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How the authorities responded to the setting up of Solidarity

RELATED STORIES

Creation of Solidarity
Jan Józef Lipski Social activist
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No i tak po zwycięskich strajkach i zawarciu porozumień w Gdańsku, w Szczecinie, w Jastrzębiu, zaczęła się organizować „Solidarność”. Jeszcze to się nie nazywała „Solidarność”, nazwa przyszła odrobinę później, ale zaczął się organizować nowy związek zawodowy i to było coś niezwykłego, co się działo. No, krótko mówiąc w parę tygodni powstał wielomilionowy ruch, który nie rozporządzał z początku nawet lokalami, działo się to na samym początku nawet w prywatnych lokalach, nie rozporządzał żadną bazą materialną, właściwie nie rozporządzał też kadrą przywódczą, organizatorską, bo ci ludzie, którzy przeszli przez jakieś doświadczenia KOR-owskie... było ich za mało na tak wielki ruch, a zresztą to też ten ruch już przerastał ich doświadczenia, ich możliwości, ich wyobraźnię nawet, a mimo to z jakąś niezwykłą sprawnością ten ruch się organizował, we wszystkich zakładach pracy zaczęły powstawać ogromne organizacje w skład których wchodziły tak 95, 90...więcej niż 95% załogi i okazywało się, że to jakoś funkcjonuje, jakoś...jakoś gra. Myślę, że zarówno uczestnicy patrzyli na to ze zdumieniem, jak i władza patrzyła na to ze zdumieniem. Po pewnym czasie, kiedy organizatorzy z całej Polski się tam zjechali do Gdańska, po różnych tam sporach tyczących, nie tylko spraw bardzo zasadniczych, ale i takich mniej ważnych jak nazwa, okazało się, że będzie się to nazywało Niezależny... ojej, jak to się nazywa, Niezależny Samorządny Związek Zawodowy „Solidarność”, NSZZ „Solidarność”. Nazwa ta zresztą nie wynikła tak nie wiadomo z czego, biuletyn strajkowy stoczni właśnie przybrał nazwę „Solidarność”, a trzeba powiedzieć, że był to biuletyn wydawany przez ludzi z KOR-u i „Solidarność” była jakimś takim w naszym środowisku zawsze słowem mile widzianym, przyjemnym dla nas słowem.

And so after the successful strikes and the agreements in Gdańsk, Szczecin and Jastrzębie, Solidarity began to organize itself. It wasn't yet called Solidarity, the name came a bit later but a new trade union began to organise itself and that was something quite unique, what was happening, in short, within a few weeks a movement was formed with millions of members. At first, it didn't even have anywhere to meet and in the beginning, it would meet in private premises. It had no material foundations nor did it have any leaders or organisers because for such a huge movement, there were too few people who had experienced being in KOR [Komitet Obrony Robotników (Workers' Defence Committee)] and besides, that movement was too big for their experience, their capabilities, even their imagination despite which, this movement organised itself with exceptional efficiency and in every workplace, huge organisations began to be formed comprising 95, 90... over 95% of the workforce, and it turned out that this was somehow working, it was hanging together. I think the people involved in this were as amazed by it as were the authorities. After a while, when the organisers from the whole of Poland had gathered in Gdańsk, following some disagreements about a variety of issues, some of which weren't fundamental and were about less important things like the name, it turns out that it was going to be called Independent, oh, what is it called... Independent Self-Governing Trade Union Solidarity, NSZZ ‘Solidarność’. This name didn't come out of nothing, the bulletin issued by the shipyard during the strikes was called Solidarność – I have to say that the people who published it were from KOR, and ‘solidarity’ was always a word that we liked and appreciated.

Jan Józef Lipski (1926-1991) was one of Poland's best known political activists. He was also a writer and a literary critic. As a soldier in the Home Army (Armia Krajowa), he fought in the Warsaw Uprising. In 1976, following worker protests, he co-founded the Workers' Defence Committee (KOR). His active opposition to Poland's communist authorities led to his arrest and imprisonment on several occasions. In 1987, he re-established and headed the Polish Socialist Party. Two years later, he was elected to the Polish Senate. He died in 1991 while still in office. For his significant work, Lipski was honoured with the Cross of the Valorous (Krzyż Walecznych), posthumously with the Grand Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (1991) and with the highest Polish decoration, the Order of the White Eagle (2006).

Listeners: Jacek Petrycki Marcel Łoziński

Cinematographer Jacek Petrycki was born in Poznań, Poland in 1948. He has worked extensively in Poland and throughout the world. His credits include, for Agniezka Holland, Provincial Actors (1979), Europe, Europe (1990), Shot in the Heart (2001) and Julie Walking Home (2002), for Krysztof Kieslowski numerous short films including Camera Buff (1980) and No End (1985). Other credits include Journey to the Sun (1998), directed by Jesim Ustaoglu, which won the Golden Camera 300 award at the International Film Camera Festival, Shooters (2000) and The Valley (1999), both directed by Dan Reed, Unforgiving (1993) and Betrayed (1995) by Clive Gordon both of which won the BAFTA for best factual photography. Jacek Petrycki is also a teacher and a filmmaker.

Film director Marcel Łoziński was born in Paris in 1940. He graduated from the Film Directing Department of the National School of Film, Television and Theatre in Łódź in 1971. In 1994, he was nominated for an American Academy Award and a European Film Academy Award for the documentary, 89 mm from Europe. Since 1995, he has been a member of the American Academy of Motion Picture Art and Science awarding Oscars. He lectured at the FEMIS film school and the School of Polish Culture of Warsaw University. He ran documentary film workshops in Marseilles. Marcel Łoziński currently lectures at Andrzej Wajda’s Master School for Film Directors. He also runs the Dragon Forum, a European documentary film workshop.

Tags: Gdańsk, Szczecin, Jastrzębie, KOR, Workers Defence Committee, NSZZ Solidarność

Duration: 2 minutes, 45 seconds

Date story recorded: October 1989

Date story went live: 14 March 2011