42nd anniversary of the introduction of martial law in Poland

I encourage you to read the shortened version of an article published on the website of the Institute of National Remembrance and to view the infographic designed by me. On December 13, 1981, General Wojciech Jaruzelski imposed martial law in Poland. During its duration, a total of 10,131 activists affiliated with "Solidarity" were interned. Approximately 100 people lost their lives, including 9 miners from the "Wujek" mine during the pacification of the strike. The communists imposed martial law to break the backbone of "Solidarity" and suppress the Polish desire for freedom. They returned to the mass repression characteristic of the years of Stalinism. Documents show that by imposing martial law, General Jaruzelski's team aimed to maintain their power even at the cost of blood, requesting military assistance from the Kremlin. However, the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was not satisfied with such an agreement. The "Polish" issue was discussed on April 2, 1981, during a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPSU Central Committee. Leonid Brezhnev, in a telephone conversation with Stanislaw Kania, reportedly rebuked them, saying, "You should not have criticized but taken a beating. Then, perhaps, you would have understood. [...] How many times have we convinced you that decisive actions must be taken, that you cannot continue to appease 'Solidarity' endlessly." Polish communists were concerned whether they could resort to force without Soviet assistance. Meanwhile, the Soviets urged Jaruzelski and Kania to boldly take the initiative and introduce martial law with their own forces. "The general impression from our meeting with comrades was that they were very tense, nervous, it was visible that they were tormented," they said during a meeting of the CPSU Central Committee on April 9. However, during the meeting, Andropov emphasized that any actions against "counter-revolutionary elements" should be carried out exclusively by Polish communists. Therefore, on December 13, 1981, General Wojciech Jaruzelski imposed martial law in Poland without any guarantee of assistance from the Soviet Union. It is worth emphasizing that the actions of the Jaruzelski's team were even contrary to the then applicable legal order (the Constitution of the Polish People's Republic was violated). Activists of "Solidarity" and opposition leaders were interned. Basic rights and civil liberties were suspended, strikes and demonstrations were prohibited, a curfew was introduced, and all means were used to force citizens to obey. As a result, part of society was brutally pacified using live ammunition. On December 16, 1981, during the suppression of the strike in the "Wujek" mine, 9 miners were killed. The number of all fatalities of martial law is estimated to be from about 40 to over 100. However, in the longer term, the social costs were more significant. The aim of the communist regime was to destroy the multimillion-strong movement of "Solidarity" and break the spirit of the nation, which the communists partly succeeded in achieving.