1981 warning strike in Poland

1981 warning strike in Poland
1981 warning strike in Poland
Date	March 31, 1981
Location	Poland
Caused by	Bydgoszcz events; Authoritarianism;
Methods	Civil disobedience; Strike action; Picketing; Mass protest; Warning strike;
Resulted in	Status quo ante 12–14 million people participate in the strikes; Strikes end after four hours;
Parties
Polish People's Republic Polish United Workers' Party; Citizens' Militia; Motorized Reserves of the Citizens' Militia;	Solidarity National Coordinating Commission; National Strike Committee; Warsaw Committeee; Wroclaw Committee; Kraków Committee; Lublin Committee; Łódź Committee; Katowice Committee; Poznań Committee; Opole Committee; Szczecin Committee; Sandomierz Committee; Białystok Committee; Rzeszów Committee; Przemyśl Committee; Government defectors;
Lead figures
	Mieczysław Rakowski Lech Walesa
Number
Unknown	12,000,000–14,000,000 participants

The 1981 warning strike in Poland was a four-hour national warning strike that took place during and in response to the Bydgoszcz events. In the early spring of 1981 in Poland, several members of the Solidarity movement, including Jan Rulewski, Mariusz Łabentowicz, and Roman Bartoszcze, were beaten by the security forces, including Milicja Obywatelska and the ZOMO. The Bydgoszcz events soon became widely known across Poland, and on 24th March 1981, Solidarity called for a nationwide strike in protest against the violence. The strike was planned for Tuesday, 31st March 1981. On 25th March, Lech Wałęsa met Deputy Prime Minister Mieczysław Rakowski of the Polish United Workers' Party, but they were unable to come to an agreement. Two days later, the warning strike took place. It was the most highly participated strike in the history of both Poland and the Warsaw Pact.^[1]^[2]^[3] According to several sources, between 12^[4]^[5] and 14 million Poles took part.^[6]

^ US Intelligence and the Confrontation in Poland, 1980–1981. Douglas J. MacEachin, p. 120
^ The Polish Revolution. Timothy Garton Ash, p. 165
^ From Solidarity to Martial Law. By Andrzej Paczkowski, p. xxxviii
^ The biggest strike in history of Poland, J. Polonus Archived 2008-05-01 at the Wayback Machine
^ Kalendarium 1980–1981, Jaroslaw Szarek Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Bydgoszcz March". Archived from the original on 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2009-01-02.

[books.google.com-1] US Intelligence and the Confrontation in Poland, 1980–1981. Douglas J. MacEachin, p. 120

[AgKmojv_uoEC_page_165-2] The Polish Revolution. Timothy Garton Ash, p. 165

[I9TUaZZeAMC_page_XXXVIII-3] From Solidarity to Martial Law. By Andrzej Paczkowski, p. xxxviii

[zrodlo.krakow.pl-4] The biggest strike in history of Poland, J. Polonus Archived 2008-05-01 at the Wayback Machine

[5] Kalendarium 1980–1981, Jaroslaw Szarek Archived 2011-07-18 at the Wayback Machine

[6] "Bydgoszcz March". Archived from the original on 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2009-01-02.

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