Description
Book SynopsisIn 1980 Polish workers astonished the world by demanding and winning an independent union with the right to strike, called Solidarity--the beginning of the end of the Soviet empire. Jack M. Bloom's Seeing Through the Eyes of the Polish Revolution explains how it happened, from the imposition to Communism to its end, based on 150 interviews of Solidarity leaders, activists, supporters and opponents. Bloom presents the perspectives and experiences of these participants. He shows how an opposition was built, the battle between Solidarity and the ruling party, the conflicts that emerged within each side during this tense period, how Solidarity survived the imposition of martial law and how the opposition forced the government to negotiate itself out of power.
Trade Review"Die im Verlauf von mehr als fünfzehn Jahren entstandene Abhandlung von Jack M. Bloom zur Entstehung der polnischen Gewerkschaftsbewegung Solidarność und deren gewaltsamer Auflösung liefert einen empirischen Einblick in die Funktionsweise einer oppositionellen Massenbewegung, die im Sommer 1980 aus den Streiks der Hafenarbeiter in Gdańsk/Danzig entstanden ist." – Wolfgang Schlott, Universität Bremen, International Newsletter of Communist Studies Online XX-XXI/27-28 (2014/15)
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements 1. Patronage and Corruption in Communist Poland PART I: THE EMERGENCE OF OPPOSITION 2. The First Systemic Crisis 3. ‘Living Parallel to the System’: The Solidarity Generation 4. A Line of Blood 5. An Opposition Emerges 6. Independent Organisations and Opposition PART II: THE SOLIDARITY REVOLUTION 7. The Solidarity Explosion 8. Social Solidarity and the Victory of Solidarność 9. The Solidarity Revolution 10. The Solidarity Offensive 11. Bydgoszcz: the Turning Point 12. The Party at War with Itself References Index
