Dissent In Poland

The materials in this collection focus primarily on the period from 1956 to 1989 and help illuminate several key moments in Polish opposition history. The collection is divided into three major parts. The first part contains diaries of the martial law period (1981 to 1983). Most of these were written by Solidarity activists, but there are also accounts from other imprisoned activists and from participants in the largescale strike movement and other protest actions. This sub-division also contains diaries penned by representatives of the "other side," namely, soldiers and police officers who took part in the events. The second part is titled "the period of the Polish People's Republic," and contains diaries and memoirs covering the period from 1944 (the Soviet liberation of Poland) to 1989 (the end of Communist rule in Poland). The third part, titled "Private Initiative" and covering the period from 1945 to 1989, gathers together documentary evidence of those engaged in the semi-legal and illegal private sectors of the political economy. Usually referred to in official sources as "speculators" (or by other pejorative colloquial terms), these people significantly influenced the social life of the country through their struggle for economic independence. The materials are particularly valuable in examining the political and social history of the Communist era in Poland before the imposition of martial law--everyday life as well as the rise of anti-Communist protest through both underground activity and open movements such as Solidarity. The Polish opposition that culminated in Solidarity was the strongest and most effective in Eastern Europe; its history is therefore crucial to understanding the eventual retreat from Communism and the emergence of an autonomous civil society in the region.