From Solidarity to Martial Law: The Polish Crisis of 1980-1981, A Documentary History

The volume by Andrezj Paczowski and Malcom Byrne (eds) is part of the National Security Archive Cold War Reader edited by CEU University Press in 2007. It presents a series of 95 documents, portraying a central moment in the contemporary Polish history; the time between the foundation of the Solidarity Trade Union and imposition of martial law in 1980-1981. Through extensive use of first hand materials, this work presents a detailed image of Polish society in those turbulent moments when the when the world, and Poland with it, was changing. The editors try to describe this period from a variety of national and political perspectives. The documents extracted from Polish and Soviet archives are very important for understanding that period as they were never meant to be publicly available; rendering them more interesting for research. In general, the collection is diverse and tries to cover every aspect of the events and, to a great extent, succeeds in doing so. The volume manages to achieve its goal of representing a great collection of varied sources, compiled from virtually all the important national archives available in any language, as the editors suggest in the foreword (p. xvii). The main topic is clearly defined through the foreword and introduction and nonetheless the book is divided into six parts:  the birth of Solidarity, fraternal assistance, from crisis to crisis, searches for a Polish solution, final preparations and crackdown.

Each section follows a similar structure and is comprised of approximately 15 key documents that aim to give the reader an all-inclusive image of the events. Sections flow smoothly and treat events comprehensively and systematically. As the main goal of this volume is to grant access to fundamental sources on this tempestuous period, the work motivates researchers to undertake deeper analyses rather than simply annotate the facts. The core argument behind this approach is the will of the editors to provide academics an inclusive starting point for understanding the moments that marked the end of the communist regime in Poland. Benefiting from minimum inputs from the editors, the reader can truly develop their own views through analysis of primary sources. Consequently, this volume represents an excellent combination of the flow of first-hand information and freedom of thought in respect to the opportunity given to the reader to make their own judgments. Nonetheless, this makes the volume dedicated to trained readers and researchers, moving it away from amateurs and enthusiasts.

It is difficult to make an assessment in what concerns the argumentation behind the volume as little was said of the selection process of the documents compiled. The excessive amount of data makes it difficult to read and grasp an overall perspective. On the other hand, the volume remains decently balanced; however there is a lack of even a brief critical component in respect to each of the six parts. This would have maintained the impartiality of the volume.

The outstanding selection of the texts fulfils the goal stated by the editors in the first pages of the volume, in the spirit of the saying of Walesa that added a brief personal perspective of the events. The volume clearly fulfils its documentary role of providing access to primary sources needed for further analysis on the first days of “Solidarity” and the fall of communism in Poland.

The most important characteristic of the volume is the approach adopted by the editors that refrained from adopting a particular side to the analysis; they chose instead to let readers make their own mind by facilitating the examination of primary sources. In a polarised political world, Paczowski and Byrne (eds) take a daring approach contrary to contemporary fashion: they promote free thinking and try to enable the reader to form his/her own judgment about the events that shaped the early 1980s in Poland by infusing their work with first hand materials without offering commentaries. Their approach is not necessarily unique but daring and deserves credit for giving the reader the chance of a freer examination, in the absence of an authorised opinion.

This volume is a comprehensive source of primary documents and is a required title for any researcher dealing with the evolution of Poland’s Solidarity movement in the early 1980’s.  The editors cover the most important moments and arguments of those days, making a true contribution to the research of Poland’s last days of communism. Given the political direction of his work, it will remain relevant for years to come in the areas of political science and international relations as well as European studies, comparative government and totalitarian studies.