December 16, 1981 (Wednesday)
- Pacification of Wujek: Three days after martial law had gone into effect, riot police in Poland broke up a sit-down strike by 2,000 workers at the Wujek coal mine in Katowice. The police brought in tanks and fired into the crowd, even shooting at emergency workers attempting to render aid. In the fighting, nine miners and four ZOMO police were killed. A 100-foot tall concrete cross was erected ten years later to commemorate the deaths, and 25 years after the shootings, former ZOMO commander Romuald Cieslak and 14 officers were sentenced to prison.
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