28th anniversary of Martial Law in Poland

“Today I address myself to you as a soldier and as the head of the Polish government. I address to you concerning extraordinarily important questions. Our homeland is on the verge of collapse. (…)
Citizens!
The load of responsibility that falls on me on this dramatic moment in the Polish history is huge. It is my duty to take this responsibility - concerning the future of Poland, that my generation fought for on all the fronts of the war and for which they sacrificed the best years of their life. I declare, that today the Military Council of National Salvation has been formed. In accordance with the Constitution, the State Council has imposed martial law all over the country. I wish that everyone understood the motives of our actions. A military coup, military dictatorship is not our goal” – these words were spoken by General Wojciech Jaruzerlski 28 years ago in Polish Television.

They started a period of martial law that lasted from 13th December 1981 to 22nd July 1983. During that period the government of the People's Republic of Poland drastically restricted normal life by introducing martial law in an attempt to crush the political opposition against the Communist rule.

Solidarity and other, smaller organizations were banned and their leaders, including Lech Wałęsa, detained overnight. In the morning, thousands of soldiers in military vehicles patrolled streets of every major city.

For normal citizens it meant closed borers and airports, restricted possibility of travel and censored mail. Moreover military courts were established to bypass the normal court system and civil phone calls were monitored by special operators.

This time is considered to be a beginning of Communism fall in Poland.