On December 16th, Poles commemorate the 37th anniversary of the Wujek Mine Massacre. 9 miners were shot to death and dozens were injured in a deadly strike-breaking action perpetrated by communist police and army forces. The massacre was executed 3 days after the communist military junta under the command of General Wojciech Jaruzelski declared martial law in Poland in order to pacify the 10 million strong Solidarity movement which had been striking and protesting against the regime for more than a year
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Deputy-Prime Minister Beata Szydło are participated in the holy mass and commemoration march from the church to the memorial in front of the mine.
The miners had decided to start the strike hours after their trade union leader, Jan Ludwiczak, had been arrested by the regime on the night before martial law was declared. Up to a thousand miners participated in the sit-in strike directed against the regime. Considerable forces were deployed on December 16th against the miners. Riot police were aided by Infantry Fighting Vehicles and tanks. After the riot police had failed the empty the mine with the help of water cannons, tear gas and batons, a commando-type special unit of riot police armed with automatic weapons was sent in. They quickly opened fire, killing 9 and wounding an additional 22 miners.
The pacification of the Wujek mine was the bloodiest single massacre during martial law and has ever since since served as a symbol of the violence used by the regime against the political dissidents in the year and a half of martial law.