The international scientific conference Freedom Was Born in Poland: ‘Solidarity’ and the Development of the Political Situation in Central and Eastern Europe in the 1980s” is being held at the President Lech Kaczyński Central History Point in Warsaw.
The event is organized within the framework of the IPN Central Research Project entitled Solidarity and Social Resistance in the People’s Republic of Poland, 1956–1989.
Simultaneous interpretation in Polish and English is provided.
The year 2025 marks the 45th anniversary of the founding of “Solidarity”, a trade union that played a pivotal role in Poland’s transition - as well as that of the entire Central and Eastern European region- away from communism. The citizens of countries which, as a result of the Yalta agreements, had found themselves within the Soviet sphere of influence, undertook numerous efforts to break free from this domination by organizing diverse forms of resistance and opposition to the communist system.
The Polish people repeatedly stood in opposition to communism. However, the protests of 1956, 1968, 1970, and 1976 brought no long-term results, other than tactical concessions by successive leaders of the Polish United Workers’ Party (PZPR). Despite this, the persistent social resistance ensured that Poland remained the only country within the Soviet bloc in which agricultural collectivization failed, and the Catholic Church maintained its independence. By the mid-1970s, an increasingly severe economic crisis was unfolding, and shortages of essential goods were becoming part of daily life. The constitutional reform campaign undertaken at the turn of 1975 and 1976 prompted a renewed awakening of opposition circles.
The birth of “Solidarity” in August 1980 constituted a turning point in the modern history of Poland. These moments of national awakening had been awaited by Poles since the end of the Second World War. “Solidarity” represented not only a hope for economic improvement, but also awakened long-suppressed aspirations for freedom, restored a sense of dignity, reintroduced Christian values into public life, and marked a moral revival.
This movement also inspired the citizens of other Central and Eastern European nations to take a stand, ultimately contributing to the collapse of the communist system. During the First National Congress of “Solidarity” Delegates in September 1981, one of the organization’s key documents - the “Message to the Working People of Eastern Europe”- was adopted. This declaration was a symbolic gesture of solidarity, an expression of openness towards other nations under Soviet domination, and a sign of a shared aspiration for freedom.
It was “Solidarity” that in 1980 initiated the greatest peaceful revolution to take place after the Second World War - one which ultimately led to the fall of the most enduring symbol of a divided Europe: the Berlin Wall. The Autumn of Nations in 1989, though differing in form from the Polish negotiations of 1988–1989, echoed the energy and spirit of August 1980. The developments within the Soviet bloc at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s confirmed the crucial role played by the Polish August in shaping the course of the continent’s history.
In recognition of the magnitude and significance of these events, the IPN Historical Research Office organized this international academic conference devoted to the anti-communist opposition in the People’s Republic of Poland and other Central and Eastern European countries between 1980 and 1989.
The primary aim of the conference is to highlight the significance of “Solidarity” in the broader process of transformation in Central and Eastern Europe, which ultimately led to the collapse of communist regimes across the region.
The conference will address the following key thematic areas:
- the emergence of “Solidarity” in the context of the opposition and social resistance movements in Central and Eastern Europe during the 1980s;
- independent social and political initiatives in Central and Eastern Europe inspired by “Solidarity” (including political ideas, underground publishing, forms of civic activity, similarities and differences between the opposition in Poland and in other countries of the region);
- contacts between the Polish “Solidarity” movement and opposition groups in other Central and Eastern European states;
- international travel by “Solidarity” representatives in the 1980s aimed at raising awareness of the political situation in Poland, and the effects of these efforts;
- the reaction of Eastern Bloc states to the emergence and activity of “Solidarity”;
- official propaganda by Eastern Bloc regimes in response to the rise and development of the “Solidarity” movement;
- the year 1989 as a peaceful dismantling of the communist system in Poland and the beginning of similar transformations across Central and Eastern Europe;
- How the “Solidarity” movement and its implications have been remembered in Central and Eastern European countries.
Programme
Day 1.
9:00 am – 9:30 am Start of the conference
Panel 1
9:30 am – 10:00 am Dr Sebastian Pilarski (Institute of National Remembrance in Warsaw) On the Road to Freedom. NSZZ “Solidarność” in the Years 1980–1989.
10:00 am – 10:20 am Dr Grzegorz Majchrzak (Institute of National Remembrance in Warsaw),The Message of the First National Congress of Delegates of NSZZ “Solidarność” to the Working People of Eastern Europe and Its Reception Abroad.
10:20 am – 10:40 am Dr Michał Przeperski (Institute of History, Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw) The White Swan and the White Eagle. Was European Freedom Born in Poland in the 1980s?
10:40 am – 11:00 am Discussion
11:00 am – 11:20 am Break
Panel 2
11:20 am – 11:40 am Dr Andrzej Grajewski (“Gość Niedzielny”), What Was the Influence of the “Solidarity” Movement in Poland (1980–1981) on Societal Attitudes in the Soviet Union? Methodological Challenges and an Attempted Answer.
11:40 am – 12:00 pm Prof Nikolai Ivanov (University of Opole), “Solidarity” and Soviet Dissidents: Attempts to Establish Cooperation.
12:00 pm – 12:20 pm Dr Marzena Grosicka (Institute of National Remembrance, Kielce Branch), Disinformation Activities Conducted by the Telegrafnoje Agentstvo Sovetskogo Soyuza against NSZZ “Solidarność” in December 1980. A Case Study.
12:20 pm – 12:40 pm Discussion
12:40 pm – 1:20 pm Break
Panel 3
1:20 pm – 1:40 pm Dr Burkhard Olschowsky (Federal Institute for Culture and History of Eastern Europe in Oldenburg), NSZZ “Solidarność” from the Perspective of Workers and Authorities in the German Democratic Republic.
1:40 pm – 2:00 pm Dr Sebastian Drabik, Communist Propaganda against NSZZ “Solidarność” and the Opposition in the German Democratic Republic and Czechoslovakia in the 1980s.
2:00 pm – 2:20 pm Prof Dr hab. Mirosław Szumiło (Institute of National Remembrance in Warsaw / Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin), “Stopping the Polish Plague”. The Czechoslovak Authorities and NSZZ “Solidarność” in 1980–1981.
2:20 pm – 2:40 pm Discussion
2:40 pm – 3:00 pm Break
Panel 4
3:00 pm – 3:20 pm Michal Klima (Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes in Prague),Poland as an Inspiration for Czechoslovak Independent Circles.
3:20 pm – 3:40 pm Dr Peter Jašek (The Nation’s Memory Institute in Bratislava), Contacts Between the Solidarity Opposition in Poland and the Slovak Opposition in the 1980s.
3:40 pm – 4:00 pm Attila Apor (Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Budapest / Trianon Museum), History of the Duna Kör (Danube Circle). Environmental Protection as an Alternative in the Activities of the Hungarian Opposition in the 1980s.
4:00 pm – 4:20 pm Discussion
4:20 pm – 4:40 pm Break
4:40 pm – 6:00 pm Panel discussion entitled “»Solidarity« – Inspiration and Hope: The Resistance of the Nations of Central and Eastern Europe to the Communist System in the 1980s” with the participation of:
dr. Peter Jašek, Historian of the Institute of National Memory (Slovakia)
dr. Réka Földváryné Kiss, Chairwoman of the Committee of National Remembrance (Hungary)
dr. Kamil Nedvědický, Deputy Director of the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes (Czech Republic)
Moderated by: Dr hab. Cecylia Kuta, prof. UP JP II (Institute of National Remembrance Cracow Branch/ Pontifical University of John Paul II in Cracow)
Day 2 – 10 September 2025
Panel 5
9:00 am – 9:20 am Dr Daniel Filip-Afloarei (Institute for the Investigation of Communist Crimes and the Memory of the Romanian Exile), Ceaușescu and “Solidarity” – An Impossible Comparison.
9:20 am – 9:40 am Dr Klejd Këlliçi (University of Tirana) The Triumph of the Counterrevolutio. NSZZ “Solidarność” in the Perspective of the Albanian Authorities.
9:40 am – 10:00 am Dr Karolina Skobejko (Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw), Gdańsk Seen from the South. The Reception of “Solidarity” in the Yugoslav Media in the 1980s.
10:00 am – 10:20 am Discussion
10:20 am – 10:40 am Break
Panel 6
10:40 am – 11:00 am Dr hab. Patryk Pleskot, Prof UR (Institute of National Remembrance,
Warsaw Branch / University of Rzeszów) The Visit of the NSZZ “Solidarność” delegation to Japan in 1981 as a Manifestation of the Union’s International Activity. A Case Study.
11:00 am – 11:20 am dr Sebastian Pilarski (Institute of National Remembrance in Warsaw), Andrzej Słowik’s Illegal Stay in the West in the Context of Efforts to Affiliate NSZZ “Solidarność” with International Trade Union Centres.
11:20 am – 11:40 am Dr Monika Komaniecka-Łyp (Institute of National Remembrance, Cracow Branch), Contacts between the Solidarity Opposition and Representatives of the West in the Polish People’s Republic during the 1980s.
11:40 am – 12:00 pm Discussion
12:00 pm – 12:20 pm Break
Panel 7
12:20 pm – 12:40 pm Dr Arkadiusz Kazański (Institute of National Remembrance, Gdańsk Branch) “Charter ’84” and “Message to the Subjugated Nations of Central Europe ’87”.How the Underground Factory Commissions of NSZZ “Solidarność” on the Gdańsk Coast Fought for Independence.
12:40 pm – 1:00 pm Dr Monika Litwińska (Institute of National Remembrance in Warsaw), On the Eve of the Great Change. The International Human Rights Conference in Mistrzejowice in 1988 as a Forum for the Exchange of Ideas, Experiences, and Projects of the “Solidarity” Movement and Other Opposition Organisations from Central and Eastern European Countries with Representatives of the Free World.
1:00 pm – 1:20 pm Dr hab. Cecylia Kuta, Prof UPJPII (Institute of National Remembrance,Cracow Branch / Pontifical University of John Paul II in Cracow), “Printing out Freedom”: The Influence of “Solidarity” on the Development of the Independent Publishing Movement in Central and Eastern Europe, 1980–1989.
1:20 pm – 1:40 pm Discussion
1:40 pm – 2:20 pm Break
Panel 8
2:20 pm – 2:40 pm Dr Filip Gańczak (Institute of National Remembrance in Warsaw), “A Drowning Man Will Clutch at »Solidarity«”. Talks Between the Authorities of the German Democratic Republic and “Solidarity” in 1989–1990.
2:40 pm – 3:00 pm Dr Artur Brożyniak (Institute of National Remembrance, Rzeszów Branch),The Fall of the Communist System in Poland and Kazakhstan. An Attempt to Compare the Processes of Seizing Power.
3:00 pm – 3:20 pm Dr Adam Chmielecki (NSZZ “Solidarność” / Foundation for the Promotion of “Solidarity”), The Participation of NSZZ “Solidarność” Activists and Structures in the Democratisation of the Polish Political System at the Turn of the 1980s and 1990s, and Their Support for Democratisation Processes in Other Central European Countries.
3:20 pm – 3:40 pm Prof Dr hab Krzysztof Brzechczyn (Institute of National Remembrance,Poznań Branch / Faculty of Philosophy, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań), The Fall of Communism and the Political Transformation in Central and Eastern Europe in the Thought and Political Activity of “Fighting Solidarity”.
3:40 pm – 4:10 pm Discussion and summary of the conference