The way the 50th anniversary of the protests in Radom was launched sparked widespread outrage. A dance party involving reenactors dressed as militia officers was, in the view of many, a crossing of boundaries. There were calls for consequences to be drawn, or at least for apologies from the city authorities. Meanwhile, the mayor of the city, Radosław Witkowski, posted a statement in which he created an image of “people of ill will who are taking away our pride in our city.”
Over the weekend, a ball titled “Potańcówka w klimacie” was held at the Municipal Sports and Recreation Center in Radom, marking the first event of the city’s celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the June 1976 workers’ protests. Representatives of the city authorities took part, posing for photos with reenactors dressed in uniforms of the Civic Militia, including ZOMO. Both the initiative and its form sparked enormous controversy. It does not seem that a loud carnival-style party is the best way to commemorate a tragic event in the city’s history, when workers of Radom’s factories demanded bread and the communist authorities responded to that call with brutal violence and repression.
This is all the more outrageous given that for many years the city has actively been building the brand “It began in Radom,” based on the events of June 1976 and the narrative of a “defiant city,” from whose rebellion the Solidarity movement was later born.
Today, during a press conference in front of the city hall, where the MO headquarters was once located, politicians from Law and Justice (PiS) and participants in the 1976 protests in Radom demanded apologies from the city authorities, as well as the resignation of Mayor Radosław Witkowski (Civic Coalition).
Marek Suski said, “Half a century after those events, the Polish state adopted a resolution declaring this the year of the Radom rebellions, which began the path through KOR and ROPCiO to the creation of the great Solidarity movement that led to the removal of the communists from power. What is particularly scandalous is that in this year of remembrance of those tragic events, the city authorities are organizing a ball where they have fun, where people dressed up as ZOMO officers and militiamen hug the city authorities and the Civic Coalition (KO) that supports them. All of this is taking place at a sports center where minors were also present. In the photos the mayor boasted about, bottles of alcohol can be seen on the table.” He added that the mayor should resign.
Andrzej Sobieraj, a former Solidarity activist, said it was “a danse macabre.” He explained, “The city authorities have treated us to a danse macabre, a dance on the heads of those who did not go out dressed nicely, for a ball, but in work clothes, to protest because they were dying of hunger. Everyone has forgotten that there were no lavishly set tables back then, that people stood in lines for many hours just to buy anything. Now they are dancing a dance of joy.”
Jan Rejczak, involved in helping the victims of the June 1976 repression and a former Radom voivode, recalled that the People’s Republic of Poland was a time of humiliation for many millions of Poles. He said, “I lived through those days. One may feel nostalgia for the times of the People’s Republic of Poland, many people do, but one cannot say they were normal times. They were not normal times, but times of great humiliation and great harm to millions of Poles. What happened in Radom at the start of the commemorations fills me with sadness and a certain bewilderment. The matter has been made public and now they see us, the people of Radom, as some kind of ignoramuses who cannot appreciate the great value that the protest, the rebellions of Radom’s workers, had for the city and for Poland. This is a deeper problem – that someone consciously wants to shape our memory the way they see it, the way the second most powerful person in the state sees it – that these were smiling times. We cannot allow a change of narrative. No one in Radom mocks the victims of the 1905 revolution – just nearby, Tsarist gendarmes shot dozens of people. This is part of our history. What is happening in Radom outrages us, and those responsible for changing the narrative should face consequences. Perhaps this was done deliberately.”
Today, in response to the voices of outrage, the aforementioned mayor, Radosław Witkowski, posted a statement on social media. He said that “he does not consent to playing politics on the victims of the Workers’ Protest from 50 years ago” and that “he does not consent to people of ill will taking away our pride in the history of our city.” He added that “the memory of June should unite, not divide.”
He also wrote, “Yes, at the ‘Potańcówka w klimacie’ the historical reenactment involving people dressed as MO officers was unfortunate and also crossed the boundaries of my personal sensitivity. However, this does not change the fact that we hold the participants of Radom June ’76 in the highest regard, as evidenced by the large-scale commemorations of successive anniversaries organized since 2016.” He added that “the program of the commemorations includes a number of events that are meant to recall history while also being a tribute to the Heroes of the Radom Workers’ Protest,” and concluded, “And that is all on this matter.”
At the same time, Witkowski restricted the ability to comment on his post. Earlier, a post appeared on the city’s official profile that was meant to explain the chosen form of commemoration. It stated, “This is memory that has many forms. The year 2026 is the Year of Radom June ’76. A year of pride that it was here that it all began. Of courage. Of unity. Of the voice of the people. (…) The dance party was one element of this story – a meeting of people, a community, being together. With history in mind. With respect. And with the conviction that Radom knows how to remember and be together.”