1981 Warning Strike in Poland - The Strike

The Strike

Timothy Garton Ash, who was in Poland at that time, wrote that Solidarity's mobilisation of its members was swift and effective, making it "the most impressive democratic mass mobilization of any modern European society in peacetime, against its rulers' wishes". In his opinion, Poland looked like a country going to war, with national red and white flags everywhere, and the women making red and white armbands for men who were to guard the occupied factories. The National Strike Committee was established in Gdańsk, in the cradle of Solidarity — the Lenin Shipyard. Its members were Lech Wałęsa, Andrzej Gwiazda, Zbigniew Bujak, Andrzej Cierniewski, Lech Dymarski, Krzysztof Gotowski, Marian Jurczyk, Ryszard Kalinowski, Antoni Kopczewski, Bogdan Lis and Andrzej Słowik.

Soon came three Solidarity's instructions to the workers:

1. In case of a General Strike. It specified a countrywide occupation-strike, where worker guards would be on a 24-hour watch, forbidding possession or consumption of any alcoholic beverages;
2. In case of a State of Emergency. It specified steps to be taken in case of militarization of factories, urging the formations of shadow strike committees;
3. In case of a Foreign Intervention. It suggested possible means of passive resistance to foreign troops in case of an invasion.

Apart from the National Strike Committee, several Interfactory Founding Committees (MKZ) were created in major cities. For security reasons, these offices were moved to large factories for the time of the strike, no matter how long it was planned to be. Therefore:

• Białystok Committee was placed in the Factory of Instruments and Handles in Białystok,
• Katowice Committee was placed in the Baildon Steelworks in Katowice,
• Kraków Committee was placed in the Vladimir Lenin Steel Works in Nowa Huta,
• Łódź Committee was placed in the Julian Marchlewski Cotton Plant in Łódź,
• Lublin Committee was placed in the Automotive Factory in Lublin,
• Opole Committee was placed in the Frotex Factory in Prudnik,
• Poznań Committee was placed in the Cegielski Factory in Poznań,
• Przemyśl Committee was placed in the Plywood Factory in Przemyśl,
• Rzeszów Committee was placed in the Communications Equipment Factory in Rzeszów,
• Sandomierz Land Committee was placed in the Steel Works in Stalowa Wola,
• Szczecin Committee was placed in the Szczecin Shipyard,
• Warsaw Committee was placed in the Ursus Factory in Warsaw,
• Wrocław Committee was placed in the joined factories of Pafawag and Dolmel in Wrocław.

The preparations of strike reflected an unprecedented level of planning, and in effect, Poland became dotted with worker fortresses, patrolled by round-the-clock guards and the strike itself is until today regarded as the biggest organizational success of Solidarity, with virtually all working people of Poland participating in it. Historians from the Institute of National Remembrance claim that in late March 1981, Solidarity was at the "peak of its popularity", and this fact was reflected on Friday, March 27, 1981. The strike itself took place "in an atmosphere of calm, order, and dignity.".

Even though virtually all Polish workers took part in it, basic services and crucial industrial plants, such as steelworks and armament factories, were operating without breaks. Nevertheless, Solidarity announced that these plants would go on strike as well, in case of armed intervention. Almost all schools, universities and colleges joined the strike, as well as public TV (back then, there were no private TV stations in Poland). Television screens in Poland showed during the four hours of protest the words "Solidarity-Strike" and the whole country was brought to a halt. Those who had to keep working, like employees of hospitals, put on white-red armbands, to express their solidarity.