Poland marks milestone in birth of Solidarity
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
31.08.2016 15:11
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Poland marks milestone in birth of Solidarity
Celebrations on Wednesday afternoon in Gdańsk marked the 36th anniversary of the signing of the so-called August Accords, also known as the Gdańsk Agreement, which ultimately led to the formation of Solidarity, the first free trade union in a Warsaw Pact country.
President Andrzej Duda (right) and Solidarity leader Piotr Duda (left). Photo: PAP/Adam Warżawa
The opening ceremony, held in the historic hall where the agreement between strikers and the communist regime was signed on August 31, 1980, was attended by Polish President Andrzej Duda.
The 1980 agreement "practically made the communist system collapse. It didn’t collapse completely, it was making efforts to survive somehow, but it never got back to its heyday,” Zofia Romaszewska, a former member of the anti-communist opposition, told Polish Radio.