Background
The summer of 1981 was a very turbulent time in Communist Poland. The creation of Solidarity, the first independent mass political movement in the Eastern Bloc, raised the hopes of millions of Poles, and in the mid-1980s, Solidarity was by far the biggest non-religious organization of the country, with around 10 million members. However, at the same time, the economic crisis was so serious and food shortages in Poland were so common, that in several cities the so-called hunger demonstrations (or hunger processions) took place. The biggest protests occurred in Łódź, the city which suffered in particular from meat shortages.
According to the Rzeczpospolita daily, summer of 1981 was the “bottom of the crisis”. Virtually all products were lacking, including hay, meats, coffee, laundry detergents, sugar and cigarettes. In Warsaw, buses of the public transit authority, had no spare tires and the company announced that only main routes would be kept, adding that the public has to get used to the situation, in which "there is shortage of meat, soap, cigarettes and the decent transportation system". The situation was summarized by a grim Solidarity poster that appeared on Polish streets in early summer 1981. It showed a black skull with a crossed knife and fork under it. The first result of the ninth party congress: a cut in food rations, the poster said, referring to the 20 percent reduction in meat allotments.
According to the statistics, released at the end of July 1981, meat supplies had fallen 17% in the first six months of the year, and the government of Poland tried to control the situation by limiting meat allotments for the population of the country. It was announced, that starting in August 1981, some 16 million citizens would be able to purchase up to 3 kilograms of meats monthly, instead of 3.7 kilograms before (provided that there was any meat on the market). This announcement raised angry comments, Solidarity demanded control of food production, and there were rumors that the government was keeping meat away from the public. People were spending days, if not weeks, in lines to buy necessary products. In many cases, special Queue Social Committees were formed, which nominated the Head of the Queue - a person who drew up a list of those waiting, and at appointed times, checked the names. Those who did not show up, lost their place in the line.
Read more about this topic: Summer 1981 Hunger Demonstrations In Poland
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