Martial law in Poland 1981–1983

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Tanks on the streets during martial law
The Announcement of the Introduction of Martial Law (1981)

The martial law in Poland 1981-1983 ( Polish wojenny stan for war ) was a measure of the regime of the People's Republic of Poland under Wojciech Jaruzelski , the democracy movement and the free trade union Solidarity to smash. It was connected with the militarization of administration, economy and the media, the abolition of civil rights and a wave of arrests and repression spreading across the country.

Preceding events

Under the fourth chairman of the Polish United Workers' Party (PVAP), Edward Gierek , who came into office as a result of the uprising in 1970 , Poland initially experienced a “small economic miracle”, which, however, was mainly based on loans from the Federal Republic of Germany . But in the mid-1970s, Poland's economic situation deteriorated. The government was forced to abolish various subsidies ; However, this led to a wave of price increases, whereupon protests and strikes broke out across the country in June 1976 ; In the Ursus tractor works in Warsaw and in the central Polish voivodeship town of Radom , two demonstrators were killed when they were suppressed.

The worsening economic and social situation in the country caused growing resentment among the population and in August 1980 led to a massive wave of strikes . As a result, the independent trade union Solidarność was founded. It united the hitherto fragmented illegal democratic opposition and established the first organization of its kind in the entire Soviet bloc . Because of the enormous pressure of the public the PUWP had by Lech Walesa led Solidarity eventually legalize. Almost 10 million Poles then registered as members within a few months.

Not only in the PVAP, but above all in the Soviet leadership under Leonid Brezhnev , Solidarność was seen as a threat to the communist regime's claim to power. The Politburo of the CPSU in Moscow put increasing pressure on Warsaw to “restore order in the country”.

At a secret meeting of representatives of the party leaderships of the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of Poland in the Soviet border town of Brest in April 1981, Yuri Andropov , the head of the KGB , and the Soviet Defense Minister Dmitry Ustinov urged their interlocutors, who in September 1980 was appointed chairman of the PVAP Stanisław Kania and Defense Minister Wojciech Jaruzelski to violently suppress the democracy and protest movement. If necessary, the socialist allies could "send in troops". Kania and Jaruzelski described such a solution as "impossible", but undertook to restore the party's power "by their own means".

In October 1981 Kania, who from Moscow's point of view was too compliant with the opposition, had to vacate his place at the head of the PVAP. He was succeeded by Jaruzelski, who was previously the military chief and now also chairman of the Council of Ministers , and thus head of government. With his assumption of office, the influence of the military on the PVAP and the entire state apparatus grew. In internal discussions with representatives of the Moscow leadership, he said that he would argue in his actions like the former Polish Marshal Józef Piłsudski , who had also stabilized the country in 1926 when the military took power ; the Polish people will understand this.

Both sides agreed on a propaganda concept: Representatives of the Soviet military leadership should threaten an invasion so that martial law as a “lesser evil” would not only be accepted by Jaruzelski's own compatriots, but also by the West. In the minutes of the Politburo of the CPSU it says: "The factor that slows the counterrevolution, which consists in the fact that the internal reaction and international imperialism fear that the Soviet Union could send troops to Poland, should be exploited to the maximum."

Martial law was declared on December 13, 1981

Despite Solidarność's willingness to compromise, the Polish People's Army and other security organs took over on the night of December 12th to 13th, 1981 , such as the civil militia ( Milicja Obywatelska ) and their barracked special force ZOMO, which was deployed against demonstrators and strikers Power in Poland. A total of 70,000 soldiers and 30,000 ZOMO officers were deployed that day to set up checkpoints across the country.

More than 3,000 people were also arrested, including almost the entire leadership of Solidarność , many opposition intellectuals, but also some former top officials of the PVAP, including Edward Gierek and Piotr Jaroszewicz . The Solidarity itself was banned.

On Sunday, December 13, 1981, every hour from the early morning hours, television broadcast a pre-recorded speech by Jaruzelski announcing the establishment of a National Salvation Military Council ( Wojskowa Rada Ocalenia Narodowego , WRON ) and martial law over the country had been imposed. The military council consisted of 15 generals, an admiral and five colonels, including Jaruzelski himself Florian Siwicki and Czesław Kiszczak . The Polish constitution of that time did not provide for the creation of such an organ, but the formation and all orders of the Military Council were confirmed by members of the State Council .

Important facilities such as authorities, production plants as well as radio and television were occupied by the military. The television news read officers in uniform. Freedom of movement and assembly were restricted, schools and universities were closed. There was a curfew across the country .

The telephone connections between the big cities were completely shut down for 29 days after the imposition of martial law. In this way, the military wanted to prevent contacts between the individual Solidarność centers . Later, automatic announcements were switched in all telecommunications offices, which informed every user every minute with the announcement "Controlled conversation" (" rozmowa kontrolowana "). Even if not every conversation was bugged, this practice served to intimidate.

Under martial law

Grocery card during rationing under martial law

A total of around 10,000 people were interned under martial law . In many cases, children of political prisoners were placed in homes. The ZOMO hit more than 350 strikes and protest rallies down the laws of war. While storming the “Wujek” coal mine in Katowice , which was occupied by Solidarność members, she shot and killed nine miners. A total of around 25 strikers and demonstrators were killed in clashes with ZOMO under martial law. Around a dozen political activists from the ranks of the democracy movement were also murdered by “unknown perpetrators”. Martial law resulted in a wave of emigration from Poles with higher education, including 22,000 engineers, 3,000 doctors and 3,000 highly qualified scientists.

Contrary to the expectations of the PVAP leadership, the economic situation deteriorated further. These were economic sanctions that several Western countries under the initiative of Ronald Reagan had imposed on Poland, contributed decisively. Most foods, such as meat, sugar, flour and butter, were rationed, and the basic supply of medicines collapsed. Long queues in front of the empty shops dominated everyday life. The gross domestic product fell by a quarter, the Ministry of Economy reduced the subsidies on food and energy, resulting in a doubling or tripling of the cost to the consumer.

Several Solidarność leaders who had been pushed underground , including Zbigniew Bujak and Władysław Frasyniuk , rebuilt their conspiratorial structures. It emerged underground publishers , even an unofficial relief organization was founded to members to support of internees. Several Solidarność offices abroad were also set up . On the second anniversary of its original legalization on August 31, 1982, 120,000 people protested against martial law in Warsaw. The ZOMO took in a big action 5000 fixed by them, with a consequential street fight at least five demonstrators were killed.

Towards the end of martial law, the regime tried to find ways of reaching understanding with social forces that did not belong to Solidarność by founding the Patriotic Movement for National Rebirth ( Patriotyczny Ruch Odrodzenia Narodowego , PRON ) .

On July 22, 1983, the government officially repealed martial law.

After the end of martial law

After the end of martial law, the opposition activists who had been detained without a trial were released, but several thousand convicted activists remained in custody. Civilians returned to the forefront of the state media, as did PVAP officials again in charge of the authorities. In the economic sector, tentative reforms began, but the economic situation did not improve and the deficit economy gave rise to a flourishing black market .

Domestic political pressure did not decrease either. Demonstrations continued to be suppressed, and Solidarność representatives remained on the wanted list. The media continued to be severely censored . The apparatus of repression was further expanded. A year after the official abolition of martial law, the Polish State Security Service had 70,000 posts and tens of thousands of informants, the highest number since the end of Stalinism .

The repression only gradually subsided after the policy of perestroika under Mikhail Gorbachev began in 1986 in the Soviet Union .

controversy

The imposition of martial law on Poland was strongly condemned by the governments of the United States and Great Britain ; they imposed economic sanctions and limited diplomatic contacts with Poland. Chancellor Helmut Schmidt , on the other hand, called martial law a contribution to stabilizing Poland and restoring the balance between the blocs in Europe.

Jaruzelski justified his actions until his death in 2014 with the alleged imminent danger of an invasion by the Soviet army , which he said would inevitably have led to bloodshed. However, the minutes of the Politburo in Warsaw and Moscow show that there was never any threat of an invasion. Excerpts of Soviet martial law files were published in 1995 by the Russian dissident Vladimir Bukovsky . He had belonged to a group of historians who, on behalf of President Boris Yeltsin , were supposed to search the archives of the Politburo of the CPSU for materials for the process of re-admitting the party he had banned.

Web links

Commons : Martial Law in Poland 1981–1983  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Thomas Urban : Poland . Munich 1998, p. 129.
  2. ^ Włodzimierz Borodziej : History of Poland in the 20th Century . Munich 2010, p. 353.
  3. ↑ Jerzy Holzer: "Solidarity" - the history of a free trade union in Poland. Munich 1985, p. 10.
  4. ↑ Wladimir Bukowski : Settlement with Moscow. The Soviet system of injustice and the guilt of the West . Bergisch Gladbach 1996, pp. 470-471.
  5. ↑ Jaruzelski's statement supported by the minutes of the Politburo meeting on December 10, 1981 , p. 529 (Russian; PDF; 539 kB)
  6. ↑ Wladimir Bukowski: Settlement with Moscow. The Soviet system of injustice and the guilt of the West . Bergisch Gladbach 1996, p. 479.
  7. ↑ a b Włodzimierz Borodziej: History of Poland in the 20th Century . Munich 2010, p. 368.
  8. ↑ Hamburger Abendblatt, January 11, 1982
  9. ↑ 13grudnia81.pl ( Memento of November 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Institute for National Remembrance (Polish)
  10. ↑ Lista Ofiar stanu wojennego.
  11. ^ Thomas Urban: Poland . Munich 1998, p. 83.
  12. ↑ a b Włodzimierz Borodziej: History of Poland in the 20th Century . Munich 2010, p. 370.
  13. ↑ Stan Wojenny w Polsce.
  14. ↑ Dieter Bingen : Pioneers of the upheaval in the Eastern Bloc. From Solidarność to Martial Law (1980–1981) , Federal Agency for Civic Education , February 10, 2009.
  15. ^ Włodzimierz Borodziej: History of Poland in the 20th Century . Munich 2010, p. 372.
  16. ↑ The Poles made the beginning of the end . In: The Parliament . August 11, 2014, p. 7, accessed March 26, 2021.
  17. ^ Tragic figure in Polish history (On the death of Wojciech Jaruzelski), http://www.sueddeutsche.de May 25, 2014 [1]
  18. ↑ Wladimir Bukowski: Settlement with Moscow. The Soviet system of injustice and the guilt of the West . Bergisch Gladbach 1996, p. 489.