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Polish Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" political posters

 Collection — map-case: 1, drawer: 18
Identifier: SPEC-100

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of three political posters from the 1980s promoting the Independent Self-governing Labour Union "Solidarity", a Polish trade union established in 1980 by Lech Walesa.

Dates

  • circa 1980s

Language of Materials

Materials in Polish.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Legal title, copyright, and literary rights reside with Archives and Special Collections, Ball State University Libraries, Muncie, IN. All requests to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted to Archives and Special Collections.

Historical Note

The Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" (or more simply,"Solidarity") was established on September 17, 1980. A product of the worsening crisis in Soviet-influenced areas, which included food shortages and stress from the Cold War, Solidarity was the first non-government trade union established in Poland. The first Solidary strike was held on August 14, 1980, and was led by electrician Lech Walesa. Strikes continued through August of 1980, and the union gained international support and media coverage. Due to the world-wide support, the government conceded to the union's demands, and on September 3, representatives of the union and the government signed the Gdansk agreement.

As Solidarity continued to grow in numbers and in influence the union transformed into a revolutionary movement, focusing on changing the practices of the Communist government. In August 19, 1989, Solidarity supporter Tadeusz Mazowiecki was nominated as Prime Minister of Poland. A month later, a new non-Communist government was approved by parliament, ending communism's stronghold on the country. In 1990, Walesa won the Polish presidential election, becoming the first non-Communist president in Poland in 45 years.

Extent

1 Cubic Feet (3 oversize posters)

Custodial History

This collection was received by Archives and Special Collections as a donation from Michelle Glowacki-Dudka on 2015/04/20.

Accruals

No further additions are expected.

  • Communism Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
  • Labor unions Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
  • Poland Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
  • Posters Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
  • Social conditions Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
Title
Polish Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" political posters
Status
Completed
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Alexander M. Bracken Library
2000 W. University Avenue
Muncie Indiana 47306 USA
765-285-5078