Economic Crisis
Even after martial law was lifted, a number of restrictions remained in place for several years that drastically reduced the civil liberties of people living in Poland. It also led to severe economic consequences. The ruling junta instituted major price rises (dubbed "economic reforms"), which resulted in a fall in real terms of 20% or more in the income of the population. The resulting economic crisis led to the rationing of most products and materials, including basic food.
As a consequence of economic hardship, an exodus of Polish workforce took place in 1980s. From 1981 to 1989, around 700,000 persons left the country. A number of international flights were highjacked in attempts to flee the country and its economic problems. Between December 1980 and October 1983, 11 Polish flights were hijacked to Berlin Tempelhof Airport alone. In another act of international terrorism, a group calling themselves the Polish Revolutionary Home Army seized the Polish Embassy in Bern, Switzerland, taking several diplomats hostage in 1982, in an apparent provocation of the Polish secret services aimed to discredit the Solidarity movement.
Read more about this topic: Martial Law In Poland
Famous quotes containing the words economic and/or crisis:
“... business training in early life should not be regarded solely as insurance against destitution in the case of an emergency. For from business experience women can gain, too, knowledge of the world and of human beings, which should be of immeasurable value to their marriage careers. Self-discipline, co-operation, adaptability, efficiency, economic management,—if she learns these in her business life she is liable for many less heartbreaks and disappointments in her married life.”
—Hortense Odlum (1892–?)
“The amelioration of the world cannot be achieved by sacrifices in moments of crisis; it depends on the efforts made and constantly repeated during the humdrum, uninspiring periods, which separate one crisis from another, and of which normal lives mainly consist.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)