23 Photographs of the Polish Solidarity Movement That Helped Bring About the End of Communism

Semi-free election in Poland, 8th of June, 1989, photo: SIPA / EAST NEWS

Tadeusz Mazowiecki and Lech Wałęsa, 1989, photo:Tomasz Wierzejski / AG

Polish demonstrators carrying banners with the name of the trade union Solidarność (“Solidarity”). Pinterest

Lech Wałęsa being carried by the crowd of protesters. Strikers

Walesa (left) speaks to workers during a strike at the Gdansk shipyard on August 8, 1980. wiadomosci.dziennik

The Gate of the Gdańsk Shipyard, December 16th, 1981. Archive of the Institute of National Remembrance

Crowd in front of the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk. Strike

Lech Walesa on the gate of the Gdansk shipyard reading a speech. August, 1980. Pinterest

Anna Walentynowicz was fired for participating in the illegal trade union five months before her retirement. The strikes began demanding her return to work 20.10.1980. PAPCAFStanisław

Anna Walentynowicz and Lech Wałęsa attend a mass at the Lenin Shipyard in August 1980. Wikipedia