On August 31, 1980, the August Agreements were signed between the emerging Solidarity Trade Union and the Communist government of Poland.
The Strike Committee, representing approximately 800 shops and workplaces on the Gdańsk Coast, formulated 21 demands of a freedom, labor, and economic nature. Among the demands were the possibility of establishing independent trade unions, which later helped collapse communism in Eastern Europe.
Today, a ceremonial meeting of the Gdańsk Regional Board of the NSZZ "Solidarity" Trade Union took place in the historic BHP Hall of the Gdańsk Shipyard, with the participation of, among others, President Karol Nawrocki.
At the beginning of his speech marking the 45th anniversary of the signing of the August Agreements, the President thanked the heroes of Solidarity for enabling him to live in a free Poland. He emphasized that in August 1980, at the BHP Hall, "something exceptional happened, something that generations of Poles have been waiting for."
"Today, Poland thanks those hundreds of thousands and millions who stood on the right side of the August 1980 Revolution. We will continue to stand up for them," he declared.
"Solidarity refused to be confined to a museum. This isn't just about the anniversary and national memory. In contemporary Poland, we must continue to sear our homeland and the globe with our conscience, recalling the values that brought Solidarity victory," he said.
"Unfortunately, even today in Poland, we live in times when those who fought for our freedom, who took risks, who were imprisoned and interned, often live worse lives than those who fought against (our) freedom."
- Based on Niezalezna(.)pl
