Poland Follow

A popular joke in Soviet era Poland went something like this: "One day a pre-school teacher told her class, 'In Poland all kids are happy. They have lots of beautiful toys and live in great apartments...' Suddenly one child starts to cry and screams, 'I want to live in Poland!'"

Prime minister Neville Chamberlain broadcast that Britain was in a state of war with Germany at 11.12am on 3 September 1939. The Second World War had begun two days earlier when the German dictator, Adolf Hitler, invaded Poland.

The people of Poland demanded democracy in 1989 - but 20 years on the economy is still controlled by a tiny elite.

This special season of free film screenings provides a unique opportunity to follow the revolt that 20 years ago liberated Polish society from Stalinist dictatorship.

The threat of strike action by construction workers last week forced a subcontractor to increase the wages of the Polish workers it employs on one of its sites.

Anyone who hoped that the recent international climate treaty meeting in Poznan, Poland, would come up with a solution to climate change will be severely disappointed.

Last year the governing party in Poland proclaimed that it could build a miracle economy.

The US and Poland’s leaders have escalated the militarisation of Europe and the tensions between the West and Russia.

Poland has been presented as a neoliberal success story in eastern Europe. And against the background of recession and near recession in several European Union (EU) countries, Polish economic growth looks quite healthy – it is currently 6.4 percent.

Boguslaw Zietek – leader of the August 80 trade union and the Polish Labour Party (PPP) ‘A formation is needed that is rooted in society, which will implement a programme aimed at wage earners in general.

1945 Poland falls under Russia’s sphere of influence following the Second World War. A dictatorship modeled on Joseph Stalin’s Russia is imposed on the country.1956 A workers’ uprising breaks out in the city of Poznan involving over 100,000 people. It is brutally put down by troops but inspires the creation of workers’ councils in factories in other parts of Poland. It is two years before the movement is crushed.1980 A strike movement sweeps the country in response to an increase in food prices. The Solidarity trade union is formed. It wins massive support and becomes the main opposition to the regime, which is f

With each passing year the Edinburgh Festival, or, more particularly, the huge Festival Fringe, appears to become increasingly commercial and dominated by stand-up comedians and rubbish cabaret shows.