This great victory, which "Solidarity" undoubtedly was, was the effect of the efforts of millions – most often – anonymous people and thousands of residents of Szczecin who, despite their fears, stood up to the communist regime. The success of the strikes lay in the fact that their participants were together, joined in the spirit of solidarity. The events of August 1980 were an impulse for further changes which eventually led to the fall of the Polish People's Republic and triggered unstoppable changes in all of Eastern Europe.

The celebrations of the 40th anniversary of signing the August Accords in Szczecin began with a Holy Mass in the parish of St. Stanisław Kostka. The head of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, Halina Szymańska, read out a letter from President Andrzej Duda addressed to the participants of the event, and the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Marine Economy and Inland Navigation – Grzegorz Witkowski – a letter from Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

Ceremonies were also held at the gate of the Szczecin Shipyard. They were attended by Ministers, Deputies and the Voivode of West Pomerania, representatives of uniformed services and local authorities, anti-communist opposition activists in the People's Republic of Poland and residents of Szczecin. The Branch of the Institute of National Remembrance in Szczecin was represented by director Paweł Skubisz Ph.D. and the head of the IPN’s Branch Office for Commemorating the Struggle and Martyrdom in Szczecin, Krzysztof Męciński.

The unveiling of a mural commemorating the 40th anniversary of the August Accords in Szczecin.

The Director of the IPN Branch in Szczecin, Paweł Skubisz Ph.D. together with Deputy Voivode Marek Subocz, MP Artur Szałabawka and President of the Regional Board of "Solidarity" in West Pomerania Mieczysław Jurek unveiled a mural commemorating the signing of the August Accords in Szczecin.

An illumination in tribute to "Solidarity”

On 30 and 31 August, one of the most recognizable buildings in the country and an architectural icon of the city – the Szczecin Philharmonic – will be illuminated to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the August Accords. For two days from 9:00 p.m. to midnight, the facade of the Philharmonic, a pure white "canvas", will become a moving image symbolically referring to these crucial events for Poland, Europe and the whole world. With this illumination, we want to pay tribute to all participants of the movement which took place in August 1980 and the victims of the communist regime.