Ceremonies marking the 44th anniversary of the pacification of the 'Wujek' coal mine, with the participation of the President of the Republic of Poland, Karol Nawrocki were held on 16 December in Katowice.The Institute of National Remembrance was represented by Deputy President Krzysztof Szwagrzyk.
"Nothing and no one describes Solidarity better than what happened at the ‘Wujek’ coal mine. Three thousand people went on strike in the name of one person wronged by the communist authorities. They sang the Polish national anthem, believing that Poland had not yet perished as long as they lived, and in response to their prayers, the communists sent soldiers and tanks" - said President of the Republic of Poland Karol Nawrocki.
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"Can I open fire?"
"Don’t, wait for an order!"
This is how the exchange between ZOMO [Motorized Reserves of the Citizens' Militia] officers involved in the pacification of striking workers in the "Wujek" coal mine in Katowice was recorded in the security services log of the event. The exchange was immediately followed by a volley of shots. Apparently, the commanding officer was disobeyed.
Six of the miners died on the spot, three more were fatally wounded and two dozen suffered lighter injuries. This is how the ZOMO special platoon solved the problem and crushed resistance on 16 December 1981, three days into Martial Law in Poland.
The protest had started in the early hours of the 13th, when the miners had no idea about the new military legislation introduced on Polish territory; they just saw that the authorities were arresting leaders of the "Solidarity" Trade Union, among them Jan Ludwiczak of "Wujek". Enraged, the men stopped work and locked themselves on the premises, demanding that Ludwiczak be freed.
The communists, fixated on breaking the back of the opposition, responded with violence: the army surrounded the site, and the ZOMO troops charged. Their first detachments did not have guns, and the strikers were quite successful in repelling their attacks with makeshift weapons – but then a special platoon with firearms went into action.
Its members shot to kill, aiming carefully (later medical records mentioned a striking number of "head shots" and "stomach wounds"), and only then was the rebellion suppressed. The situation returned to the status quo ante, though only on the surface: the news of the tragedy in the "Wujek" mine reverberated throughout Poland, sparking outrage and strengthening determination.
Only a handful of the perpetrators were brought to justice, and just a few served time. What’s more, they were low-level troops, whereas the people who had sent them remain unpunished.
The death of innocent miners in the first days of Martial Law in Poland could not have gone unnoticed in the West. The massacre in Katowice was even condemned by local communist parties.
Find out more about this tragedy and read the article "The World is Watching. Foreign Reactions to the Pacification of the Wujek Mine":
The world is watching. Foreign reactions to the pacification of the “Wujek” mine