The Role of the Catholic Church in Solidarity in Poland

The Catholic Church and Solidarity in Poland

Poland from 1945 to 1989 was trapped under the Soviet Communist dominance. Poland was constantly ruined and under control of other countries. Before 1945, Soviet secret police assisted massacres in Poland, killing 20,000 soldiers, Soviets built concentration camps around Poland, additionally, German and Soviet mass bombing which caused to burn 84% of Warsaw, Poland’s capital. In 1947, Poland was under the Stalinist rule of Boleslaw Bierut and Poland became a Communist People’s Republic following the elections of the Soviets. Years after years, Poland citizens constantly lived without peace and harmony in their own country. This is what caused strikes and protests to occur in 1980 and what triggered Poland in 1981 to form Solidarity and martial law. These years as soon will be discussed, were very challenging for Poland; however, the outcome fortunately was very successful and caused the fall of communism. Poland was effectively the first non-communist country in Europe. Therefore, the reason that Poland can be considered one of the most successful anti-communist countries is from the help of the Polish pope, John Paul II, Roman Catholic Church and the strong beliefs for this religion.

Pope John Paul II, who became the first non-Italian pope in 1978, agreed with the ideas of Solidarity and did not like the way his native country, Poland, was functioning. A significant turning point of Poland is when the pope visited Poland for the first time in June 1979. The government believed only a few Poles would welcome the pope; in contrast, millions of Poles came to greet him, which greatly embarrassed the government. One historian, John Gaddis states “When Pope John Paul II kissed the ground at the Warsaw airport he began the process by which Communism in Poland—and ultimately elsewhere in Europe—would come to an end.” [1] The Pope shared his ideas of the movement in Poland by encouraging individuals to remain loyal to the Catholic Church and not to the Communistic state. His general message, to Poland and other countries, emphasized the values of freedom and liberty. Additionally, the Pope encouraged Polish citizens to continue their faith, tradition and culture, and to not let the events happening around Poland, affect what you believe.

A Polish political scientist, Bogdan Szajkowski says it was "A psychological earthquake, an opportunity for mass political catharsis...”[2] When the pope talked to the Polish citizens they finally felt powerful, they didn’t feel alone. Like George Wiegel wisely said, "It was a lesson in dignity, a national plebiscite, Poland's second baptism."[3] This was mostly capable of occurring because John Paul II was the most traveled pope in the history of the Roman Catholic Church, remained with his opinions and even went against almost every military dictator or communist government he has faced.[4] It is important to note that many officials believe in Catholicism; therefore, rejecting the ideas the pope was proposing was expectantly not a choice.

The pope’s first visit was very meaningful for my relatives who lived in Poland in 1979. My uncle, who was 22 years old, remembers the most from that day. He reflects the terrible feeling of not being able to go see the Pope. My relatives lived in a small town, far from all the cities the Pope visited; therefore, they were incapable of making the trip. He recollects the gathering of the entire family around his uncles “better” television, because the television they had at home was small and did not have great images, but both were black and white. He also shares that their family worked harder around the farm the day before so they can spend more time watching the Pope’s visit. The Pope had a total of 8 visits in Poland; however, because my uncle, being the oldest son, was very busy taking care of the farm only was able to watch three of the visits.

For the government, the Solidarity movement officially commenced in 1981, however, it was not a movement that began in 1981, but rather a continuation of working class strikes and issues that went on in 1956, 1968, 1970, and 1976. Situations in Poland were not improving. Poland’s international debt was increasing greatly and in 8 years it increased by about 20 billion that in 1979, the international debt was 20.5 billion dollars.[5] This caused Gierek, the secretary in charge of the Polish United Workers' Party in the Polish People's Republic, to increase food prices and decrease wages. In a large northern Polish city, Gdansk, workers at the Lenin shipyard were outraged about the changes but afraid to strike. However, a brave individual, Anna Walentynowicz, a popular crane operator, took action. On August 14th, 1980, the shipyard workers went on strike, led by Lech Walesa, a former shipyard worker who was fired in back in 1976 for demanding higher pay. Simply within days, about 200 factories joined The Interfactory Strike Committee. This committee sought the right to have an independent trade union and the right to strike. They created a list of 21 demands to publish their case. Four days later, the demands were written on two wooden boards and hung on the gates of the Lenin shipyard. Some of the demands stated, “An increase in the pay of each worker by 2,000 złoty a month”, “A full supply of food products for the domestic market, with exports limited to surpluses” and “Improvements in the working conditions of the health service.”[6] 17 days after the list was posted, the government agreed with two aspects and Walesa shared that news with the public at the shipyard shouting, "We have an independent, self-governing trade union! We have the right to strike!"[7] A month later, Walesa officially created the first trade union that was not communistic in a Warsaw Pact country. This union grew rapidly and comprised of 9 million people by 1981.

On December 13th, 1981 Polish citizens woke up to shocking news from their Prime Minister, General Wojciech Jauzelski. Jaruzelski declared a “state of war” or also known as a martial law. He announces, “Today I address myself to you as a soldier and as the head of the Polish government. I address you concerning extraordinarily important questions. Our homeland is at the edge of an abyss. The achievements of many generations and the Polish home that has been built up from the dust are about to turn into ruins. State structures are ceasing to function. Each day delivers new blows to the waning economy.” This was announced on a Sunday, which is a mandatory hour long mass. However, on this day my uncle recalls staying in church for practically the entire day with his parents, praying for the conditions and the new martial law to be improved quickly.

Jaruzelski ordered the government to take in custody of all Solidarity members, which included Lech Walesa, who spent 11 months in prison. Additionally, Solidarity was banned and prohibited all strikes, protests, demonstrations and other meetings besides religious masses; however, all individuals must be in their homes by 10 p.m. However, many individuals were frightened to be on the streets because there was the newly formed Military Council for National Salvation, which was commanded to shoot anyone breaking the new laws. The army with tanks was patrolling the streets. This was difficult for the Polish individuals to process because why are they causing pain on each other, knowing that almost all individuals in Poland were Roman Catholic and followed the religious beliefs.

The most patrolled areas were the larger cities, like Gdansk, Warsaw, Szczecin, and Łodz, all which had large strikes in 1980. My father and mother lived in small cities, far from these larger cities. They recall the lack of food, especially living on the farm side; they depended on the milk from the cows and agricultural food. Thus, for meat and other food, they had to stand in lines for hours. My mom recollects that she was the one who always went to stand in the line because her parents and other siblings were taking care of the land and all the other tasks this agricultural lifestyle had. In the beginning of the 1980s, the government searched for individuals of the age 18 and older to help them patrol all areas of the larger cities. As my father recalls and shares his memory of this time, in 1981, he remembers very often being waken up by loud officials barging into his neighbors home. Every week, he would realize less young men in his community. He knew his time would come, tried to go to school and hoped officials would allow him to continue his studies. However, at the age of 18, in 1983, he was taken into the army. There he went through lots of training to become a stronger man. After a few months, he and a comrade were given weapons, and sent off 6 hours from home to Szczecin, where they was commanded to take care of public transportation. One would drive the bus; the other would observe the public. My father states that he isn’t a controlling individual, most of the time, he didn’t see any harm the citizens but he knew the government would consider it illegal. He would very often work at night, because of the 10 p.m curfew, and would have to command individuals to head home.

The martial law did little to slow the Solidarity movement because it went underground so the members continued to organize demonstrations and share their ideas unpublicized. Many scholars and historians argue that Solidarity could not have prospered without the support of the Polish Pope. Timothy Garton Ash writes, "Without the Pope, no Solidarity. Without Solidarity, no Gorbachev. Without Gorbachev, no fall of Communism."[8] The role of the pope was pivotal and the world today would be structured differently without John Paul II. Even Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, admitted that the Pope played a huge role and stated, "It would have been impossible without the Pope.”[9]

Unfortunately, the church did not run with ease in the next couple of years, especially since it was considered pro-Solidarity. One significant priest in Poland, Jerzy Popieluszko held many masses with thousands of people, where he preached against the Communistic government. In March 1984, the Pope even sent him a gift because Popieluszko bravely attacked the government for banning crucifixes in schools. Because of this and many other pro-Solidarity ideas Popieluszko believed, on October 19th, 1984, at the age of 37, three secret police officials kidnapped him. Eleven days after he disappeared, remains of the priest were found in a river in Wroclaw. This was a very significant time for members of Solidarity because the assassination of a priest was viewed very offensively and members wanted to revolt back. Solidarity leader Lech Walesa and priests tried to keep the public sane and urged for individuals to stay calm and make Father Popieluszko’s funeral be tranquil. Walesa also said, "The worst has happened. Someone wanted to kill and he killed not only a man, not a Pole, not only a priest. Someone wanted to kill the hope that it is possible to avoid violence in Polish political life."[10] Solidarity movements were non-violent all along and now the public began to doubt that the non-violent political life would last long after this tragedy.

Finally in 1989, Lech Walesa was in charge of the establishment of the 1989 Round Table Agreement, which led to the semi-free parliamentary election in June 1989. The 1989 election results turned out to be a surprise for many communists and Solidarity members as well. Solidarity won 161 mandates in the 460-seat Sejm and 99 mandates in the 100-seat Senate. Successfully, Lech Walesa became president in 1990 to the non-communist Poland. Lech Walesa discusses the progress of Poland and states, “We didn't know how to make it happen, how to get organized so as not to repeat the mistakes made in 1970… A Pole who became a Pope helped us to organize ourselves in prayer and also made us understand our inner strength… The Holy Father did not call us to fight, but gathered us in prayer. And we were able to match actions with words.”[11] It is quite notable that the individual who can be given all the credit to for the success of Poland states Poland wouldn’t be so successful without the Roman Catholic religion.

All in all, Poland has lived without peace and harmony in their own country for a very long time. The road to receive their peace was slow, challenging, and difficult; however, with the Pope, Roman Catholic churches and the strong beliefs of Polish individuals, the road was calmer and easier. Poland became the first non-communist and still today considered one of the most successful European countries.