The European Commission has produced a clip for the 20th anniversary of the fall of communism, but it forgot to mention that it all started in Poland.
“Solidarity”, Lech Wałęsa and the events of 1989 are completely absent. The rare shots from Poland show general Jaruzelski, who introduced martial law in 1981. The Poles – from ordinary people to the authorities are furious.
I cannot think of a better way of introducing anti-Brussels sentiment in Poland, and just in time for the European Parliament elections. Congratulations, Commission!
The clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X87zcC6bntY) shows events in various countries in 1989: Romania, Lithuania, and of course the fall of the Berlin wall. It does not mention Poland at all.
I guess this reflects the Western European vision of what happned. Many people seem to think the fall of the wall was the first event which launched a series of others in other countries. In fact it was the other way around: it was the Polish Round Table agreemens and first (semi) free elections on June 4 1989 which pushed other nations to break free.
I understand that some common people in other countries might have forgotten about this, but the fact that the Commission propagates these untruths is absolutely scandalous. To boot, the clip uses material from demonstrations in 1993 to illustrate events in 1981. Protesters hold a banner with the name of a paper which did not exist in 1981!
One Pole got so angry that he put on youtube another film to counter the Commission’s one. It’s in slightly broken English, but all the photos which symbolise the fall of communism to us Poles are there (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_XnVZ1HVa0).
The Polish ambassador to the EU has today sent a letter of protest to the Commission.
“The fact is that the fall of the Berlin Wall was one of the last accords in the chain of events which took place all over Central and Eastern Europe prior to November 1989, yet still the same year. The pro-democratic movements all over Central and Eastern Europe, the Round Table talks, the elections on June 4th 1989 in Poland (symbolically almost exactly 20 years before the EP elections ahead of us) followed by the first non-communist government in Poland which ironically hosted the German Chancellor in the very days of the events in Berlin. Without it all the Fall of the Berlin Wall simply would not have happened. And forgetting about it all is like trying to play the ‘Ode to Joy’ using only one chord. It simply does not sound like the truth”, wrote the ambassador.
If you ask me, the European Commission should appologize and delete this clip from youtube and history as fast as it can.
#1 by Lawrence on May 18th, 2009 - 1:05 pm
Why should they be furious?
Didn’t they know that the eu takes everyone for a ride and only USE the people for its own ends?
Get together and destroy the eu before it destroys every worker in europe.
#2 by Nicu Popescu on May 18th, 2009 - 1:24 pm
you see what happens if the EC is in charge? if it was the council, it would have to be approved by various committees
and poland and all other member states would be negotiationg on how many seconds each gets at much earlier stage:)
jokes aside – maybe “a roundtable” is difficult to capture with a snappy video? and they see to be very impressed by the Baltics’ progress,… and transition in Cz, Pl – taken almost for granted…
#3 by Peter on May 18th, 2009 - 3:46 pm
Lech Wałęsa is out in the cold over his support for Libertas.
#4 by Des on May 19th, 2009 - 12:02 am
The fall of communism started with Gorbachev, but I doubt many Poles would care to acknowledge that truth.
#5 by Toli on May 19th, 2009 - 5:48 am
It seems it is crime to promote an anti-Lisbon Treaty Party.
Have you not read George Orwell’s ‘1984′? Lech Wałęsa and Solidarity will be removed from history. They did not exist. All praise Ingsoc and the mighty Oceania.
#6 by Alex on May 19th, 2009 - 6:14 am
Dominika, I’m sorry to say that you are being a little naive if you think that the video is missing Lech Wałęsa and Solidarity because they have been overlooked by Western Europeans!
Wałęsa and Solidarity are known throughout the world. The fact that Lech Wałęsa has a Nobel Peace Prize, 33 honorary degrees and 35 honorary doctorates from universities across the world – and that he’s been “Man of the Year” for Time Magazine, the Financial Times and others should give you a clue. And Lech Wałęsa is forever associated with Solidarity and those ‘events’.
But why would The European Commission help promote Wałęsa’s hero reputation just a few short weeks before the European elections? That would be very foolish. (shhh… don’t mention “Libertas”).
#7 by Bojan on May 19th, 2009 - 8:21 am
Somehow I fail to understand why it is so important to look for who triggered the fall of communism. What’s important is that it happened and we’re all free now. Which is I believe exactly what the Commission is trying to emphasise.
#8 by Crayden on May 19th, 2009 - 9:33 am
As an Englishman living in Poland, I think most of the poles I know would tell you that Solidarity became more communist than the communists.
My own experiences in CEO of a large company in Poland concur with this. Shortly after the downfall Solidarity became corrupt full of self interested miniofficials and inept.
#9 by Dominika Pszczolkowska on May 19th, 2009 - 11:23 am
Thank you for all the comments, I see this is a hot subject not only for Poles.
I don’t believe Lech Wałęsa’s involvement with Libertas had anything to do with this.
Des, you are right about Gorbachev and I think Poles are conscious of his role. Although it’s of course nicer to think WE did it.
I guess this issue is hot in Poland also because we have been long debating who “lost” the credit for toppling communism. Even Poles living abroad say “after the fall of the Berlin wall” and not “after the Round Table agreements”.
Crayden, I agree with you that soon after we became democratic Solidarity became just a plain, unconstructive, demanding trade union. Now they are getting slightly better, but a long way to go. Which of course doesn’t change anything of its earlier role, when it was not really a trade union but a mass opposition movement.