|
Alina Pienkowska
Alina Barbara Pienkowska (12 January 1952 – 17 October 2002; her surname is often misspelt as ''Pieńkowska'') was a Polish free trade union activist and a Senator for Gdańsk (1991–1993, Solidarity Parliamentary Club). She was involved in the creation of Solidarity, of which she was a member of its organizing committee. Biography Pienkowska's father worked in the Lenin Shipyard and had joined in the shipyard workers' protest of December 1970. In 1980 she was a young, widowed mother (of a son, Sebastian) working as the shipyard nurse. She had been one of the founders of the underground Free Trade Unions of the Coast in the 1970s. She wrote health-related articles for the underground journal, ''The Coastal Worker'', mostly related to shipyard safety and rising accident rates. The August 1980 strike started on the 14th over the firing of Anna Walentynowicz. All of the phone lines into the shipyard were cut except to the clinic, and as the nurse, Pienkowska was instrumental ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Gdańsk
Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdańsk lies at the mouth of the Motława River and is situated at the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay, close to the city of Gdynia and the resort town of Sopot; these form a metropolitan area called the Tricity, Poland, Tricity (''Trójmiasto''), with a population of approximately 1.5 million. The city has a complex history, having had periods of Polish, German and self rule. An important shipbuilding and trade port since the Middle Ages, between 1361 and 1500 it was a member of the Hanseatic League, which influenced its economic, demographic and #Architecture, urban landscape. It also served as Poland's principal seaport and was its largest city since the 15th century until the early 18th century when Warsaw surpassed it. With the Partition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Interfactory Strike Committee
Inter-Enterprise Strike Committee (or ''Inter-Factory Strike Committee'', , MKS) was an action strike committee formed in Gdańsk Shipyard, People's Republic of Poland on 16 August 1980. It was led by Lech Wałęsa and others and is famous for issuing the 21 demands of MKS on 17 August, that eventually led to the Gdańsk Agreement and creation of Solidarity. Background The widespread strikes of 1980 were far from being the first clashes between the ruling party and the working class in Poland after World War II. Despite having a "socialist" government, the elite of the Polish ruling class averaged an income twenty times that of the blue-collar worker. This elite ruling class owned or largely controlled the police, media and industry of the state, including the state-organized unions. Insufficient pay and food shortages, in addition to a growing movement in favor of independent union activism led to strikes in 1956 and 1970 which left hundreds of workers dead from clashes with po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crimes against humanity, Child labour, child labor, torture, human trafficking, and Women's rights, women's and LGBTQ rights. It pressures governments, policymakers, companies, and individual abusers to respect human rights, and frequently works on behalf of refugees, children, migrants, and political prisoners. The organization was founded in 1978 as Helsinki Watch, whose purpose was to monitor the Soviet Union's compliance with the 1975 Helsinki Accords. Its separate global divisions merged into Human Rights Watch in 1988. The group publishes annual reports on about 100 countries with the goal of providing an overview of the worldwide state of human rights. In 1997, HRW shared the Nobel Peace Prize as a founding member of the International C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Time (magazine)
''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published Weekly newspaper, weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on March 3, 1923, and for many years it was run by its influential co-founder, Henry Luce. A European edition (''Time Europe'', formerly known as ''Time Atlantic'') is published in London and also covers the Middle East, Africa, and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition (''Time Asia'') is based in Hong Kong. The South Pacific edition, which covers Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands, is based in Sydney. Since 2018, ''Time'' has been owned by Salesforce founder Marc Benioff, who acquired it from Meredith Corporation. Benioff currently publishes the magazine through the company Time USA, LLC. History 20th century ''Time'' has been based in New York City since its first issue published on March 3, 1923 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Strike (2006 Film)
''Strike'' is a 2006 Polish-German historical drama film directed by Volker Schlöndorff. The film covers the formation of Solidarity and centers around work and labor organizing in the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Polish People's Republic. The film follows the life of Agnieszka Kowalska (Katharina Thalbach) in about three segments covering first her life as a dedicated worker in communist Poland of the early 1960s (DVD chapters 1-4), then following events leading to the Polish 1970 protests (chapters 5-10), and finally the early 1980s, including the dedication of the Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers of 1970, the Gdańsk Agreement, and Martial law in Poland (chapters 11-15). The character of Agnieszka is a composite based loosely based on the lives of two women labour activists, the crane operator Anna Walentynowicz and the diminutive shipyard nurse Alina Pienkowska. Plot Agnieszka Kowalska is a hardworking welder in the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk. She is honored as a he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Man Of Iron
''Man of Iron'' () is a 1981 film directed by Andrzej Wajda. It depicts the Solidarity labour movement and its first success in persuading the Polish government to recognize workers' right to an independent union. The film continues the story of Maciej Tomczyk, the son of Mateusz Birkut, the protagonist of Wajda's earlier film, '' Man of Marble''. Here, Maciej is a young worker involved in the anti-Communist labour movement, described as "the man who started the Gdańsk Shipyard strike", and a journalist working for the Communist regime's radio station, who is given the task of slandering Maciej. The young man is clearly intended as a parallel to Lech Wałęsa (who appears as himself in the movie). ''Man of Iron'' clarifies the ending of ''Man of Marble'', which left the death of Mateusz Birkut ambiguous. ''Man of Iron'' explicitly states that Mateusz was killed in clashes at the shipyards in 1970. The film was made during the brief thaw in Communist censorship that appeared ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the "Polish Film School". He was known especially for his trilogy of war films consisting of ''A Generation'' (1955), ''Kanał'' (1957) and ''Ashes and Diamonds (film), Ashes and Diamonds'' (1958). He is considered one of the world's most renowned filmmakers, whose works chronicled his native country's political and social evolution and dealt with the myths of Polish national identity offering insightful analyses of the universal element of the Polish experience – the struggle to maintain dignity under the most trying circumstances. Four of his films have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film: ''The Promised Land (1975 film), The Promised Land'' (1975), ''The Maids of Wilko'' (1979), ''Man of Iron'' (1981) and '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Order Of The White Eagle (Poland)
The Order of the White Eagle () is the highest honour of the Poland, Republic of Poland and formerly the Second Polish Republic and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and one of the oldest state decorations in the world still in use. It was officially instituted on 1 November 1705 by Augustus II the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, and bestowed on eight of his closest diplomatic and political supporters. It has since been awarded to the most distinguished Polish people, Poles for their merits and occasionally to the heads of state of foreign countries. The Order of the White Eagle is attached to an azure sash slung over the left shoulder to the right side. The star of the Order, formerly embroidered, is worn on the left side of the chest. Unlike other Polish high decorations, the Order of the White Eagle does not have different classes or crosses. History The badge of the Order of the White Eagle was originally a red vitreous enamel, enamel oval gold medal wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Polonia Restituta
The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievements in the fields of education, science, sport, culture, art, economics, national defense, social work, civil service, or for furthering good relations between countries. It is Poland's second-highest civilian state award in the order of precedence, behind the Order of the White Eagle. The Order of Polonia Restituta is sometimes regarded as Poland's successor to the ''Order of the Knights of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr'', known as the Order of Saint Stanislaus, established in 1765 by Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last King of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, to honor supporters of the Polish crown. History When Poland regained its independence from the German Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Russian Empire in 1918, the new Polish government abolished the activities of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Tadeusz Mazowiecki
Tadeusz Mazowiecki (; 18 April 1927 – 28 October 2013) was a Polish author, journalist, philanthropist and politician, formerly one of the leaders of the Solidarity movement, and the first non-communist Polish prime minister since 1946, having held the post from 1989 to 1991.BBC (corporate author), p. 1 He was the founder and leader of Democratic Union and Freedom Union. Between 1991–2001, he was a member of the Polish Parliament. In the years 2010–2013, he served as advisor to President Bronisław Komorowski. He is the recipient of Poland's highest order of merit, the Order of the White Eagle. Biography Tadeusz Mazowiecki was born in Płock, Poland on 18 April 1927 to a Polish noble family, which uses the Dołęga coat of arms.Kopka & Żelichowski, p. 135Pszczółkowski, pp. 1–2 Both his parents worked at the local Holy Trinity Hospital: his father was a doctor there while his mother ran a charity for the poor.Pac, p. 1 His education was interrupted by the outb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
History Of Poland (1989–present)
From 1989 through 1991, Poland engaged in a Democratization, democratic transition which put an end to the Polish People's Republic and led to the foundation of a democratic government, known as the Third Polish Republic (Polish language, Polish: ''III Rzeczpospolita Polska''), following the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, First and Second Polish Republic. After ten years of democratic consolidation, Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union on 1 May 2004. Background Tension grew between the people of Poland and its communist government, as with the rest of the Eastern bloc as the influence of the Soviet Union faded. With the advent of ''perestroika'' in the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev, the opportunity arose to change the system of government, after the harsh period of Martial law in Poland, martial law (1981-83) imposed by general Wojciech Jaruzelski. Round Table Agreement and democratic transition The government's inability to forestall Poland's economic dec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Freedom Union (Poland)
The Freedom Union (, UW) was a liberal democratic political party in Poland that was active from 1994 to 2005, when it rebranded and became the Democratic Party. History It was founded on 20 March 1994 out of the merger of the Democratic Union (''Unia Demokratyczna'', UD) and the Liberal Democratic Congress (''Kongres Liberalno-Demokratyczny'', KLD). Both of these parties had roots in the Solidarity trade union movement. It represented European democratic and liberal tradition, i.e., it advocated free market economy and individual liberty, rejected extremism and fanaticism, favoured European integration (in the form of European Union membership), rapid privatisation of the enterprises still owned by the Polish state and decentralisation of the government. In the 1991 general elections, the KLD received 7.5% of the vote and 37 seats in the Sejm (out of 460 seats) and the UD got 12.3% of the votes and 62 seats. In 1993 the KLD got 4.0% of the votes and was left without ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
