On the anniversary of the strikes, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki quoted the words of the “Solidarity” hymn by the poet Jerzy Narbutt, with music by Stanisław Markowski. “We, the solidary people, this day is ours/ And tomorrow is unknown / But let’s live as if the age was ours/ Lay the foundation calmly under a free country…”
Morawiecki quoted the words of the “Solidarity” hymn, written by poet Jerzy Narbutt, with music by Stanisław Markowski, which, according to the Prime Minister, reflect the spirit of August 1980.
“On the 41st anniversary of those strikes, from which” Solidarity” was born, I pay tribute to the participants of those days. Their stubbornness, determination, and commitment made us live in a free and democratic Poland,” he stressed.
On August 30, 1980, the Szczecin Agreement was signed, ending the August 1980 strikes in Western Pomerania (Pomorze Zachodnie). It was the first of the agreements concluded between the striking workers and the government of the People’s Republic of Poland. The next ones were signed the next day in Gdańsk. The August Agreements led to the establishment of “Solidarity” (the independent trade union “Solidarność”) – the first legal union organization independent of the authorities in communist countries – and marked the beginning of the transformations of 1989 – the overthrow of communism and the exit from the Yalta system.