Lech Walesa's Fight

Shortly after World War II the Soviet government began to impose communist rule throughout eastern Europe. Backed by the might of the USSR, these communist governments (practically part of the USSR) would rule the Eastern Bloc with an iron fist through the Warsaw Pact. This pact, which was signed in 1955, forced many war effected nations to sign an Alliance with the USSR, effectively making them satellite states.1 Many unfair government policies and a lack of many civil liberties would spark revolution throughout Europe. Countries such as Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, and Czechoslovakia all took park in the great revolutions of 1989. Poland was the key player in this “Autumn of Nations”2. It was a large nation that had been devastated by war just years ago in World War II. The strong nationalistic Polish people constantly dealt with burdens forced upon them by more powerful nations. The Polish people needed a strong leader to bring them independence. Lech Walesa was born as if to answer this plea. Lech Walesa was no different than any other working class man in post war Poland. He loved his family, his mother, and his country just like any other good Catholic. He however had such a patriotic gravitas that he would eventually spark thoughts of revolution into many of his followers. His passionate fights against the communists would eventually lead to Polish independence.

Poland had not seen true independence in nearly a century and a half. It was constantly being occupied by other nations even though its roots could be traced back as far as any other European civilization3. Through the Warsaw Pact Poland was dominated by a very strong communist part with Soviet ideals. Poland was a strong Catholic country. The USSR was strictly at...

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...utraged, he promised many reforms to the Polish people. Walesa had a lot of voting support, but not a lot of Solidarity’s support. He decided to run for the first president of the new Poland anyway. Even though he won the election in a landslide his approval rating quickly dropped. He was too ambitious and did not think like a politician. Walesa was a man of the people who could lead and organize revolution, but he couldn’t deal with running a new nation. Most of Walesa’s reforms never were quite felt in Poland. True capitalism was unable to be reached in Poland. The government is instead taken into the form of a Socialist government. Although Poland had gained much support in Europe due to its pivotal role in bringing down the USSR, that support would be short lived. This was because of a few decisions that in a way isolated Poland from its neighbors, such as NATO.