The Solidarity movement in Poland
The Solidarity movement in Poland was one of the most dramatic developments in Eastern Europe during the Cold War. It was not a movement that began in 1980, but rather a continuation of a working class and Polish intelligentsia movement that began in 1956, and continued in two other risings, in 1970 and 1976. The most significant of these risings began in the shipyards of the 'Triple City', Gdansk, Sopot and Gdynia in 1970. The first and by far the most violent and bloody of the workers revolts came in June of 1956, when at least 75 people died in the industrial city of Poznan. The third uprising took place in 1976 with workers striking in Warsaw, and rioting in the city of Radom.
What made the Solidarity movement peaceful and far more successful in comparison to that of the previous three? The Solidarity movement originated in the working class, but unlike the previous three risings it also worked with and was involved with the Polish intellectual community. Was this the reason behind its success? Or was it instead the result of the U.S.S.R. losing it's hold in the Eastern bloc, and the fledgling economy of Poland that made such a movement inevitable? While everyone of these points was a factor, the strongest and most compelling argument can be made for the unification and working together of Poland's most influential social classes, the Polish intelligentsia, the workers, and the Church. This strategy eventually led to the infamous 'roundtable' talks, and the collapse of communism itself in Poland.
The Beginnings of a Movement The 'Polish October' of 1956 did not begin with Stalin's death in 1953, in fact Poland was quite calm, in stark contrast with other Eastern bloc countries. While demonstrations took place in Plzen, Czechoslovakia, and a revolt was taking place in East Germany in mid-June, Poland was slow to follow the 'New Course' that was being offered by neighboring countries. This was a result of a much slower relaxation than the other countries experienced. Regardless, social and intellectual unrest began building up, with collectivization being slackened and censorship showing cracks, the nation had a sense that a new start must be made.
The Polish intelligentsia was one of the most important groups to emerge during this period. The Polish intelligentsia is, and remains, a distinct social class that is composed of those with a higher education, or those who at least share similar tastes.
The fight on Hamburger Hill took place during Operation Apache Snow, the second part of a three-phased campaign intended to annihilate North Vietnamese Army (NVA) bases in the treacherous A Shau Valley. Five infantry battalions were leading the attack under Major General Melvin Zais, Commander of the 101st Airborne Division. Three units were American (the 1/506th, 2/501st, and 3/187th Infantry) and two came from the 1st Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) Division (the 2/1st and 4/1st ARVN). Colonel Joseph Conmy, Commander of the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne, controlled and lead the main effort of the attack. His plan called for each of the five battalions to "air assault" into the valley by helicopter on 10 May 1969 and to search its assigned sector for enemy troops and...
No war is fought without the struggle for resources, and with Russia still rapidly lagging behind in the international industrialisation race by the turn of the 20th century, the stage was set for social unrest and uprising against its already uncoordinated and temporally displaced government. With inconceivable demands for soldiers, cavalry and warfare paraphernalia, Russia stood little chance in the face of the great powers of World War One. Shortages of basic human necessities led to countless subsistence riots and the eventual power struggle between the ruling body and its people. From the beginnings of WWI to 1916, prices of essential goods rose 131 percent in Moscow and more than 150 percent in Petrograd. Additionally, historian Walter G. Moss stated that in September 1915 that “there were 100,000 strikers in Russia; in October 1916, there were 250,000 in Petrograd alone.” Moss continues to exemplify the increasing evidence of social unrest and connects the riots to a lack of resources when he goes on to point out that “subsistence riots protesting high prices and shortages… also increased.” ...
1. What do you think of when you drive by that big B-52 at the museum? Being the history buff that I am, I think about Vietnam, where that old “Buff” was used the most. “Why should I care about Vietnam?” you ask yourself. Well, last time I checked there’s a history section in the PFE guide, so there might be a test later! The intent of this paper is to inform you about Operation Linebacker II. I’ll explain the events leading up to the operation, discuss the strategy, and finally I’ll sum up the results of a bombing campaign Sir Michael Knight characterized In the book Strategic Offensive Air Operation as “...may have played a role not unlike two B-29s over Japan 27 years earlier”. (Knight: 77) I’ll start by explaining why President Richard Nixon gave the order to begin this new bombing campaign.
Sanderson, Jefferey. "GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON, JR.” Last modified may 22, 1997. Accessed January 4, 2014. http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCwQFjAA&url=http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a331356.pdf&ei=tYbHUtv3HcGs2gX2u4HAAQ&usg=AFQjCNFU5EzdWjKlt81w8gh_Bj2UEttaZw&sig2=aAz3jIZg7U6peDzL_i8w9w.
During the 20th century, the rise of communism sparked rage in people throughout the world. More towards the end of the 1900's the fall of communism and dictatorships was just the beginning of what would eventually be a large democratic change for several countries. 1989: Democratic Revolutions at the Cold War's End, speaks about the change brought to several different countries from the 1980's-1990's and plans to show "the global transformations that marked the end of the cold war and shaped the era in which we live"(Pg V). During the cold war, communist had power and control over a large area and spread communism throughout several continents. This book specifically hits on six different studies of where communism and dictatorship affected these areas and what they did to stop it. Poland, Philippines, Chile, South Africa, Ukraine, and China throughout the end of the 20th century created revolutionary movements which brought them all one step closer to freeing themselves and creating democratic change.
Patrick, Joe. “Testing the Rules of Engagement.” Vietnam Memoirs. 2003. 80th Fighter Squadron. 13 Nov. 2003.
...feelings prevailed over those of unification. The division inside the socialistic party put only one question in front of Europe - how will the bettering of the workers' lives come upon the continent, through gradual small reforms or through big and rapid revolution?
Everyone wants to be “happy.” Everyone endeavors to fulfill their desires for their own pleasure. What makes this ironic is, the fact that most don‘t know what the actual definition of happiness is. “In Pursuit of Unhappiness” presents an argument, which states that not everyone will be happy. Darrin McMahon, the article’s author, explores the ways our “relentless pursuit of personal pleasure”(McMahon P.11;S.3) can lead to empty aspirations and impractical expectations, making us sad, and not happy. Rather than working to find the happiness of others, we should all focus on finding what makes ourselves happy. It is easier to find happiness in the little things
MLA: Wallis, Claudia, et al. “The New Science of Happiness.” Time. 17 Jan. 2005. Academic Search Premier. Yale University Library. 11 Jan. 2006.
...e reforms, the revolts of Poland were not a bloody massacre as the first two, but effective displays of rejectment of the government. It was a union setup by a boat dock worker, which union were forbidden, to start strikes on the factories and industrialized areas. They smartly got the world media on them. This put the Soviet Union on the spotlight. The revolt was considered one of the greatest individual feats on the fall of communistic Russia. This in turn brought forth new policies and rights.
Bringing Reconstruction to the broken economic structures in the United States has arguably been one of the most enduring and significant issues that the country had faced in its time. As Richard Hofstadter, explain that the progressive movement presented in his essay, “The Status Revolution and Progressive Leaders” by analyzing the common beliefs of the reform groups in the modern perspective. By doing this, it will then to elucidate historical distortions, most notably between the New Deal and Progressivism. The progressive movement brought to the place of entirely during the moment of sustained and prosperity. The reading brought views and thoughts of why did the concerns of the leaders for progression. The leaders contributed the movements for a political and intellectual stand for finance to formulate ideas. I agree with Richard Hofstadter that with a nation for a rather broad diffusion on money, status, and power for an average man in the 1870s can be influence with the absence of many nationwide sources of the powerful and prestige. Also in Hofstadter’s essay, he explained his thought that mugwunps, were Republican political activists who is against the Republican Party by supporting Democratic candidate and also a name given to the unwanted and used up, were Progressives that are victims in the disturbance status. It also presented that the United States was a land that gave people opportunity and place money; however, the civil war increased more. The Mugwump were usually Republican, that were succeeded and thrived; however, people of new wealth in the turn of the century had uncontrollable power unlike the men had seen before. They basically opposed the large attention of wealth and influence th...
The Soviet economy was highly centralized with a “command economy” (p.1). fsmitha.com), which had been broken down due to its complexity and centrally controlled with corruption involved in it. A strong government needs a strong economy to maintain its power and influence, but in this case the economic planning of the Soviet Union was just not working, which had an influence in other communist nations in Eastern Europe as they declined to collapse. The economic stagnation led to the frustration of the workers because of low payments, bad working conditions, inefficiency, corruption and any lack of incentive to do good work. There were lots of frustrations among the workers in the working field who began to express their feelings and emotions towards the Soviet government.
"There is a serious struggle in Greece for three years. We have the largest number of national strikes in Europe. There are strikes at individual plants, factories, private and public sectors. " - General Secretary of the Communist Party of Greece Aleka Papariga, January 30, 2012
The article discusses happiness and a few of the many complications associated with happiness. The article is named “Nation The Happiness of Pursuit.” The authors Kluger, Aciman, and Steinmetz wrote this article for “Time Magazine”. It discusses happiness in many ways, including details about what happiness is from a neurological and physical standpoint. The article begins by examining how Americans were happy in the past and
Along with life and liberty, the pursuit of happiness is among the most fundamental ideals in American society. The men who founded the United States of America in the late 18th century listed these three values as “unalienable rights” for the citizens of the new nation they created. In a recent study looking at the pursuit of happiness, Lyubomirsky, Sheldon, and Schkade stated, “If it is meaningful and important to pursue happiness, then it is crucial to find out how this can be accomplished” (2005, p. 126). In later work, Sheldon and Lyubomirsky (2006) observed that little research has been done to uncover the exact methods in which happiness increases. The views offered in these prior projects are vital to the current investigation because there is evidence that even though happiness is pursued, happiness is not accomplished by the majori...