Exclusive interview with Lech Walesa Gdansk

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Gdansk : The city of freedom
The Independent Self-governing Trade Union "Solidarity" (in Polish Niezależny Samorządny
Związek Zawodowy "Solidarność") began as a worker-led movement for political reform in
Communist Poland during the 1980s. The movement started when fifty labor unions banded
together to protest the Communist government which had the control of all aspects of economic and social life. It was the first independent labor union in a Soviet-bloc country. In a
short time, Solidarity had been transforming itself from a trade union into a social movement or more specifically, a revolutionary movement. Over the 500 days following the Gdańsk
Agreement, millions of workers, intellectuals and students joined it or its suborganizations.
Solidarity greatly contributed to the fall of communism and to the consequent Poland's transformation into a modern democratic state. Nowadays, Solidarity is the largest trade union in
Poland and it bases its activities on Christian ethics and Catholic social teaching. It continues to
works to protect workers' interests and to fulfill their material, social and cultural aspirations.
Exclusive interview with Lech Walesa
DW : What do you consider as
your greatest achievement and
what consequences did your
country face because of them?
All the great achievements in Poland hold
a collective merit. My achievements would
not have been possible without the support
of shipyard workers first, and then ten million
Poles behind them. Thanks to them, thanks
to the good understanding of the common
aim, we managed to do something theoretically impossible; to defeat an opponent that
was strong and who had all the instruments
of power in his hands. The eagerness to overthrow an imposed, unwanted and enslaving
system, and a fight for the freedom, independence and democracy was always a Polish aim.
DW : Why does Poland reflect the
vision of a powerful Europe?
Poland has had a complicated and difficult
history, from being in great power to being
a victim of foreign attacks and loss of territory. For this reason, the current situation of
security and cooperation in the EU of free
and democratic states fulfills the dream of the
generations past and present.
DW : Why is Poland the country
that most enthusiastically
believes in the future of Europe?
That is because the Polish enthusiasm and
faith allowed us to survive and triumph even
in situations of despair. With today’s globalization, the progress, development and security
can only be a result of common actions. This
is a commonly known and well understood
truth and that is where we find our enthusiasm to cooperate within the European Union
in lost important issues that the modern world
brings us.
DW : What are the most
important Polish values that
you would like to spread over
Europe?
I believe that some agreed values should
be the foundation of the European Union. For
me, the Ten Commandments would be sufficient but I can understand that in Europe so
diverse in terms of ideology and religion, it is
necessary to look for values that are universal
enough to be agreed upon. Hence, I think we
should find values such as honesty, solidarity,
transparency, that are acceptable to all, and
only then adapt them to less diverse communities as country, region etc. It is crucial that
such adopted values become mandatory, both
for individuals and the common society, and
that law and rules of conduct were based on
them.
The capital of Poland's "Pomorze" province (Northern Poland), the city of Gdansk is located on the Baltic Sea. It is no wonder that Gdansk was
the birthplace of the Solidarnosc labor movement under the leadership of political activist Lech Wałęsa. At present this maritime capital of Poland
is an important cultural and academic centre. It is also a large centre of economic life, science and a popular tourist destination. The seaport and
international airport (Gdansk Lech Walesa Airport) make the city a significant transport hub.
Gdansk port in the past
Gdansk city nowadays
Pope John Paul's
visit to Gdansk
Karol Jozef Wojtyla :
The Polish Pope
The Pope John Paul II made a pilgrimage to Gdańsk in
1987. During his visit, he celebrated an open-air mass at
Zaspa. This mass was attended by over a million people,
mostly workers. The Pope called for the respecting of national and religious traditions and advocated for freedom
and human rights. His message was in reference to the
Solidarnosc labor movement. The Pontiff mentioned the
word “solidarity” seven times and declared that the outlawed trade union movement was the true wave of Poland’s future.
For many centuries all Popes were
Italian but in 1978 cardinals at the
Vatican elected as Pope the Polish Cardinal Karol Józef Wojtyła. He took the
name of Pope John Paul II. He was the
first non-Italian Pope
since 1523. He has
taken his mission out of
the Vatican and around
the globe. During his
life he travelled widely
more than 100 countries. One of the earliest trips, in 1979, was
to Poland. On May
1981, John Paul II was shot and critically
wounded by a trained expert Turkish
gunman who was a member of the militant group Grey Wolves. Young people
had a special place in his heart. In 1985
he called young people to join him for
the first World Youth Day celebration
in Rome. Since that time he continued
to speak with young people, exhorting them to become disciples of Jesus
Christ. In 2001 he was diagnosed with
Parkinson’s disease, and
began to have trouble
completing speeches. In
2002 he returned to his
native Poland. The visit
was widely viewed as a
farewell to the Catholic
community closest to
his heart. He died in the
Vatican on April 2005
and he was mourned by more than one
billion Catholics worldwide, and many
non-Catholics. On December 2009,
John Paul II was proclaimed venerable by
his successor Pope Benedict XVI and was
beatified on 1st May 2011.