„Solidarność”, August 1980 – August 1989, Erazm Ciołek, Warsaw 2010, 312 pages

The album, which presents photos taken by Erazm Ciołek, was prepared by the Public Education Office in Polish and English. The publication contains over 250 photos, which illustrate the history of Poland from the strikes in the Gdańsk Shipyard in August 1980 to the parliamentary elections on June 4, 1989. The album’s preface was written by Dr. Łukasz Kamiński.

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The 1980s stand as one the key periods in the dramatic history of 20th – century Poland. An unprecedented wave of strikes led to the estabilishment of the Independent Self – governing Trade Union “Solidarity” (NSZZ “Solidarność”) which drew millions of Poles. Within a dozen or so months of the movement’s inception, the communist authorities made an attempt to crush it by imposing martial law. Ultimately, however, “Solidarity” emerged victorious while the communist system collapsed, not just in Poland but also in other Soviet bloc countries.
One of the leading chroniclers of this period was Erazm Ciołek. Camera in hand, he witnessed the major events, from the big strike at the Gdańsk Shipyards, through the dramatic moments of martial law, to the Round Table negotiations and the formation of Tadeusz Mazowiecki’s government. This album offers a selection of his photographs from the period.

A fragment from Łukasz Kamiński’s preface