The Birth of the Polish Solidarity Movement & the start of the fall of Communism

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Get Ready for the Event of the Year

Summer 2010: 30-Year Celebration commemorating the Birth of the Polish Solidarity Movement and the Beginning of the End of Communism

Come join us for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Enjoy an official gala dinner, great entertainment, wonderful artistic performances, a comprehensive Poland tour itinerary, and much more...

The famous words of President Ronald Reagan in Berlin, "Tear down this wall!" did not bring Communism to its knees. What really shattered Communism and eventually brought it to its demise were the collective efforts of millions of Polish men and women who, led by the heroic trade unionist Lech Walesa, created "Solidarity."

Lech Walesa led the strike at the Lenin Shipyard in Gda?sk, which sparked workers' strikes across the nation until one million strong joined in the protests. This was and remains the largest strike in world history and became the cradle of the Solidarity social movement and marking the beginning of the Communist system. The trade-union leader went on to become the recipient of the 1983 Nobel Peace Prize and the first President of democratic Poland after the 1989 fall of Communism.

Pope John Paul II, himself a native son of Krakow, Poland, inspired the rise of Solidarity and in one year's time, ten million Poles joined the movement. Like Ghandi before him, Lech Walesa initiated and led a massive but peaceful unionist campaign of civil disobedience against the Soviet dictatorship. These actions eventually crippled the USSR economy and triggered a "domino effect" across the former Soviet Bloc.

To the great surprise of Western Society Lech Walesa and Solidarity emerged as the winners - in a modern-day David and Goliath story of epic proportions.

The success of Solidarity was nothing short of a miracle that swept the entire Soviet Bloc. Russia soon realized that lifting the Iron Curtain and liberating the oppressed Eastern European nations that they had imprisoned since the end of WWII would be the only way to insure their own survival.

Solidarity became the straw that broke the back of Soviet Communism.

The summer of 2010 marks the 30th anniversary of this historic achievement. The GLOBAL event of the year will be in Poland, under the auspices of the Polish Government and many world organizations. Lech Walesa and other heroes and heroines of the Solidarity Movement will be honored in a series of commemorative events.

Join us in celebrating the 30-year anniversary of the birth of Solidarity and the beginning of the end of Communism in June 2010.

(Complete program and itinerary coming soon)

Poland Jewish Heritage Tours