Solidarity

In 1980, a former electrical worker at the Gdansk Shipyard did the unthinkable. He led a group of workers in a labor strike in a communist country. Rather than being ruthlessly crushed, the strike won concessions and began a social and political movement that changed Poland forever. This wasn't just the beginning of the end of communism in Poland, but of the entire cold war. Learn more about the rise of solidarity and the beginning of the end of the Eastern Bloc on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. Reggie, I just sold my car online. Let's go, grandpa. Wait. You did? Yep. On Carvana. Just put in the license plate, answered a few questions, got an offer in minutes. Easier than setting up that new digital picture, Fran. You don't say? Yeah. They're even picking it up tomorrow. Talk about fast. Wow. Way to go. So about that picture frame. Forget about it. Until Carvana makes one, I'm not interested. Car selling made easy on Carvana. Vada. Pickup fees and apply. Have you ever wondered what it's like to be buried in an avalanche? Weird foreign feeling of despair. Or how it feels to crash a skydive? I remember feeling my body hit the ground. These are the stories you'll hear on the podcast called What Was That Like? True stories told by the actual person who went through it, and you'll hear actual 911 calls. 911. There's a man at my back door trying to get in. Search for what was that like on any podcast app or at whatwasthatlike.com. During the final year of World War two, the Soviet Union claimed to liberate Poland as it advanced through the country towards Germany. However, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin had no intention of restoring Poland's pre war independence. The Soviets believed Poland was essential to their security interests as a buffer zone separating them from Germany. The Polish people were denied free elections after World War two to ensure communist rule. There was no communist revolution like there was in Russia. It was imposed top down by an outside power. At the foundation of the Polish communist state in 1947, the Soviet Union quickly saw the mismatch between Poland and one party communism. Stalin said, quote, bringing communism to Poland was like putting a saddle on a cow. The Soviet leaders were faced with the realization that Poland was an intensely Roman Catholic country and that the introduction of communism would contradict Polish values. Furthermore, the Polish people had shown very little support for communism either before or after World War two. The main challenge was building loyalty to support the transition from a fiercely nationalistic and independent nation to a one party communist state. And to ensure this loyalty in Eastern Europe, Stalin often resorted to force. It was in this environment that Lech Walesa's solidarity movement emerged during the Cold War. During the 1970s, attempts at reform were usually met with military force, and dissenters and sympathetic …