European Remembrance of 1989 - A Polish Perspective
In Germany as well as in many countries of the former Eastern Bloc, the autumn of 2014 is dedicated to the celebrations commemorating the Fall of the Berlin Wall and German Reunification. What is true for most European commemorative years applies to 1989 as well, namely that remembrance in individual European countries is extremely multi-faceted, sometimes even contradictory. In order to understand the European dimension of 1989 it is necessary to share and discuss across borders how 1989 is remembered. Gabriele Woidelko, Spokesperson of the EUSTORY Steering Committee, interviewed Polish couple Zbigniew and Alicja Gluza and asked them about the culture of remembrance and the meaning of 1989 for Poland and for today's Europe. Mr. and Mrs. Gluza were former activists of the Polish Solidarność movement and founded the KARTA-centre in Warsaw, a partner foundation of EUSTORY.
EUSTORY: In 2014, debates about history and remembrance in Europe often addressed "turning points in history". Was there such a pivotal "turning point" in Poland in connection with the fall of the Iron Curtain?
A. + Z. Gluza: If by "turning points" you mean a sudden movement or activities againg the Iron Curtain then, from the Polish perspective, there never was a "turning point" as such. Rather there were "turning years" - the years between 1976 - 1981 - during which a break through was achieved and which marked the beginning of an open oppisition to the regime. These were the years in which Pope John Paul II first visited Poland, the labour union Solidarność was founded, and the communist regime introduced the martial law. During this period, the public perception of the regime changed. More and more people were convinced that Poland's government was some sort of "internal occupational force" which oppressed its citizens in the name of the interests of the Soviet Union.
The time between September 1986 and June 1989 marked the final stage of the communist system in Poland. The social and economic situation became so tense that the authorities were forced to take up a dialogue with the democratic opposition. One of the results of the so-called “Round Table Talks” between the government and the opposition was the first free parliamentary elections which broke the communist monopoly on power. For the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, which were subject to the Soviet Union, recognition of the results of these elections was proof that the Kremlin accepted structural changes within the entire Eastern Bloc. One by one, the other countries behind the Iron Curtain reached out for freedom.
In the elections which took place on 4th June 1989, the Polish population basically voted against the Communists, and in favour of “Solidarność”. This was an undisputable unified voice of the people calling for reconstruction of the political system. By the end of the year 1989 further steps towards democratisation had been taken: the election of a non-Communist Prime Minister, approval of a packet of radical economic reforms, the reinstatement of Poland’s title as the Republic of Poland, and return of the crowned eagle as the Polish emblem.
EUSTORY: Which role does the year 1989 play for Poland? How is it commemorated?
A. + Z. Gluza: The importance of the 1989 breakthrough has increased over the past few years in Poland. During the first two decades, public evaluation of that period usually coincided with anniversaries or with election fever, and centred mainly on attacking political adversaries even though the protagonists of these disputes were all active participants in the processes of transformation. It wasn't until 4th June 2009 that parallel celebrations took place throughout Poland under the banner of "Freedom Day". The KARTA Centre – together with "Dom Spotkań z Historią" (House of Meetings with History set up in 2005 on the initiative of KARTA) – persuaded Warsaw’s city authorities to organise a “festival which should have taken place 20 years earlier”. Part of the city centre became the venue of joyous celebrations by thousands of Warsaw’s inhabitants while the political elite celebrated the anniversary at a separate commemoration ceremony in Gdańsk.
In the context of the first history festival, a confederation of over one hundred non-governmental organisations set up an Initiative called “TOGETHER ’89” and the idea of a festival was passed on to the rest of the country by the Warsaw organisers. The date of 4th June was universally accepted throughout Poland as the main date marking the political transformation. Every year since 2009, various public events take place in honour of ‘Freedom Day’ to commemorate the transformation from subjugation by the communist system to democratic independence. On the 25th anniversary on 4th June 2014, Freedom Day achieved international renown when the President of the United States, Barack Obama, appeared in Warsaw and spoke of the enormous meaning which that breakthrough had for the whole world.
EUSTORY: How would you define the role of KARTA when it comes to remembrance and commemoration in Poland? What role does KARTA (as part of the oppositional movement of the 80s) play in today's Polish society?
A. + Z. Gluza: KARTA was set up in Warsaw in January 1982 as an underground newspaper reporting about the realities of Martial Law. As time went on, the newspaper became a quarterly, an almanac, which described individual interpretations and individual experience of different dictatorships. This, in turn, brought us to historical themes. In 1987, the KARTA editorial team set in motion the “Eastern Archives” – a universal Polish movement aimed at documenting Soviet repression against the Polish people; this was the clandestine nucleus for a historical centre that would dedicate itself to a broad based reappraisal of history.
When our activities were legalised in 1990, and brought together within the KARTA Centre, we were ready to cooperate with the new Polish state. It turned out, however, that almost the entire political scene was reluctant to deal with the past. In the 1990s, each initiative undertaken by KARTA was, in fact, the only such activity concerned with the newest aspects of history. Our most vital role was to convince our target audience (mainly readers of the KARTA quarterly historical magazine) of the importance of the individual perspective and its perception of history, instead of the communist standard of “a bird’s eye view” where the individual is not important.
EUSTORY: Why do you think it is important to remember 1989 in Europe nowadays?
A. + Z. Gluza: From a Polish perspective, the half fifty years between 1939 and 1989 was a very painful period: the loss of independence and the domination of totalitarian systems affected the balance of our society; the pressure of foreign interests appeared to weaken our common identity. The following decade, however, from 1979 to 1989, reversed this trend – Poles expressed their opposition to this dependence en masse. On 23rd November 1989, Timothy Garton Ash said: “In Poland it took10 years, in Hungary 10 months, in the German Democratic Republic 10 weeks, perhaps in Czechoslovakia it will take 10 days…”
Changes in Polish society as well as mentality, which during the years 1980–89 was characterised by the “Solidarność” logo, turned out to be meaningful for the whole region. The establishment of “Solidarność” in August 1980 and the second Polish victory over Communism after the Polish-Bolshevik war of 1920, changed the course of political events. Having invaded Afghanistan, the Soviets were now unable to respond to this breach in the system with force. With each year, the Soviet empire became weaker, thus paving the way for the self-determination of the nations in the region.
The significance of the year 1989 amounts to more than history and remembrance. It is like a continuing instruction manual for the eastern part of Europe and, in a wider sense, for various regions of the world where authoritarian systems dominate. Oppressed societies can look to the breakthrough of 1989 for inspiration and motivation for their own peaceful revolutions. The fact that blood is currently being shed in the Ukraine is not the fault of Ukrainians, but is a manifestation of a radical pursuit of a post-Soviet empire on the part of all those who interpret Ukrainian freedom as a sign of their personal decline.