Polish Nationalism, Solidarity and the Fall of the Communist Bloc (1980- 1991)

In August 1980 the workers of the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk, led by a sacked electrician Lech Walesa, not only created the first free trade union in the Soviet Bloc but set in train a sequence of events that changed the course of History. After 35 years of dictatorship what inspired Polish workers to such defiance? How did their union, Solidarity, survive suppression 1980-89? And to what extent did the Polish nation contribute to the end of the Cold War?

Tutor: Joseph Oakley MA PGCE

Term: Summer

Day: Saturday

Start Date: 21 June 2025

Time: 10am-1pm

No. of weeks: 1

Full fee: £30

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