Download or read book Revolution and Counterrevolution in Poland 1980 1989 written by Andrzej Paczkowski and published by Boydell & Brewer. This book was released on 2015 with total page 405 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the 1980 Solidarity revolution in Poland, the government's subsequent establishment of martial law in response, in 1981, and the eventual transition to democracy in 1989.
Download or read book From Solidarity to Martial Law written by Andrzej Paczkowski and published by . This book was released on 2007-01-10 with total page 608 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents 95 documents on the months between Au. 1980 when Solidarity was founded and Dec. 1981 when Polish authorities declared martial law and crushed the opposition movement.
Download or read book From Solidarity to Martial Law written by Andrzej Paczkowski and published by Central European University Press. This book was released on 2007-01-10 with total page 600 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 95 documents on the events that represent a pivotal moment in modern Polish and world history: 16 months between August 1980 when the Solidarity trade union was founded and December 1981 when Polish authorities declared martial law and crushed the nationwide opposition movement that had grown up around the union. Transcripts of Soviet and Polish Politburo meetings give a detailed picture of the goals, motivations and deliberations of the leaders of these countries. Records of Warsaw Pact gatherings, notes of bilateral sessions of the communist camp provide additional pieces to the puzzle of what Moscow and its allies had in mind. Materials are included from Solidarity, too.
Download or read book Solidarity s Secret written by Shana Penn and published by University of Michigan Press. This book was released on 2005 with total page 414 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first book to document women's crucial role in the fall of Poland's communist regime
Download or read book The Roots of Solidarity written by Roman Laba and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2014-07-14 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In July 1980, two weeks before the Gdansk shipyard strikes, Roman Laba arrived in Poland as an American graduate student. He stayed there for almost two and a half years before he was arrested and expelled from the country for "activities noxious to the interests of the Polish state." Laba had set himself the ambitious task of documenting the history of Poland's free trade union. Martial law was in force for the last year of his stay, but even during that time he continued his rescue of the unique historical materials that contribute so much to Roots of Solidarity. The book uses this hard-earned information to challenge the commonly accepted view of the Polish intelligentsia as the driving force behind Solidarity and to demonstrate that the roots of the movement go back a decade earlier than the 1980 strikes. Laba presents compelling evidence that Solidarity emerged directly from the activities of workers in the 1970s along the Baltic coast. It was not the intellectual elite but these workers, independent of and unknown to the rest of Poland, who created three crucial strategies for struggle against oppression: the sit-down strike, the interfactory strike committee, and the demand for free trade unions independent of the party state. This concise and provocative work is divided into two parts. The first is a narrative of the creation of Solidarity. The second shows how workers' resistance to the Leninist state gradually generated new forms of democratic organizations and politics. Laba criticizes elitist ways of understanding social movements and also presents an unusual analysis of Solidarity's ritual symbolism. In addition, new evidence transforms our understanding of the role of the police and the army in a one-party state. Originally published in 1991. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Download or read book Solidarity with Solidarity written by Idesbald Goddeeris and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2010 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Polish crisis in the early 1980s provoked a great deal of reaction in the West. Not only governments, but social movements were also touched by the establishment of the Independent Trade Union Solidarnosc in the summer of 1980, the proclamation of martial law in December 1981, and Solidarnosc's underground activity in the subsequent years. In many countries, campaigns were set up in order to spread information, raise funds, and provide the Polish opposition with humanitarian relief and technical assistance. Labor movements especially stepped into the limelight. A number of Western European unions were concerned about the new international tension following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the new hard-line policy of the US and saw Solidarnosc as a political instrument of clerical and neo-conservative cold warriors. This book analyzes reaction to Solidarnosc in nine Western European countries and within the international trade union confederations. It argues that Western solidarity with Solidarnosc was highly determined by its instrumental value within the national context. Trade unions openly sided with Solidarnosc when they had an interest in doing so, namely when Solidarnosc could strengthen their own program or position. But this book also reveals that reaction in allegedly reluctant countries was massive, albeit discreet, pragmatic, and humanitarian, rather than vocal, emotional, and political.
Download or read book Polish Revolution written by Timothy Garton Ash and published by . This book was released on 1998-09 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Timothy Garton Ash was with the strikers in the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk in August 1980 when the trade union Solidarity was born, in opposition to the Communist government. He witnessed their bravery and defiance and the emergence of an improbable leader and hero in the country's future president, Lech Walesa. This text recreates the ideals and terrors of that time, and exposes the mechanics of oppression of the communist regime.
Download or read book A Covert Action Reagan the CIA and the Cold War Struggle in Poland written by Seth G. Jones and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2018-09-11 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A tale of victory for peace, for freedom, and for the CIA— a trifecta rare enough to make for required reading.” —Steve Donoghue, Spectator USA In 1981, the Soviet-backed Polish government declared martial law to crush a budding democratic opposition movement. Moscow and Washington were on a collision course. It was the most significant crisis of Ronald Reagan’s fledgling presidency. Reagan authorized a covert CIA operation codenamed QRHELPFUL to support dissident groups, particularly the trade union Solidarity. The CIA provided money that helped Solidarity print newspapers, broadcast radio programs, and conduct an information campaign against the government. This gripping narrative reveals the little-known history of one of America’s most successful covert operations through its most important characters—spymaster Bill Casey, CIA officer Richard Malzahn, Solidarity leader Lech Walesa, Pope John Paul II, and the Polish patriots who were instrumental to the success of the program. Based on in- depth interviews and recently declassified evidence, A Covert Action celebrates a decisive victory over tyranny for US intelligence behind the Iron Curtain, one that prefigured the Soviet collapse.
Download or read book KOR written by Jan Józef Lipski and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2023-11-10 with total page 572 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The signing of the Gdansk Agreements in August 1980 signaled the birth of the Solidarity independent trae union movement. The sixteen months that followed until the December 1981 declaration of martial law remain one of the most fascinating chapter in the history of communist states. But the events of August 1980 did not materialize from thin air. The groundwork for Solidarity was prepared five years before when a group of dissident intellectuals gathered to boldly proclaim their solidarity with persecuted workers at Random and Ursus. This group called itself the Komitet Obrony Robotnikow (KOR) or the Worker's Defense Committee. What was KOR? What were the social and political circumstances that lead to its formation? And how did it presage a movement that would come to symbolize the hopes of a whole generation of Poles? The answers to these questions lie in the rare insights provided by one of Poland's most respected historians, Jan Jozef Lipski, who was also a found and active member of KOR. His book, translated from the Polish, is a meticulously detailed, insider's account of KOR from its formation in 1976 to its dissolution of 1981 when it was subsumed by the more powerful movement of mass, organized protest, Solidarity. The history of KOR is painted on the broad canvass of Polish society, in a manner which sheds light on the roles of other actors--workers, peasants, government officials, the Catholic Church, the Soviet Union--who also had a hand in shaping events during this period. KOR: A History of the Workers' Defense Committee in Poland is a work of first-rate importance unlike any other published in the West. It provides a deep insight into the origins of events in Poland, and will also inform those intersted in the process of liberation elsewhere in Eastern Europe. Although written with a historian's attention to detail and objectivity, it is a riveting work of sustained dramatic tension. For Lipski is a dissident who writes about Poland from Poland and the history he writes about is till in the making. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1985.
Download or read book Empowering Revolution written by Gregory F. Domber and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2014-10-06 with total page 413 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the most populous country in Eastern Europe as well as the birthplace of the largest anticommunist dissident movement, Poland is crucial in understanding the end of the Cold War. During the 1980s, both the United States and the Soviet Union vied for influence over Poland's politically tumultuous steps toward democratic revolution. In this groundbreaking history, Gregory F. Domber examines American policy toward Poland and its promotion of moderate voices within the opposition, while simultaneously addressing the Soviet and European influences on Poland's revolution in 1989. With a cast including Reagan, Gorbachev, and Pope John Paul II, Domber charts American support of anticommunist opposition groups--particularly Solidarity, the underground movement led by future president Lech Wa&322;&281;sa--and highlights the transnational network of Polish emigres and trade unionists that kept the opposition alive. Utilizing archival research and interviews with Polish and American government officials and opposition leaders, Domber argues that the United States empowered a specific segment of the Polish opposition and illustrates how Soviet leaders unwittingly fostered radical, pro-democratic change through their policies. The result is fresh insight into the global impact of the Polish pro-democracy movement.
Download or read book Seeing Through the Eyes of the Polish Revolution written by Jack M. Bloom and published by Brill Academic Publishers. This book was released on 2013 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jack M. Bloom presents a moving account of how an opposition developed and triumphed in communist Poland, showing the perspectives and experiences of the participants, while often letting them recount their own stories and explain their thinking.
Download or read book Preparing for Martial Law Through the Eyes of Col Ryszard Kuklinski written by Central Intelligence Agency and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2019-03-13 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Between July 1980 and December 13, 1981, Poland stumbled through the most serious political crisis faced by a Warsaw Pact member since the Prague Spring in Czechoslovakia in 1968. The resolution of this crisis through the declaration of martial law by the Polish authorities provided only a temporary respite. The rise and suppression of the trade union Solidarity, followed by the inability of Polish communist authorities to restore political credibility or economic activity, were key developments that created the conditions that led to the eventual collapse of the Warsaw Pact by the end of the decade. On one side was a Polish society deeply disenchanted with its political system and the mismanagement of its economy that resulted in increased deprivation in the late 1970's. Initial strikes in July and August 1980 protesting relatively mild increases in meat prices escalated as workers vowed not to accept near-term promises by the authorities. For the first time in post-war Poland, workers were joined by intellectuals bent on changing the broader political system. The meteoric and chaotic rise of Solidarity resulted in a mass movement with increasing determination to pursue fundamental change. Facing this unprecedented development was a communist party apparatus with limited support, even from its members, and one that was lulled into lethargy by the vain hope of restoring calm with the time-tested tactic of buying off the opposition. Senior political and military authorities were averse to using force in the early months because of the memories of the deaths of shipyard workers during the uprisings in the Gdansk shipyards in December 1970. As events spiraled out of control during the 18 months of the crisis, powers that be engaged in lengthy discussions of whether, when, and how Polish authorities could impose order through martial law. This discussion was strongly influenced by the hard line taken by Soviet political and military leaders who continually and arrogantly pushed Polish authorities to immediately resort to force. Soviet officials not so subtly tried to intimidate Polish authorities by implying that they would use both their own forces in addition to other Warsaw Pact forces to restore order (if necessary). Partly out of consideration for self-preservation and partly as a result of intense Soviet pressure, Polish authorities slowly and sometimes grudgingly proceeded with operational planning to introduce martial law. These plans, including all the required legal documentation, were essentially completed by the fall of 1981. In 1972, Ryszard Kuklinski, a senior officer on the Polish General Staff, volunteered his services to the United States at a time of increased friction between the Soviet Bloc and the Free World. Over the coming years, Kuklinski provided the CIA with thousands of pieces of key information regarding the Warsaw Pact. During the Polish crisis he continued to provide such information and also provided information and commentary regarding internal Polish developments and Soviet pressures.
Download or read book Lech Wa sa and His Poland written by Mary Craig and published by Burns & Oates. This book was released on 1987 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book White Spots Black Spots written by Adam Daniel Rotfeld and published by University of Pittsburgh Press. This book was released on 2015-07-18 with total page 707 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Poland and Russia have a long relationship that encompasses centuries of mutual antagonism, war, and conquest. The twentieth century has been particularly intense, including world wars, revolution, massacres, national independence, and decades of communist rule—for both countries. Since the collapse of communism, historians in both countries have struggled to come to grips with this difficult legacy. This pioneering study, prepared by the semi-official Polish-Russian Group on Difficult Matters, is a comprehensive effort to document and fully disclose the major conflicts and interrelations between the two nations from 1918 to 2008, events that have often been avoided or presented with a strong political bias. This is the English translation of this major study, which has received acclaim for its Polish and Russian editions. The chapters offer parallel histories by prominent Polish and Russian scholars who recount each country's version of the event in question. Among the topics discussed are the 1920 Polish-Russian war, the origins of World War II and the notorious Hitler-Stalin pact, the infamously shrouded Katyn massacre, the communization of Poland, Cold War relations, the Solidarity movement and martial law, and the renewed relations of contemporary Poland and Russia.
Download or read book A Secret Life written by Benjamin Weiser and published by PublicAffairs. This book was released on 2019-11-19 with total page 453 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In August 1972, Ryszard Kuklinski, a highly respected colonel in the Polish Army, embarked on what would become one of the most extraordinary human intelligence operations of the Cold War. Despite the extreme risk to himself and his family, he contacted the American Embassy in Bonn, and arranged a secret meeting. From the very start, he made clear that he deplored the Soviet domination of Poland, and believed his country was on the wrong side of the Cold War. Over the next nine years, Kuklinski -- code name "Jack Strong" -- rose quickly in the Polish defense ministry, acting as a liaison to Moscow, and helping to prepare for a "hot war" with the West. But he also lived a life of subterfuge -- of dead drops, messages written in invisible ink, miniature cameras, and secret transmitters. In 1981, he gave the CIA the secret plans to crush Solidarity. Then, about to be discovered, he made a dangerous escape with his family to the West. He still lives in hiding in America. Kuklinski's story is a harrowing personal drama about one man's decision to betray the Communist leadership in order to save the country he loves, and the intense debate it spurred over whether he was a traitor or a patriot. Through extensive interviews and access to the CIA's secret archive on the case, Benjamin Weiser offers an unprecedented and richly detailed look at this secret history of the Cold War.
Download or read book Poland s Self Limiting Revolution written by Jadwiga Staniszkis and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2019-01-29 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is not only an explanation of the political dynamic that led to the Polish "revolution" and the birth of Solidarity in 1980 and 1981 but an extremely important analysis of postwar East Central Europe. Although intimately involved with various aspects of Solidarity's activities, Jadwiga Staniszkis maintains a detached and critical attitutde toward the movement. Dr. Saniszkis was one of seven advisers allowed in the Gdansk shipyard during the strikes of August 1980, negotiating on behalf of the workers. Offering interpretations of events made virtually as they were occurring, she is still able to weave these interpretations into an analytic scheme that is clearly the work of a profound and original sociologist. The author demonstrates how the authoritarian regime of Poland succeeded in incorporating and, as it were, domesticating developments that would be seen by a less astute observer (or by a traditional social scientist) as disruptive or threatening to the system's stability. Moving beyond analyses derived from totalitarian and interest group models for the study of "socialist" societies, she attempts to understand present-day Poland as a corporatist society. A sociologist of organizations, she clarifies the intricate system of mechanisms that compensates for the irrationalities produced by the ideological restrictions of Polish society. Sensitive to the symbolic manipulation in social control, she analyzes such phenomena as simulation of interest group representation and ritualization of the periodic crises of the regime. This work is a major contribution to our understanding of the so-called people's democracies. Jadwiga Staniszkis received her Ph.D. and habilitation (Docent) in sociology at the University of Warsaw. Her dissertation, "Pathologies of Organizational Structure," won the Polish Sociological Association Prize in 1976. Dr. Staniszkis visited the United States twice, as the fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies and as a recipient of the Eisenhower Fellowship, Jan T. Gross is the author of Polish Society under German Occupation (Princeton). Originally published in 1984. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Download or read book State Formation in China and Taiwan written by Julia C. Strauss and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2020 with total page 295 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An ambitious comparative study of regime consolidation in the 'revolutionary' People's Republic of China and 'conservative' Taiwan in the early 1950s.
