By Ania Gnidziejko, Wagner College’16
“I belong to a nation which over the past
centuries has experienced many hardships and reverses. The world reacted with silence or with mere sympathy when Polish frontiers were crossed by invading armies and the sovereign state had to succumb to brutal force” – Lech Walesa
Lech Walesa was born on September 29, 1943 in Popowo, Poland. During World War II, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union occupied Poland Walesa’s father, Boleslaw, died in 1946 so he was raised by his mother Feliksa. Feliksa had a great effect on Walesa, because she was a single mother. The priest of their church said the Feliksa was the wisest women in the entire parish. Walesa attended vocational school in Lipno, where he learned the electrician’s trade, worked as a car mechanic at a machine center from 1961 to 1965. His training as an electrician and mechanic had him qualify for a labor job at the Gdansk shipyard. Before Lech Walesa organized the Solidarity movement, there were many strikes towards the food shortages every civilian had to deal with. For the reason being, communist officials believed that government central planning, all good and services would be shared equally. They also promised people that under communism there would be a succeeding future. Finally, in 1980 the Polish working class united for the first time and revolted in the Gdansk shipyard. Solidarity led a reform to end communism, but the communistic government established martial law in 1981. During that time, trade union strikers were jailed including Walesa, but they did not stop until communism finally came to an end.
Accomplishments
In 1970, Lech Walesa became one of the leaders of one of the strikes in the shipyard which was stopped by the Communist regime. Later in 1980 Walesa became the leader of the Solidarność (Solidarity) movement which began in Gdansk, during the strikes. In pursuit of democracy, Poles came together to form “Solidarność,” or the Solidarity trade union, which fought for equal rights and better conditions for Poles.
In December of 1983, Lech Walesa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. During this time the Polish communist government told him if he were to leave then he would be exiled from Poland. Walesa did not want to risk not being let back into his country, so his wife Danuta Walesa went on his behalf to receive the award.
In June of 1989 the Solidarity movement won the free elections in Poland. Lech Walesa was elected President of Poland in 1990, being the first democratic President of the Republic of Poland. While in power, Walesa formed his own political party called the Nonpartisan Bloc for Support of Reforms. Walesa led Poland to a free-market economy and this helped Poland out of foreign debt.
“We hold our heads high, despite the price we have paid, because freedom is priceless” – Lech Walesa
Leadership
Being a charismatic leader, Lech Walesa, not only spoke out to his people during the rough times, but he also listened to their input. This is what made people see Walesa of more as a “helper” and a “fighter”. He was open to all types of opinions and suggestions that would help the Solidarity movement escalate to a more positive outcome. Walesa met with Pope John Paul II for advice whenever he felt it was necessary. Pope John Paul II helped Lech Walesa calm the people of Poland down and tell them not to be afraid of change. The change benefited all of Poland, and other Soviet satellites saw Poland’s new reform and helped those countries out of communist rule as well.
Criticism
The Polish communist government always criticized Lech Walesa. Before Walesa turned out to be a huge success in world’s history, there were people that thought he was a bit unfit for the role as “leader”. Lech Walesa was criticized for not having concrete goals and also not having enough experience to solve difficult problems of the state. He was very passionate of breaking away from communistic rule. Walesa saw it as hurting the people of Poland more than helping like the communists would say. Despite of Lech Walesa’s criticisms, he taught himself to be a strong and caring leader, which in the end became a positive and courageous change in history.
Bibliography
Academy of Achievement, “Lech Walesa: Changing the Face of the World.” Last modified 2010. Accessed December 5, 2012. http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/wal1bio-1.
Levy Jon, Hauschka Steve, and Laks Ali. “Solidarity on the Frontier of Democracy in Eastern Europe.” Last modified 2000. Accessed December 6, 2012. http://www2.needham.k12.ma.us/nhs/cur/Baker_00/2001_p6/baker_jl_al_sh_p6/solidarity.htm
“Lech Walesa Leader of Poland’s Solidarity Movement.” Last modified 1997. Accessed December 6, 2012. http://www.polishamericancenter.org/walesa.html.
