MEMBERS of the Polish Community celebrating the 41 anniversary of the Solidarity movement.
Members of the Polish community gathered to celebrate the 41st anniversary of the Solidarity movement, which would form the government of their country.
The movement was kept alive by Polish nationals living in Canada and in other countries during some tough times.
Tribute was paid to Chris Korwin Kuczynski and his late father, Zbigniew, who kept the protest alive for months in front of the Consulate General of Poland, on Lake Shore Blvd. W., as attention for Solidarity grew worldwide.
Also being honoured is outgoing Consul General Krzysztof Grzelczyk, whom some members of the community claim was the “best Consul-General they have had in Canada.”
Grzelczyk, and his wife, are returning to Warsaw this month after four years in Toronto.
MPP Christine Hogarth and Mississauga Centre MP Natalia Kusendova were among those taking part in the August 31 ceremony.
Hogarth said she is working with the community to establish a Polish Heritage Day Month to take place next May.
Solidarity is a trade union founded in August 1980 at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland. It was the first independent trade union to be recognised by the state.
The union’s membership peaked at 10 million in September 1981, representing one-third of the country’s working-age population.
Solidarity’s leader Lech Wałęsa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983 and the union is widely recognised as having played a central role in the end of communist rule in Poland.
Outgoing Consul General Krzysztof Grzelczyk with MPP Christine Hogarth and MP Natalia Kusendova. Photos by Tom Godfrey.
Polish government attempts in the early 1980s to destroy the union through the imposition of martial law in Poland and the use of political repression failed. Operating underground, with significant financial support from the Vatican and the U.S., the union survived and by the later 1980s had entered into negotiations with the government.
The 1989 talks between the government and the Solidarity-led opposition produced an agreement for the 1989 elections, the country’s first pluralistic election since 1947. By the end of August, a Solidarity-led coalition government was formed and in December 1990, Wałęsa was elected President of Poland.