Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

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Twenty-One demands,
Gda�sk, August 1980. The birth
of the SOLIDARITY trades union
– a massive social movement
Inscribed 2003
What is it
The twenty-one demands made by the Free Trades Union
Strike Committee on 26 August 1980 in Gdańsk Shipyard:
unusually, they were not only related to pay and working
conditions but were also of a wider political, social and
economic nature.
Why was it inscribed
The creation of the twenty-one demands marked
a turning point: the events that followed led to the
creation of Solidarity, the first free trade union within
the Communist bloc in Eastern Europe and a dynamic
movement for freedom and democracy in Poland until
the fall of Communism in 1989.
Where is it
Polish Maritime Museum, Gdańsk; Karta Centre in
Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
The strike at Gdańsk Shipyard in Poland in 1980 took
place against the background of the Cold War, not only
in Europe but also around the world. Since the empire
of the USSR (Soviet Union) was established at the end
of the Second World War, unrest in its Eastern European
satellite states, including Poland, had been ruthlessly
� Protesters occupy the shipyard and confront riot troops.
crushed and dissenting voices seemed temporary and
marginal. In addition, the number of African and Latin
American countries dependent on Soviet support appeared
to be increasing.
� The Solidarity banner � The board with twenty-one demands in place at
the Gdańsk Shipyard.
Twenty-One demands, Gdańsk, August 1980 549