Poland's fight for freedom (jan 1, 1970 – jun 1, 1989)

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In 1970, when severe food shortages provoked riots in the city of Gdansk, a witness to those riots was a young electrician named Lech Walesa. Walesa became involved in anti-Communist union organizing and lost his job after helping to lead a protest in 1976. Union activity spread thought Poland, forming an alliance called Solidarity. However the Communist government launched a crackdown in 1981, banning Solidarity and jailing its leaders, including Walesa. In 1988 after further economic collapse Poland sparked a new round of protests and strikes. In June 1989, Poland held its first free elections in half a century, voters chose as president the electrician from Gdansk, Lech Walesa.

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