Major Waldemar Fydrych
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Waldemar Andrzej Fydrych "Major" (born April 8, 1953) is a Polish activist and founding leader of the
Orange Alternative The Orange Alternative (Polish language, Polish: ''Pomarańczowa Alternatywa'') is a Polish far-left anti-communist underground movement, started in Wrocław, a city in south-west Poland and led by Waldemar Fydrych (sometimes misspelled as Frydr ...
movement in Poland.


Early career

Fydrych was born in
Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
on April 8, 1953. He is a graduate of the History and History of Art Faculty of the
University of Wrocław , ''Schlesische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Breslau'' (before 1945) , free_label = Specialty programs , free = , colors = Blue , website uni.wroc.pl The University of Wrocław ( pl, Uniwersytet Wrocławski, U ...
. Fydrych began his independent public activity in the 1970s. He created a branch of the
Independent Students Union Independent Students' Association ( pl, Niezależne Zrzeszenie Studentów, NZS) is a Polish student society, created in October 1980, in the aftermath of the Gdańsk Agreement and the anti-government strike actions (see: History of Solidarity). It ...
(NZS) in
Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
and launched the Movement for New Culture in the city. He was also one of the co-organizers of a massive peace march that took place in April 1981. During the
Martial Law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...
, many Poles first made acquaintance with Fydrych's work through his picturesque dwarf images painted on building walls, covering up the paint that was used to cover up anti-regime slogans.


The Orange Alternative

Starting in 1986, he began organizing a chain of happenings, which were eventually named the "
Orange Alternative The Orange Alternative (Polish language, Polish: ''Pomarańczowa Alternatywa'') is a Polish far-left anti-communist underground movement, started in Wrocław, a city in south-west Poland and led by Waldemar Fydrych (sometimes misspelled as Frydr ...
." These happenings involved hundreds up to thousands of participants at a given time. At its heyday in 1987, 1988 and 1989, Major Fydrych's "Orange Alternative" spread to other Polish cities, Warsaw, Łódź, Wrocław and Lublin being the most active. Altogether in the period of 1986 to 1990 the Orange Alternative organized over 60 street happenings. In March 1988, after distributing women's sanitary pads on the street (an item that was in severe shortage in Communist Poland), Waldemar Fydrych was arrested and sentenced by the Court of Justice to three months of imprisonment. He was released following public uproar, including a letter to the military junta signed by the foremost Polish intellectuals and artists.


Nickname

During the communist regime, when Fydrych was called upon to fulfill his military service obligation, he appeared before the army commission dressed in a uniform of a major. Unwilling to enter the army, he pretended the opposite, simulating madness. Asked to use an appropriate tone in regard to his superiors, Fydrych began addressing his interlocutors per "colonel," at the same time describing himself as a "major," a nickname which remained with him ever since.


Recent activities

Fydrych, alongside a group of students, participated in the Orange Revolution in
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
organizing events in Poland and Ukraine. He and the students made in the streets an "Orange Scarf" of support for the revolution. This scarf was started in
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
by one of the icons of the Orange Revolution - famous Ukrainian singer
Ruslana Lyzhichko Ruslana Stepanivna Lyzhychko ( uk, Руслана Степанівна Лижичко, ''Ruslana Lyzhychko''; born 24 May 1973), known mononymously as Ruslana, is a World Music Award and Eurovision Song Contest winning recording artist, holdin ...
. On the night of the "Orange Victory," the 15-meter long scarf was handed by Lyzhichko to President Yushchenko as one of the main symbols of the brotherhood between Ukraine and Poland. In 2002, Fydrych presented himself in elections to the post of the Mayor of the City of Warsaw. He also ran for mayor of Warsaw in 2006 elections, gaining 2914 votes (0,41%). His organization was ''Dolts and Dwarves'' (''Gamonie i Krasnoludki''). In 2012, Fydrych received Ph.D. in Fine Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Poland after defending his thesis "Happening as the integrating and healing operation transforming art and reality" written under supervision of Professor Stanisław Wieczorek. In 2014, the English translation of his book on Orange Alternative was published as "Lives of the Orange Men" by a London publishing house, Minor Compositions. with a foreword by the Yes-Men and the forward to the Polish edition by Anne Applebaum. In 2013, Major Fydrych and his dwarf graffiti were featured in Brad Finger's boo
„Surrealism - 50 Works of Art You Should Know”
published by PRESTEL Publishing along with works of such great artists as Artaud, Duchamp, Buñuel, Dali and Picasso.


Honors and awards

* 1988
Solidarity Award of Puls ''Solidarity'' is an awareness of shared interests, objectives, standards, and sympathies creating a psychological sense of unity of groups or classes. It is based on class collaboration.''Merriam Webster'', http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictio ...
in
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. * 1988 Award of Polkul in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. * In June 2005, Fydrych and the Orange Alternative movement were honored by an exposition held at the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
in Brussels. * Four films have been produced and aired on the public Polish Television (TVP), including a documentary on the Orange Alternative and the Orange Revolution.


Publications

* Fydrych, W. ''Hokus Pokus'' * Fydrych, W.
The Lives of the Orange Men
' Publisher: Minor Compositions. July 2014. * Fydrych, W. ''
Dwarves & Dolts Dwarf or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...
'' * Fydrych, W. ''
The Orange Alternative - Revolution of Dwarves ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...
''


Quotes

* "In Poland there are only three places when you can feel free: in churches, but only for the meditations, in prisons, but not everyone can go to prison, and on the streets - they are the freest places." * "The Western World will find out much more about the situation in Poland from hearing that I was put to jail for giving tampons to a woman, than from reading the books and articles written by other people from the opposition." * "Can you treat a police officer seriously, when he is asking you the question: 'Why did you participate in an illegal meeting of dwarfs?"


See also

*
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
*
Orange Alternative The Orange Alternative (Polish language, Polish: ''Pomarańczowa Alternatywa'') is a Polish far-left anti-communist underground movement, started in Wrocław, a city in south-west Poland and led by Waldemar Fydrych (sometimes misspelled as Frydr ...
* Martial law in Poland


References


External links


Major Fydrych's personal website


(based on the doctoral thesis Nicole Gourgaud, Université de Lyon – November 1993)
Brief biography on the Orange Alternative Museum website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fydrych, Waldemar 1953 births Living people People from Toruń Polish artists Polish dissidents University of Wrocław alumni