Table of Contents
What was the Solidarity movement and why was it important?
In the early 1980s, it became the first independent labor union in a Soviet-bloc country. Solidarity gave rise to a broad, non-violent, anti-Communist social movement that, at its height, claimed some 9.4 million members. It is considered to have contributed greatly to the Fall of Communism.
What general did Lech Walesa replace as president of Poland?
| Lech Wałęsa | |
|---|---|
| In office 22 December 1990 – 22 December 1995 | |
| Prime Minister | Tadeusz Mazowiecki Jan Krzysztof Bielecki Jan Olszewski Waldemar Pawlak Hanna Suchocka Waldemar Pawlak Józef Oleksy |
| Preceded by | Wojciech Jaruzelski, Ryszard Kaczorowski (as last Polish President-in-exile) |
| Succeeded by | Aleksander Kwaśniewski |
What is the Polish national animal?
white-tailed eagle
National Animal The European bison and the white stork have a long history with Poland and are believed to be the two national animals of the country. However, Poland’s enduring national symbol is the white-tailed eagle (Latin: Haliaeetus albicilla), shown in the coat of arms.
What is the importance of Solidarity?
Abstract: The purpose of solidarity is to build our movement, and to embody our mutual care and concern for justice. Solidarity works best when we respect each other’s differing needs and life circumstances, understand that there are many ways of being in solidarity, and co-ordinate our responses.
Who was Lech wałesa and what did he do?
Wałęsa worked closely with the Workers’ Defence Committee ( KOR ), a group that emerged to lend aid to people arrested after the 1976 labor strikes and to their families. In June 1978, he became an activist of the underground Free Trade Unions of the Coast ( Wolne Związki Zawodowe Wybrzeża ).
When did Lech wałesa get the Nobel Peace Prize?
In 1983, Wałęsa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Since then he has received more than 30 state decorations and more than 50 awards from 30 countries, including Order of the Bath (UK), Order of Merit (Germany), Legion of Honour (France) and European Human Rights Prize (EU 1989).
When did Lech wałesa go on strike in Gdansk?
On 14 August 1980, another rise in food prices led to a strike at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, of which Wałęsa was one of the instigators. Wałęsa climbed over the shipyard fence and quickly became one of the strike leaders. The strike inspired other similar strikes in Gdańsk, which then spread across Poland.
What was the name of the shipyard where wałesa worked?
While working at the Lenin Shipyard (now Gdańsk Shipyard), Wałęsa, an electrician, became a trade-union activist, for which he was persecuted by the Communist authorities, placed under surveillance, fired in 1976, and arrested several times.