Dissident movement in the People's Republic of Poland
One of the deciding points in post World War II history was the Yalta Conference where decisions regarding postwar Europe were taken and the continent became divided with the Iron Curtain.
The power was held by the Polish United Workers' Party (Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza, PZPR).
The ties with the Soviet Union were declared through the PKWN Manifesto where the legitimacy of the coming State National Council, a Soviet-backed administration was announced.
During that time many citizens were working in government-owned companies, managed by people approved by the authorities, often as a result of political decisions.
[4] Censorship was imposed, atheism was strongly promoted, surveillance and invigilation were widely spread by eavesdropping on telephone conversations, violating the confidentiality of the correspondence, and spying.
In 1953 Joseph Stalin died, his death initiated a 'thaw’ period in Soviet Union and other dependent, communistic countries.
[8] Citizens, including workers started to rise their voices regarding constantly violated human rights and overall discontent.
[16] The decade ensured how the communistic system is inefficient and the following recession caused a series of strikes (described in the currents of dissidence paragraph).
[19] After World War II authorities continuously run Polish anti-religious campaign aimed at (inter alia) the Catholic Church in Poland.
Communistic government wanted to focus on the celebration without the religious context presenting it as the Millennium of the Polish State.
The communistic government aimed their actions towards other religions including Jewish Community in Poland, resulting in migration of thousands of them.
[25] The government expected the riots to be focused in bigger cities such as Warsaw, Krakow, Szczecin, Gdansk, or Upper Silesia.
[27] However, the participants faced big repressions with legal charges, years in prison, or being beaten including those in need of hospitalization.
[28] After World War II, the communist system allowed trade unions (after 1939, under German occupation those were prohibited).
[29] Originally planned as an instrument of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) to prevent for instance solidarity movements, later met with resistance of the participants, resulting in many further confrontations and strikes.
In September 1976 group of intellectuals founded the Workers' Defence Committee (Komitet Obrony Robotników, KOR).
[30] Its main goal was to provide financial, legal, and medical support to those repressed by the government after demonstrations or another form of dissidence.
The group was also gathering signatures to release people from detention and was raising funds for the affected families by the disciplinary dismissals.
Further development of the committee was motivated by the lack of support for repressed people from the national organizations designated for that.
On 25 March 1977 the Movement for Defense of Human and Civic Rights (Ruch Obrony Praw Człowieka i Obywatela, ROPCiO) was established.
Members of the ROBCiO co-organized the underground press called another circulation (Polish: drugi obieg) and published several magazines, books, leaflets.
