Solidarity in Poland & the Decline of Soviet Influence (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE History)

Reasons Why Poland Resisted Communist Rule

Who were Solidarity?

• By the late 1970s, Poland’s economy was struggling

  • Poland's industry was old-fashioned due to a lack of funding

  • The Polish government hid the extent that the economy was failing

  • Workers’ wages were much higher than the workers’ productivity

• In 1980, the government attempted to fix the economy by:

  • Increasing the prices of consumer goods

  • Decreasing workers’ wages

• The government’s measures resulted in:

  • Popular protest

  • Widespread strikes

    • The strike at Lenin Gdansk Shipyard on 14th August 1980 led to the creation of Solidarity

    • Solidarity was a trade union that developed into a protest movement

• On 30th August 1980, through negotiation, the government agreed to Solidarity’s demands

  • There were 21 demands in total

Strengths of Solidarity

Martial Law in Poland

What Helped the Polish Government to Implement Martial Law?

• Solidarity was fractured

  • The Communist government had encouraged factions to form within Solidarity

  • People began to argue over key policies and aims of the movement

• The government implemented martial law because they had the support of the USSR

  • Brezhnev could not allow Solidarity to weaken Poland

    • The USSR relied on Poland for its metallurgy

    • Reforms would push Poland away from the USSR

  • Brezhnev needed Poland to conform to the Warsaw Pact

    • A government under Solidarity would want more freedom from the USSR

    • It may want to withdraw Poland from the Warsaw Pact

How Did Solidarity Show the Decline of Soviet Influence?

• The actions of Solidarity showed that by the 1980s:

  • Millions of people were willing to stand up against the Communist government

  • The people openly expressed their desire for a better standard of living

  • Communist leaders continued to be:

    • Corrupt

    • Resistant to reform