Russian Tanks! No Thanks! - Solidarność (Solidarity)

[StefanM]

A fantastic press photo from Prague Spring 1968

[StefanM]

A few further Solidarność (Solidarity) movement protest badges:



Above: St. Barbara was the patron saint of the Polish Underground during WWII (see below) so was symbolic of the resistance by Solidarity against the Polish communist regime.







Above: a symbolic reference of the Solidarity movement to the Polish anticommunist Poznan rising of 1956. Under the Polish communist regime it was often illegal to discuss openly such events in Polish history in a period when all typewriters had to be registered and numbered by the Polish communist authorities and owning an unregistered typewriter or duplicator was a criminal act against the state for which prison sentences were imposed.



Above: Element Antysocjalistyczny Solidarnośc


A very inexpensive area of collecting but depicting a momentous period of social change.

[A.J. Zawadzki]

The "Element Antysocjalistyczny SOLIDARNOŚĆ" is a great little jab in the eye of predictable communist propaganda thrown against those daring to raise the voice of dissent. Super item. What exactly is this - a pin of some sort?

Regards,
Tony

[StefanM]

The "Element Antysocjalistyczny Solidarnośc" is a great little jab in the eye of predictable communist propaganda thrown against those daring to raise the voice of dissent. Super item. What exactly is this - a pin of some sort?

Regards,
Tony

Most of these are cheaply produced pin-backs although some of the larger metal badges have spinner fixings:






Below is another version of the "Element Antysocjalistyczny Solidarnośc" button badge:



There are several more versions including a metal "EA" badge so am on the look-out for these also

[StefanM]

Above: Two plastic pin-back badges that commemorate Pro-Solidarity priest Father Jerzy Popieluszko who was murdered by three Polish secret service policemen 30 October 1984:

".....Polish police have recovered the body of a Roman Catholic priest an outspoken champion of the banned trade union Solidarity.
Father Jerzy Popieluszko, aged 37, was kidnapped on 19 October allegedly by three secret police, led by a police captain in the Interior Ministry, who have since been arrested.

Father Popieluszko had become famous throughout Poland when he drew thousands to his church where he preached against the Communist government."

BBC ON THIS DAY | 30 | 1984: Pro-Solidarity priest is murdered

[lebus12]

Very interesting ! I never saw such things in Prague, I know this rosa tank


One person in Prague told me that rosa was for a non serious army(this tank was in 2008)

It was in front of the road used by Russians tanks in 1968.

[StefanM]

Two more button badges:

[StefanM]

Above: This badge depicts the symbol used for "Fighting Solidarity" and was inspired by the World War II "Kotwica (or PW") Fighting Poland emblem adopted by the Polish underground.

"Fighting Solidarity" came about after December 1981 when the Polish communist regime began a crack-down on Solidarity, declaring martial law. Solidarity's leaders at Gdańsk, were arrested and incarcerated; some further 5,000 Solidarity supporters were arrested in the middle of the night during the crack-down.

Immediately after the legal Solidarity leadership had been arrested (Solidarity was a legally recognised Trade Union), underground structures began to be formed and throughout the mid-1980s, Solidarity persevered as "Fighting Solidarity" an exclusively underground organisation much like Poles had previously done against the German occupation during WWII and the anti-communist resistance from 1944 when the Red Army first liberated and then occupied the country.

Below: Fighting Solidarity" poster

[StefanM]

The now iconic Solidarność was designed in 1980 by Jerzy Janiszewski a 28-year-old graphic-arts graduate in Gdansk who sympathised with striking shipyard workers and wanted to contribute an image to rally the movement and after thinking of the shipyard’s gate as an image, he settled on graffiti that demonstrators had painted on walls and selected from it a single word: Solidarność - Solidarity.

“It suddenly struck me as obvious — this was the word,” Janiszewski said. “I wanted the people of the shipyard to be represented, so I made the letters like people with their arms linked.”

[StefanM]

Another Solidarity button badge:

PK - Pelzajacy Kontrrewolucjonista or literally "Creeping Counter-revolutionary"



....although I think I prefer "Sneaky Counter-revolutionary" as a more descriptive translation.