Singing" revolutions have made the world a much better place for their people!

Ivan

 

[bigwheelzip]

At the time I thought Lech Walesa (sp?)was the bravest or most foolish man in the world.

Or maybe the luckiest. He had the firm backing of his fellow Pole, Pope John Paul II, who was an active anti-communist.

 

[johnbeaver]

Also, Reagan and Thatcher

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

They were protesting the appalling and outrageous way workers were treated in a self-proclaimed "workers state". There is a good book, "Down with Big Brother" by Michael Dobbs, an excellent read. The conditions at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk made the robber barons look like philanthropists in comparison, of course the Commies had no muckrakers and free press to worry about.

 

[H Richard]

And they proved Socialism and Communism just doesn't work. Much to the betterment of our entire planet.

 

[dockmurgw]

The Polish people have always impressed me. They wrote the book on suffering at the hands of others, but always stand up and move forward. Hard to explain...there's just something about them.

 

[Absalom]

The Polish people have always impressed me. They wrote the book on suffering at the hands of others, but always stand up and move forward. Hard to explain...there's just something about them.

In the Middle Ages Poland-Lithuania became the largest and most powerful state in East/Central Europe, but later it had the bad luck to get caught between three great powers, Russia, Austria, and Prussia, which actually swallowed the country up.

No other large country in Europe just disappeared from the map for 125 years, from 1795 to 1918. And then two more dictators wanted it.

If you happen to be interested in military history and don’t mind very detailed and comprehenseive accounts, I recommend giving Robert Forczyk’s “Case White: The Invasion of Poland 1939” a try.

The story of the German “Blitzkrieg” rolling over helpless Poland has become mostly what everybody thinks they know. It was also mostly contemporary propaganda that served all sides’ purposes. There was very little blitz in that krieg, and the Poles gave the Germans a very hard time. Without the Soviet invasion, and had Poland’s purported “allies” not betrayed her, this could have gotten very uncomfortable for Hitler.

 

[Sistema1927]

The Soviet Union was on its death bed, just a hollow shell of its former self. Reagan and Thatcher were aiding it along by encouraging the likes of Walesa, sending the right signals in the right ways. I was proud to be in uniform at the time, and to call Ronald Reagan my Commander-in-Chief.

 

[Rudi]

The good old days.

 

[Drm50]

What do they call it when the same thing is done over and over expecting different results? Well that’s what communism is for the masses. Don’t be fooled those at the top pushing for some type of Marxist govt are not planning to live under it, they are planning on running it. They aren’t big on sharing power either. There is always a power struggle between parties that participated in the Marxist take overs. The losers get whacked. They can’t be left to agitate against the new Commies in power.

 

[delcrossv]

What do they call it when the same thing is done over and over expecting different results? Well that’s what communism is for the masses. Don’t be fooled those at the top pushing for some type of Marxist govt are not planning to live under it, they are planning on running it. They aren’t big on sharing power either. There is always a power struggle between parties that participated in the Marxist take overs. The losers get whacked. They can’t be left to agitate against the new Commies in power.

E.g.:

Cuba,
Cambodia
China
Venezuela
.....
The list goes on.