I was born in Poland
We’re going back to our roots, returning to the idea: the IPN’s spot presents the community, the Poles who said "NO" to communism in the 1980s, ordinary people who opposed the communist system. We did it because we were together. It was born in Poland in 1980.The spot is also available in French and Russian language versions (settings).
"Solidarity" on the map of the world
We encourage you to read the text by Ryszard Terlecki. The text was originally presented during the celebration of the 25th anniversary of "Solidarity", with the participation of the Chaplains of the World of Work , Nowa Huta in September 2005.
31 August 1980 - the birth of "Solidarity"
"Solidarity is needed not only by Poland, but also by today’s societies and modern Europe," said the President of the Institute of National Remembrance, Jarosław Szarek, Ph.D. at the opening of the exhibition.
"This is where 'Solidarity' was born" exhibition in Warsaw
The "This is where 'Solidarity' was born" exhibition commemorating the 40th anniversary of the founding of “Solidarity” will have its official opening in Warsaw’s Piłsudski Square on 28 August 2020 at noon.
The President of the Institute of National Remembrance invited the founders and members of "Solidarity" as well as anti-communist opposition activists from the 1980s to the ceremonial closing of the exhibition "This is where Solidarity was born" on Piłsudskiego Square in Warsaw on 16 October 2020.
The www.encyklopedia-solidarnosci.pl website is part of the IPN’s "Encyclopedia of Solidarity" documentary project. Its purpose is to present the history of the opposition in the Polish People’s Republic in the years 1976-1990. The portal constitutes an important supplement to the “Encyclopedia of Solidarity”, four volumes of which have been published so far. Work on the fifth volume has just begun.
On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the foundation of "Solidarity", the IPN’s Branch in Katowice and "Gość Niedzielny", have prepared a press supplement "The August Breakthrough. The 40th anniversary of the foundation of Solidarity". The project is complemented by the "Faces of Solidarity" website. The "Faces of Solidarity" portal presents, among others the biographies of selected strike leaders from August '80, a map of strikes and agreements, unknown photos and documents, the role of John Paul II in the events of 40 years ago and an analysis of the Soviet reaction to the "Polish August".
The elections of 4 June 1989. The defeat of the communist system and the triumph of "Solidarity"
The 40th anniversary of signing the August Accords in Szczecin – Szczecin, 30 August 2020
In the summer of 1980, Szczecin became the scene of events which started the nearly ten-year gradual breakdown of communist rule in Poland. Szczecin was one of the main strike centers in which the historic Accords were signed on 30 August 1980, thus paving the way to the establishment of the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" and the huge, libertarian, democratic social movement gathered around it.
The opening of the "This is Where ‘Solidarity’ was Born" exhibition - Częstochowa, 26 March 2021
The exhibition, presented on 26 March in Częstochowa, will be one of the next 16 exhibitions of this series. The last part of the "This is Where ‘Solidarity’ was Born" series will take place in other locations in mid-April.
Green ‘Solidarity’ - Independent trade unions in the countryside in the years 1980-1989
We encourage you to read a text on Farmers' "Solidarity" in the years 1980-1989 by Deputy President of the IPN, Mateusz Szpytma, Ph.D.
The fact that the grand ‘Solidarity’ movement also encompassed farmers’ ‘Solidarity’ which united inhabitants of the countryside, is frequently omitted. The communists were very determined to ban the legalisation of the peasant union, and when that failed, they hindered its operations.