40th anniversary of the imposition of martial law in Poland
13.12.2021
Let us show that we remember - today, 13 December at 19:30 light up the #LightOfFreedom.
40 years ago - on December 13, 1981 - Poland's communist government imposed martial law on the country's territory. The decision was meant to stifle the "Solidarity" opposition movement which united millions of citizens. The coup carried out by the military junta cost the lives of dozens.
The Institute of National Remembrance created a unique animated short presenting the Martial Law period in a whole new light – not another gloom-and-lost-hope story but a narrative about unfaltering struggle and resistance, which in the long run allowed Poles to defeat Communism. That was a difficult path to tread, and the final victory wouldn’t have happened without the support of the free world, back then represented by John Paul II and the US President Ronald Reagan. The film is an outstanding account of a seemingly hopeless situation becoming one of the key milestones on the Polish path to freedom.
"The Light of Freedom: The story of Polish resistance against communism under martial law".
Archives: IPN Archive, Alamy/BE&W, Courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute
soundtrack: Ostatnia szychta na KWK „Piast” by: Michała Grobelny music: Jan Krzysztof Kelus, lyrics: Jan Michał Zazula
Copyright by Fundacja Przyszłość Pokoleń