We celebrate the 40th anniversary of Lublin 1980 July events, this year. In July 1980, following a drastic increase in food prices, the workers at the State Aviation Works PZL in Świdnik, and later other large plants in Lublin, stopped working. Tens of thousands of workers from over 150 plants joined strikes in Lublin and in the Region. This wave of protests lasted from 8 to 25 July 1980. Eventually, a ‘Stoppage Committee’ signed an agreement with communist authorities but the events sparked nation-wide protests with the momentous Gdańsk shipyard strike in August 1980 led by Lech Wałęsa. Those strikes led to the rise of ‘Solidarity’ and to the collapse of Communism in Poland
‘Before August, came July’ exhibition in Litewski Square, just as extensive material by the ‘Grodzka Gate – NN Theatre’ Centre, recall these important times for all of us. The success of Lublin's 1980 July, opened the way for Poles’ nationwide, democratic movement. They fought for better living conditions, freedom and democracy. Indeed, ‘80s strikes and the unrest that followed not only changed the face of Poland but also of the entire world.
The exhibition will last from July 6 to 31.