The Solidarność movement is one of several events in Polish history that nearly every political tendency tries to claim as their own.
Should it be seen primarily as a workers’ struggle? A pro-democracy uprising? A national liberation movement? Or a movement for capitalism? What is the legacy of Solidarność - and who in Poland has got the strongest claim to it?
In this episode, we analyse the story of Solidarność and discuss how it should be interpreted, with Polish historian and economist Miłosz Wiatrowski-Bujacz. We also use it as a springboard for a conversation about Polish society today, and the forces and ideologies that shape it.
Miłosz Wiatrowski-Bujacz is a PhD candidate at Yale, researching Solidarność, as well as a writer and podcaster commenting on contemporary Polish politics. We strongly recommend following his Instagram (in Polish): @milosz.miedzy.innymi
Other resources:
Jacek Kuron and Karol Modzelewski, Open letter to the Party
Mark Osborn “Solidarność” The workers Movement and the Rebirth of Poland in 1980-81
Karol Modzelewski Zajeździmy kobyłę historii. Wyznania poobijanego jeźdźca
Tony Judt with Timothy Snyder, Thinking the Twentieth Century: Intellectuals and Politics in the Twentieth Century.
Jan Kubik, The Power of Symbols Against the Symbols of Power: The Rise of Solidarity and the Fall of State Socialism in Poland
Miłosz Wiatrowski Niespełniona obietnica podmiotowości. Znaczenie „Solidarności” po 40 latach https://kulturaliberalna.pl/2020/08/28/wiatrowski-solidarnosc-40-lat/