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| | ==== Communist Party Domination ==== | | ==== Communist Party Domination ==== |
| | + | [[File:Socialist reliefs Warsaw.jpg|thumb|left|Socialist relief, Pałac Kultury i Nauki, Warsaw.]] |
| | In October 1956, after the 20th ("de-Stalinization") Soviet Party Congress in Moscow and riots by workers in Poznan, there was a shakeup in the communist regime. While retaining most traditional communist economic and social aims, the regime of First Secretary Wladyslaw Gomulka liberalized Polish internal life. | | In October 1956, after the 20th ("de-Stalinization") Soviet Party Congress in Moscow and riots by workers in Poznan, there was a shakeup in the communist regime. While retaining most traditional communist economic and social aims, the regime of First Secretary Wladyslaw Gomulka liberalized Polish internal life. |
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| | In October 1978, the Bishop of Krakow, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, became [[Pope John Paul II]], head of the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. Polish Catholics rejoiced at the elevation of a Pole to the papacy and greeted his June 1979 visit to Poland with an outpouring of emotion. | | In October 1978, the Bishop of Krakow, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, became [[Pope John Paul II]], head of the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. Polish Catholics rejoiced at the elevation of a Pole to the papacy and greeted his June 1979 visit to Poland with an outpouring of emotion. |
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| − | In July 1980, with the Polish foreign debt at more than $20 billion, the government made another attempt to increase meat prices. A chain reaction of strikes virtually paralyzed the Baltic coast by the end of August and, for the first time, closed most coalmines in Silesia. Poland was entering into an extended crisis that would change the course of its future development. | + | In July 1980, with the Polish foreign debt at more than $20 billion, the government made another attempt to increase meat prices. A chain reaction of strikes virtually paralyzed the Baltic coast by the end of August and, for the first time, closed most coalmines in Silesia. Poland was entering into an extended crisis that would change the course of its future development. |
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| | ==== The Solidarity Movement ==== | | ==== The Solidarity Movement ==== |