The Pacification of Wujek was a strike-breaking action by the Polish police and army at the Wujek Coal Mine in Katowice, Poland, culminating in the massacre of nine striking miners on December 16, 1981.
It was part of a large-scale action aimed to break the Solidarity free trade union after the introduction of martial law in Poland in 1981. Although the strike was suppressed, in a longer term, it turned out to be a milestone towards the collapse of the authoritarian system in Poland and, ultimately, to the collapse of the Eastern Bloc. It was a site of numerous protests, including by Solidarity activist Anna Walentynowicz who commemorated a plaque to the murdered miners shortly after she left prison at Gołdap.
On December 16, three days after the introduction of the martial law in Poland, pro-Solidarity miners striking against the declaration of the martial law by General Wojciech Jaruzelski were dispersed by the troops of the Polish army and police. The forces used in the main thrust against the miners consisted of eight companies of riot police (ZOMO, supported by ORMO (police reservists) and NOMO) with seven water cannons, three companies of military infantry fighting vehicles (each of 10 vehicles) and one company of tanks. The miners repeatedly fought them off with their tools. During the brawl a number of strikers and 41 troops were injured, including 11 severely.
In the apex of the events, a commando-type special platoon of ZOMO opened the "shoot to kill" fire at the strikers, killing nine of them (Jan Stawisiński, Joachim Gnida, Józef Czekalski, Krzysztof Giza, Ryszard Gzik, Bogusław Kopczak, Andrzej Pełka, Zbigniew Wilk and Zenon Zając) and wounding 21 others. One of the deaths took place after 20 or more days in hospital with severe head-wounds.
Aftermathedit
The repressions after the pacification included sentencing of three miners to jail terms of three to four years in prison.
On June 1, 2007, more than two decades after the incident, 15 former members of the special platoon were sentenced to prison terms for their part in the killings.[1][2] Most of them were sentenced to the terms of 2.5 to three years in prison, except their former platoon commander, Romuald Cieślak, who was sentenced to 11 years in prison. The court however failed to establish who sent the special platoon to Wujek (and thus acquitted the former vice-chief of communist police in Katowice, Marian Okrutny).[3]
Popular cultureedit
The tragedy was portrayed in the 1994 feature film Śmierć jak kromka chleba (Death like daily bread) by Kazimierz Kutz and the 2006 graphic novel 1981: Kopalnia Wujek.
pacification, wujek, strike, breaking, action, polish, police, army, wujek, coal, mine, katowice, poland, culminating, massacre, nine, striking, miners, december, 1981, part, martial, polandthe, wujek, massacre, memorialtypeshootinglocationwujek, coal, mine50,. The Pacification of Wujek was a strike breaking action by the Polish police and army at the Wujek Coal Mine in Katowice Poland culminating in the massacre of nine striking miners on December 16 1981 Pacification of WujekPart of Martial law in PolandThe Wujek massacre memorialTypeShootingLocationWujek Coal Mine50 14 41 N 18 59 17 E 50 244775 N 18 987936 E 50 244775 18 987936ObjectiveCrackdown on the strikeDate16 December 1981 1981 12 16 Executed byZOMOPolish People s ArmyCasualties9 miners killed It was part of a large scale action aimed to break the Solidarity free trade union after the introduction of martial law in Poland in 1981 Although the strike was suppressed in a longer term it turned out to be a milestone towards the collapse of the authoritarian system in Poland and ultimately to the collapse of the Eastern Bloc It was a site of numerous protests including by Solidarity activist Anna Walentynowicz who commemorated a plaque to the murdered miners shortly after she left prison at Goldap Contents 1 The massacre 2 Aftermath 3 Popular culture 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksThe massacre editOn December 16 three days after the introduction of the martial law in Poland pro Solidarity miners striking against the declaration of the martial law by General Wojciech Jaruzelski were dispersed by the troops of the Polish army and police The forces used in the main thrust against the miners consisted of eight companies of riot police ZOMO supported by ORMO police reservists and NOMO with seven water cannons three companies of military infantry fighting vehicles each of 10 vehicles and one company of tanks The miners repeatedly fought them off with their tools During the brawl a number of strikers and 41 troops were injured including 11 severely In the apex of the events a commando type special platoon of ZOMO opened the shoot to kill fire at the strikers killing nine of them Jan Stawisinski Joachim Gnida Jozef Czekalski Krzysztof Giza Ryszard Gzik Boguslaw Kopczak Andrzej Pelka Zbigniew Wilk and Zenon Zajac and wounding 21 others One of the deaths took place after 20 or more days in hospital with severe head wounds Aftermath editThe repressions after the pacification included sentencing of three miners to jail terms of three to four years in prison On June 1 2007 more than two decades after the incident 15 former members of the special platoon were sentenced to prison terms for their part in the killings 1 2 Most of them were sentenced to the terms of 2 5 to three years in prison except their former platoon commander Romuald Cieslak who was sentenced to 11 years in prison The court however failed to establish who sent the special platoon to Wujek and thus acquitted the former vice chief of communist police in Katowice Marian Okrutny 3 Popular culture editThe tragedy was portrayed in the 1994 feature film Smierc jak kromka chleba Death like daily bread by Kazimierz Kutz and the 2006 graphic novel 1981 Kopalnia Wujek See also edit nbsp Organized Labour portal 1981 warning strike in Poland August 31 1982 demonstrations in Poland 1988 Polish strikes History of Solidarity Jastrzebie Zdroj 1980 strikes Lublin 1980 strikes Summer 1981 hunger demonstrations in Poland 1981 strike at Piast Coal Mine in BierunReferences edit Polish court sentences 15 policemen in 1981 massacre at coal mine International Herald Tribune May 31 2007 Wujek coal mine massacre perpetrators face justice Polskie Radio 01 06 2007 Wszyscy zomowcy spod Wujka winni i skazani Archived 2013 10 16 at the Wayback Machine Polska Agencja Prasowa 2007 05 31External links editPictures from the funerals of the killed strikers Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Pacification of Wujek amp oldid 1175869624, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
