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08/19/2005

Walesa and Solidarity, Part II

Continuing with our story of Lech Walesa and the Solidarity
labor movement in Poland, recall that on August 30, 1980, the
Polish government authorized the Gdansk Agreement which
accepted “the formation of free trade unions as a genuine
representation of the working class,” including the right to strike.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin saw this as the greatest potential threat
to the Soviet Bloc since the Prague Spring. KGB Director Yuri
Andropov was demanding a crackdown.

On December 5, 1980, the Warsaw Pact leaders met in Moscow
to discuss the crisis. Polish leader Stanislaw Kania, who had
succeeded Edward Gierek in September, was told that unless he
moved against Solidarity and the Catholic Church, Warsaw Pact
forces would intervene. Eighteen divisions were already on the
border and Kania was shown plans for the occupation of
Poland’s cities and towns. Kania, in a private meeting with
Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, told him that military
intervention would be a disaster for the Soviet Union as well as
Poland. Brezhnev replied, “OK, we don’t march into Poland
now, but if the situation gets any worse we will come.” [Source:
“The Sword and the Shield,” Christopher Andrew and Vasili
Mitrokhin ..hereafter ‘S&S’]

As it turns out this was a bluff, as Soviet forces were already at
war in Afghanistan while everyone knew an invasion of Poland
would be a bloodbath resulting in Western economic sanctions.
Brezhnev and Andropov sought to pressure Poland into declaring
martial law to end Solidarity’s challenge to the one-party state.

Enter General Wojciech Jaruzelski. On February 9, 1981, the
former defense minister became prime minister of Poland.
“Jaruzelski was an enigmatic figure for most Poles. But he had a
relatively favorable public image due both to the fact that he had
refused to use troops against the workers in 1970 and to the
reputation of the armed forces as a most trusted state institution.”
[S&S]

But on March 4, the Kremlin summoned both Jaruzelski and
Communist party leader Kania, demanding to know when Poland
would declare martial law. But Kania didn’t give in, later telling
a member of the Polish Politburo, “In spite of the pressure from
Moscow, I don’t want to use force against the opposition. I don’t
want to go down in history as the butcher of the Polish people.”
[S&S]

Brezhnev addressed the Soviet Politburo on April 2.

“We have huge worries about the outcome of events in Poland.
Worst of all is that our friends listen and agree with our
recommendations, but in practice they don’t do anything. And a
counter-revolution is taking the offensive on all fronts!”

The defense minister, Dmitri Ustinov, said if Socialism was to
survive in Poland, “bloodshed is unavoidable.” “Solidarity,”
reported Andropov, “is now starting to grab one position after the
other” and went on:

“We have to tell them that martial law means a curfew, limited
movement in the city streets, strengthening state security [the
SB] in Party institutions, factories, etc. The pressure from the
leaders of Solidarity has left Jaruzelski in terribly bad shape,
while lately Kania has begun to drink more and more. [Ed. note:
Kania had quite a reputation in this regard.] This is a very sad
phenomenon.” [S&S]

On May 13, Pope John Paul II was shot in St. Peter’s Square. In
the weeks after, Warsaw Pact commander-in-chief Marshal
Kulikov accused Jaruzelski of being a coward. But by October,
Kania himself was expressing doubts about the whole Soviet
system, as told to a close supporter.

“The Soviet system of Socialism had failed the test. The fact that
the USSR was systematically buying grain in the West was an
indication of serious errors of the management of agriculture
The power of the Soviet regime was maintained only through the
army and other agencies of coercion.”

Kania went on to talk of strengthening ties between the United
States and China as well as the deteriorating situation in
Afghanistan.

“If at the present time the USSR still had some strategic
advantage over the USA, within three or four years it would lose
it, as the Soviet economy would no longer be able to meet the
additional expense of developing and producing new types of
armaments.”

By late November, 1981, Brezhnev stepped up his berating of
Jaruzelski and the general began to crack under the pressure. He
told the Polish Politburo on December 5 that there appeared to be
no alternative to declaring martial law. A plan was drawn up to
isolate Solidarity leaders and “extremists.” On December 8-9,
Jaruzelski briefed Marshal Kulikov on the timetable. 80,000
personnel had been selected to arrest 6,000 Solidarity activists in
a few days in what was dubbed “Operation X.”

On Saturday, December 12, Jaruzelski received permission from
the Kremlin for Operation X to commence that evening. Foreign
reporters without permanent accreditation would be expelled.
The arrests would begin at midnight. 4,200 would be detained
overnight and another 4,500 placed in “protective custody” on
Sunday. Lech Walesa was told he would be arrested unless he
entered talks with the government. At 6:00 AM, Jaruzelski
declared martial law and announced the creation of a “Military
Council for National Salvation.” The security forces had orders
to open fire if they encountered serious resistance.

For its part Solidarity had begun to believe all the talk about the
weakness of the Polish government and thus they were surprised
by the show of force. Poles awoke that Sunday morning to find
army checkpoints all over the place and declarations of martial
law posted to every street corner.

“Jaruzelski’s 6:00 AM broadcast was repeated throughout the
day, interspersed with Chopin polonaises and patriotic music.
Television viewers saw Jaruzelski, dressed in army uniform,
sitting at a desk in front of a large Polish flag. ‘Citizens and lady
citizens of the Polish People’s Republic!’ he began. ‘I speak to
you as a soldier and head of government! Our motherland is on
the verge of an abyss!’ Many interpreted his speech as a warning
that only martial law could save Poland from a Soviet invasion.”
[S&S]

Walesa was taken away by military escort and placed in a
government villa where he would remain for eleven months.
Archbishop Cardinal Josef Glemp’s homily that Sunday was
closely followed by authorities. Walesa and others would be
disappointed.

“Opposition to the decisions of the authorities under martial law
could cause violent reprisals, including bloodshed There is
nothing of greater value than human life.”

Historian Timothy Garton Ash wrote of Glemp’s performance,
“The Primate’s words were bitterly resented by many Christian
Poles who were, at that moment, preparing to risk their own lives
for what they considered greater values.”

Jaruzelski was relieved and Glemp’s words were repeatedly
broadcast on television. Violence was minimal, save for a sit-in
by 2,000 miners where seven were killed when security forces
moved in to break it up. Everyone seemed mindful of the threat
of Soviet intervention.

Back to Walesa, he had become a worldwide celebrity and it was
impossible for Poland’s security service to subject him to the
brutality reserved for others over the years. He refused to
negotiate and when urged to give up his resistance by Glemp’s
representative replied, “They’ll come to me on their knees!”

But on November 11, 1982, the anniversary of Polish
independence, and a day after the death of Leonid Brezhnev,
Lech Walesa was freed. Jaruzelski told enraged Soviet officials
that Walesa no longer had his Solidarity base but by January
1983, Walesa was back at his job in the Gdansk shipyards. A
few months later when he was spotted at a football game, 40,000
began shouting “Walesa!” and “Long live Solidarity!” Then a
nine-day visit by Pope John Paul in June further helped in putting
Walesa back into the international spotlight.

As for Solidarity, it was still outlawed and the Pope could not
meet with its leaders, except on the final day when Walesa was
granted an audience. A month later the government lifted martial
law.

But when Deputy Prime Minister Rakowski visited the shipyards
to address workers on the third anniversary of the August 1980
accords, he was upstaged by Walesa and Solidarity hecklers. It
was an embarrassing moment and the government decided to
broadcast a totally concocted video of Walesa, purportedly
showing examples of his corrupt ways.

“The dialogue was constructed by splicing together some of
Walesa’s public statements, misleading extracts from the stolen
tape-recording of his birthday celebrations and words spoken by
a Warsaw actor imitating Walesa’s voice.”

The dialogue included this fabricated exchange between Walesa
and his brother concerning his supposed fortune in the West.

Lech Walesa: You know all in all it is over a million dollars
Somebody has to draw it all and put it somewhere. It can’t be
brought into the country, though.

Stanislaw Walesa: No, no, no!

Lech: So I thought about it and they came here and this priest
had an idea that they would open an account in that bank, the
papal one. They give 15 percent there Somebody has to
arrange it all, open accounts in the Vatican. I can’t touch it
though or I’d get smashed in the mug. So you could

State security was trying to sabotage Walesa’s bid for the Nobel
Peace Prize. Continuing with the fake dialogue:

Lech Walesa: I’d get it if it weren’t for the Church! But the
Church is starting to interfere.

Stanislaw Walesa: Yeah, because they’ve put up the Pope again.

[S&S]

But on October 5, Walesa received word he had been awarded
the prize. To counter the government’s portrayal, he announced
he was giving his money to the Church. On his deathbed, Yuri
Andropov, who had succeeded Brezhnev, could hardly contain
his fury, but Jaruzelski was unmoved.

“A month later he wrote a remarkable letter to John Paul II
saying that he still often thought of their conversations during his
visit to Poland because, ‘regardless of understandable differences
in assessment, they were full of heartfelt concern for the fate of
our motherland and the well-being of man.” [S&S]

In April 1984, following Andropov’s death, Jaruzelski told
foreign minister Andrei Gromyko and defense minister Ustinov
that the Church was an ally, without whom progress is
impossible.

As previously stated, the Kremlin had been relying on a bluff
since 1980; that military intervention was a certainty unless there
was order. And so with the arrival of Mikhail Gorbachev (after
Andropov’s and Konstantin Chernenko’s deaths), he told Eastern
European leaders that they could no longer rely on the Red Army
to rescue them if they fell out of favor with their people. The
leaders didn’t want to share this secret with the public but it was
just a matter of time before folks put two and two together. But
typical of Gorbachev, who was incredibly na ve, he didn’t
understand he was also supplying the opening to the end of the
Communist era in Eastern Europe. “He expected the hardliners,
when they could hold out no longer, to be succeeded by a
generation of little Gorbachevs anxious to emulate the reforms
being introduced in Moscow. Few peacetime miscalculations
have had such momentous consequences. Once a new crisis
arose within the Soviet Bloc and it became clear that the Red
Army would stay in its barracks, the ‘Socialist Commonwealth’
was doomed.” [S&S]

By the beginning of 1989, Poland’s economy was in poor shape
and labor unrest was spreading. Solidarity was still banned but
Jaruzelski felt he had to seek its help in the hopes of keeping the
peace. Solidarity was re-legalized and Jaruzelski had the
constitution changed to give the union a voice in general
elections set for June. But while the Polish leader thought he had
rigged the process to give Solidarity only a minor seat at the
table, Lech Walesa and his movement swept to victory, winning
all 161 available seats in one chamber of the revised parliament,
while taking 99 of 100 in the other. The result stunned the
world. “Our defeat is total,” Jaruzelski told party leaders.

Jaruzelski was still able to take the newly created presidency
position for himself, but Solidarity was getting the prime
minister’s post. Walesa could have had this but he was afraid the
Communists remaining in parliament would make it too difficult
for him due to his world celebrity; so Tadeusz Mazowiecki, the
editor of Solidarnosc, was selected, thus becoming the first
noncommunist prime minister in Eastern Europe in 40 years.
The rest of the Soviet Bloc would soon follow and a year later,
Walesa defeated his former advisor for the presidency.

And it all started with a labor movement in a shipyard.

Additional Source: “Lech Walesa: The Road to Democracy,”
Rebecca Stefoff.

Next week, a look back at a key market peak, 9/1/00.

Brian Trumbore





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-08/19/2005-      
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Wall Street History

08/19/2005

Walesa and Solidarity, Part II

Continuing with our story of Lech Walesa and the Solidarity
labor movement in Poland, recall that on August 30, 1980, the
Polish government authorized the Gdansk Agreement which
accepted “the formation of free trade unions as a genuine
representation of the working class,” including the right to strike.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin saw this as the greatest potential threat
to the Soviet Bloc since the Prague Spring. KGB Director Yuri
Andropov was demanding a crackdown.

On December 5, 1980, the Warsaw Pact leaders met in Moscow
to discuss the crisis. Polish leader Stanislaw Kania, who had
succeeded Edward Gierek in September, was told that unless he
moved against Solidarity and the Catholic Church, Warsaw Pact
forces would intervene. Eighteen divisions were already on the
border and Kania was shown plans for the occupation of
Poland’s cities and towns. Kania, in a private meeting with
Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, told him that military
intervention would be a disaster for the Soviet Union as well as
Poland. Brezhnev replied, “OK, we don’t march into Poland
now, but if the situation gets any worse we will come.” [Source:
“The Sword and the Shield,” Christopher Andrew and Vasili
Mitrokhin ..hereafter ‘S&S’]

As it turns out this was a bluff, as Soviet forces were already at
war in Afghanistan while everyone knew an invasion of Poland
would be a bloodbath resulting in Western economic sanctions.
Brezhnev and Andropov sought to pressure Poland into declaring
martial law to end Solidarity’s challenge to the one-party state.

Enter General Wojciech Jaruzelski. On February 9, 1981, the
former defense minister became prime minister of Poland.
“Jaruzelski was an enigmatic figure for most Poles. But he had a
relatively favorable public image due both to the fact that he had
refused to use troops against the workers in 1970 and to the
reputation of the armed forces as a most trusted state institution.”
[S&S]

But on March 4, the Kremlin summoned both Jaruzelski and
Communist party leader Kania, demanding to know when Poland
would declare martial law. But Kania didn’t give in, later telling
a member of the Polish Politburo, “In spite of the pressure from
Moscow, I don’t want to use force against the opposition. I don’t
want to go down in history as the butcher of the Polish people.”
[S&S]

Brezhnev addressed the Soviet Politburo on April 2.

“We have huge worries about the outcome of events in Poland.
Worst of all is that our friends listen and agree with our
recommendations, but in practice they don’t do anything. And a
counter-revolution is taking the offensive on all fronts!”

The defense minister, Dmitri Ustinov, said if Socialism was to
survive in Poland, “bloodshed is unavoidable.” “Solidarity,”
reported Andropov, “is now starting to grab one position after the
other” and went on:

“We have to tell them that martial law means a curfew, limited
movement in the city streets, strengthening state security [the
SB] in Party institutions, factories, etc. The pressure from the
leaders of Solidarity has left Jaruzelski in terribly bad shape,
while lately Kania has begun to drink more and more. [Ed. note:
Kania had quite a reputation in this regard.] This is a very sad
phenomenon.” [S&S]

On May 13, Pope John Paul II was shot in St. Peter’s Square. In
the weeks after, Warsaw Pact commander-in-chief Marshal
Kulikov accused Jaruzelski of being a coward. But by October,
Kania himself was expressing doubts about the whole Soviet
system, as told to a close supporter.

“The Soviet system of Socialism had failed the test. The fact that
the USSR was systematically buying grain in the West was an
indication of serious errors of the management of agriculture
The power of the Soviet regime was maintained only through the
army and other agencies of coercion.”

Kania went on to talk of strengthening ties between the United
States and China as well as the deteriorating situation in
Afghanistan.

“If at the present time the USSR still had some strategic
advantage over the USA, within three or four years it would lose
it, as the Soviet economy would no longer be able to meet the
additional expense of developing and producing new types of
armaments.”

By late November, 1981, Brezhnev stepped up his berating of
Jaruzelski and the general began to crack under the pressure. He
told the Polish Politburo on December 5 that there appeared to be
no alternative to declaring martial law. A plan was drawn up to
isolate Solidarity leaders and “extremists.” On December 8-9,
Jaruzelski briefed Marshal Kulikov on the timetable. 80,000
personnel had been selected to arrest 6,000 Solidarity activists in
a few days in what was dubbed “Operation X.”

On Saturday, December 12, Jaruzelski received permission from
the Kremlin for Operation X to commence that evening. Foreign
reporters without permanent accreditation would be expelled.
The arrests would begin at midnight. 4,200 would be detained
overnight and another 4,500 placed in “protective custody” on
Sunday. Lech Walesa was told he would be arrested unless he
entered talks with the government. At 6:00 AM, Jaruzelski
declared martial law and announced the creation of a “Military
Council for National Salvation.” The security forces had orders
to open fire if they encountered serious resistance.

For its part Solidarity had begun to believe all the talk about the
weakness of the Polish government and thus they were surprised
by the show of force. Poles awoke that Sunday morning to find
army checkpoints all over the place and declarations of martial
law posted to every street corner.

“Jaruzelski’s 6:00 AM broadcast was repeated throughout the
day, interspersed with Chopin polonaises and patriotic music.
Television viewers saw Jaruzelski, dressed in army uniform,
sitting at a desk in front of a large Polish flag. ‘Citizens and lady
citizens of the Polish People’s Republic!’ he began. ‘I speak to
you as a soldier and head of government! Our motherland is on
the verge of an abyss!’ Many interpreted his speech as a warning
that only martial law could save Poland from a Soviet invasion.”
[S&S]

Walesa was taken away by military escort and placed in a
government villa where he would remain for eleven months.
Archbishop Cardinal Josef Glemp’s homily that Sunday was
closely followed by authorities. Walesa and others would be
disappointed.

“Opposition to the decisions of the authorities under martial law
could cause violent reprisals, including bloodshed There is
nothing of greater value than human life.”

Historian Timothy Garton Ash wrote of Glemp’s performance,
“The Primate’s words were bitterly resented by many Christian
Poles who were, at that moment, preparing to risk their own lives
for what they considered greater values.”

Jaruzelski was relieved and Glemp’s words were repeatedly
broadcast on television. Violence was minimal, save for a sit-in
by 2,000 miners where seven were killed when security forces
moved in to break it up. Everyone seemed mindful of the threat
of Soviet intervention.

Back to Walesa, he had become a worldwide celebrity and it was
impossible for Poland’s security service to subject him to the
brutality reserved for others over the years. He refused to
negotiate and when urged to give up his resistance by Glemp’s
representative replied, “They’ll come to me on their knees!”

But on November 11, 1982, the anniversary of Polish
independence, and a day after the death of Leonid Brezhnev,
Lech Walesa was freed. Jaruzelski told enraged Soviet officials
that Walesa no longer had his Solidarity base but by January
1983, Walesa was back at his job in the Gdansk shipyards. A
few months later when he was spotted at a football game, 40,000
began shouting “Walesa!” and “Long live Solidarity!” Then a
nine-day visit by Pope John Paul in June further helped in putting
Walesa back into the international spotlight.

As for Solidarity, it was still outlawed and the Pope could not
meet with its leaders, except on the final day when Walesa was
granted an audience. A month later the government lifted martial
law.

But when Deputy Prime Minister Rakowski visited the shipyards
to address workers on the third anniversary of the August 1980
accords, he was upstaged by Walesa and Solidarity hecklers. It
was an embarrassing moment and the government decided to
broadcast a totally concocted video of Walesa, purportedly
showing examples of his corrupt ways.

“The dialogue was constructed by splicing together some of
Walesa’s public statements, misleading extracts from the stolen
tape-recording of his birthday celebrations and words spoken by
a Warsaw actor imitating Walesa’s voice.”

The dialogue included this fabricated exchange between Walesa
and his brother concerning his supposed fortune in the West.

Lech Walesa: You know all in all it is over a million dollars
Somebody has to draw it all and put it somewhere. It can’t be
brought into the country, though.

Stanislaw Walesa: No, no, no!

Lech: So I thought about it and they came here and this priest
had an idea that they would open an account in that bank, the
papal one. They give 15 percent there Somebody has to
arrange it all, open accounts in the Vatican. I can’t touch it
though or I’d get smashed in the mug. So you could

State security was trying to sabotage Walesa’s bid for the Nobel
Peace Prize. Continuing with the fake dialogue:

Lech Walesa: I’d get it if it weren’t for the Church! But the
Church is starting to interfere.

Stanislaw Walesa: Yeah, because they’ve put up the Pope again.

[S&S]

But on October 5, Walesa received word he had been awarded
the prize. To counter the government’s portrayal, he announced
he was giving his money to the Church. On his deathbed, Yuri
Andropov, who had succeeded Brezhnev, could hardly contain
his fury, but Jaruzelski was unmoved.

“A month later he wrote a remarkable letter to John Paul II
saying that he still often thought of their conversations during his
visit to Poland because, ‘regardless of understandable differences
in assessment, they were full of heartfelt concern for the fate of
our motherland and the well-being of man.” [S&S]

In April 1984, following Andropov’s death, Jaruzelski told
foreign minister Andrei Gromyko and defense minister Ustinov
that the Church was an ally, without whom progress is
impossible.

As previously stated, the Kremlin had been relying on a bluff
since 1980; that military intervention was a certainty unless there
was order. And so with the arrival of Mikhail Gorbachev (after
Andropov’s and Konstantin Chernenko’s deaths), he told Eastern
European leaders that they could no longer rely on the Red Army
to rescue them if they fell out of favor with their people. The
leaders didn’t want to share this secret with the public but it was
just a matter of time before folks put two and two together. But
typical of Gorbachev, who was incredibly na ve, he didn’t
understand he was also supplying the opening to the end of the
Communist era in Eastern Europe. “He expected the hardliners,
when they could hold out no longer, to be succeeded by a
generation of little Gorbachevs anxious to emulate the reforms
being introduced in Moscow. Few peacetime miscalculations
have had such momentous consequences. Once a new crisis
arose within the Soviet Bloc and it became clear that the Red
Army would stay in its barracks, the ‘Socialist Commonwealth’
was doomed.” [S&S]

By the beginning of 1989, Poland’s economy was in poor shape
and labor unrest was spreading. Solidarity was still banned but
Jaruzelski felt he had to seek its help in the hopes of keeping the
peace. Solidarity was re-legalized and Jaruzelski had the
constitution changed to give the union a voice in general
elections set for June. But while the Polish leader thought he had
rigged the process to give Solidarity only a minor seat at the
table, Lech Walesa and his movement swept to victory, winning
all 161 available seats in one chamber of the revised parliament,
while taking 99 of 100 in the other. The result stunned the
world. “Our defeat is total,” Jaruzelski told party leaders.

Jaruzelski was still able to take the newly created presidency
position for himself, but Solidarity was getting the prime
minister’s post. Walesa could have had this but he was afraid the
Communists remaining in parliament would make it too difficult
for him due to his world celebrity; so Tadeusz Mazowiecki, the
editor of Solidarnosc, was selected, thus becoming the first
noncommunist prime minister in Eastern Europe in 40 years.
The rest of the Soviet Bloc would soon follow and a year later,
Walesa defeated his former advisor for the presidency.

And it all started with a labor movement in a shipyard.

Additional Source: “Lech Walesa: The Road to Democracy,”
Rebecca Stefoff.

Next week, a look back at a key market peak, 9/1/00.

Brian Trumbore