On this day in 1980, protesting workers led by Lech Wałęsa and the communist authorities concluded the historic August Agreements, paving the way for the Solidarity - trade union and movement.
Lech Wałęsa, speaking 40 years after the historic agreements were signed in 2020, described that day as "the greatest victory in Polish history".
Although it is generally acknowledged among historians that Wałęsa cooperated with communist authorities as a young man in the early 70s, political actors on the right, in particular those surrounding Law and Justice, have sought to remove Wałęsa's role entirely from Polish history or portray him as a traitor, as emphasized by a critic of Law and Justice:
We won on 15 October [15, October 2023, when Law and Justice lost power in the general elections] also so that we could hear the name of Wałęsa in the media during the anniversary of the August Agreements of 1980. To be able to hear the truth and not some propaganda blurb in which Lech Kaczyński replaces Lech Wałęsa. So that this day does not become a day of state-sponsored hate against Wałęsa.
Sources: PAP, X
pt
