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106-753: The first meeting of students demanding independent Association took place on August 27, 1980, in Gdańsk . On September 2, the Temporary Founding Committee of the University of Gdańsk was created, followed by similar bodies in other Polish cities, such as Warsaw, Poznań, and Kraków. Between 18 and 19 October 1980, at the Warsaw University of Technology , a founding meeting of a newly created student organization took place, with 60 chapters, representing different Polish universities and colleges. At this point,

212-467: A candidate for the city of Bytom . Both as a member of parliament and as editor of Gazeta Wyborcza he actively supported Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki 's government and his candidature in the 1990 presidential election campaign against Lech Wałęsa. After the breakup of the Citizens' Committee and Mazowiecki's failure, Michnik withdrew from his direct involvement in politics and did not run for

318-457: A free and secure access to the sea"), the Poles hoped the city's harbour would also become part of Poland. However, in the end – since Germans formed a majority in the city, with Poles being a minority (in the 1923 census 7,896 people out of 335,921 gave Polish, Kashubian, or Masurian as their native language) – the city was not placed under Polish sovereignty. Instead, in accordance with the terms of

424-723: A general strike to demand the ouster of a newly appointed rector at the Radom Engineering School. In late November and early December 1981, another important event took place. On November 25, students of Warsaw's School of Fire Service Officers went on strike to protest their college's being subjected directly to the Ministry of Interior and Administration versus the Higher Education Bill. The cadets demanded both an exemption from police duties, and academic rights. Polish students did not enjoy their freedom for long. Following

530-616: A member of the management of one of the biggest underground publishers: NOWa . In years 1980–1989, he was an adviser to both the Independent Self-governing trade union " Solidarity " (NSZZ "Solidarność") in the Mazovia Region and to Foundry Workers Committee of "Solidarity". When martial law was declared in December 1981, he was an internee at first, but when he refused to sign a "loyalty oath" and assent to voluntarily leave

636-576: A non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union. The German attack began in Danzig, with a bombardment of Polish positions at Westerplatte by the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein , and the landing of German infantry on the peninsula. Outnumbered Polish defenders at Westerplatte resisted for seven days before running out of ammunition. Meanwhile, after a fierce day-long fight (1 September 1939), defenders of

742-663: A result of increased exports of grain (especially wheat), timber, potash , tar, and other goods of forestry from Prussia and Poland via the Vistula River trading routes , although after its capture, the Teutonic Knights tried to actively reduce the economic significance of the town. While under the control of the Teutonic Order German migration increased. The Order's religious networks helped to develop Danzig's literary culture. A new war broke out in 1409, culminating in

848-499: A seat in the 1991 parliamentary election , instead focusing on editorial and journalistic activities. Under his leadership, Gazeta Wyborcza was converted into an influential liberal daily newspaper in Poland. Based on Gazeta Wyborcza assets, the Agora SA partnership came into existence. By May 2004, it was one of the biggest media concerns in Poland, administrating 11 monthly titles,

954-625: A sit-in, which was brutally broken by the riot police. Another strike was broken at Kraków's Pedagogical University . At some point in the mid-1980s, the Association began cooperation with high-school students organization Federation of Fighting Youth . The NZS, which in the years 1984-1985 was in the decline, began to flourish, beginning in 1986, when a new generation of students replaced the old. The number of self-published magazines grew, new chapters were created, and finally, in September 1988, during

1060-580: A solidarity strike. On February 17, 1981, the government accepted registration of the Association, under the condition that it would abide by the Constitution. The following day, the strikes in Łódź ended. The government pledged to grant more autonomy to the students and agreed that the students would no longer be obliged to study the Russian language. Another concession was the elimination of compulsory Marxist-Leninist courses. The Government's decision to register

1166-567: Is a city on the Baltic coast of northern Poland , and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship . With a population of 486,492, it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport . Gdańsk lies at the mouth of the Motława River and is situated at the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , close to the city of Gdynia and the resort town of Sopot ; these form a metropolitan area called

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1272-466: Is a matter of expanding our Lebensraum in the east", adding that there will be no repeat of the Czech situation, and Germany will attack Poland at first opportunity, after isolating the country from its Western Allies. After the German proposals to solve the three main issues peacefully were refused, German-Polish relations rapidly deteriorated. Germany attacked Poland on 1 September after having signed

1378-465: Is a member of the Association of Polish Writers and the Council on Foreign Relations . Since the conservative Law and Justice party led by Jarosław Kaczyński gained power in Poland in 2015, Michnik has been a vocal critic of the new government accusing it of undermining democracy in the country stating that "What we are seeing today is a gradual closing down of democracy. There is no other democracy than

1484-503: Is served by Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport , the country's third busiest airport and the most important international airport in northern Poland. Gdańsk is among the most visited cities in Poland, having received 3.4 million tourists according to data collected in 2019. The city also hosts St. Dominic's Fair , which dates back to 1260, and is regarded as one of the biggest trade and cultural events in Europe. Gdańsk has also topped rankings for

1590-466: Is still someone dying at Thermopylae , someone drinking a glass of hemlock , someone crossing the Rubicon , someone drawing up a proscription list ." Brutal and cruel colonialism is not the only, or the determining, aspect of English, French, and Dutch identity, even though the colonial era profoundly influenced these cultures. Likewise, Russia is not doomed to despotism at home and aggression abroad. It

1696-541: Is the vita of Saint Adalbert . Written in 999, it describes how in 997 Saint Adalbert of Prague baptised the inhabitants of urbs Gyddannyzc , "which separated the great realm of the duke [i.e., Bolesław the Brave of Poland] from the sea." No further written sources exist for the 10th and 11th centuries. Based on the date in Adalbert's vita , the city celebrated its millennial anniversary in 1997. Archaeological evidence for

1802-680: The Battle of Grunwald (1410), and the city came under the control of the Kingdom of Poland . A year later, with the First Peace of Thorn , it returned to the Teutonic Order. In 1440, the city participated in the foundation of the Prussian Confederation which was an organisation opposed to the rule of the Teutonic Knights. The organisation in its complaint of 1453 mentioned repeated cases in which

1908-540: The Danzig gulden . With the growth of Nazism among Germans, anti-Polish sentiment increased and both Germanisation and segregation policies intensified, in the 1930s the rights of local Poles were commonly violated and limited by the local administration. Polish children were refused admission to public Polish-language schools, premises were not allowed to be rented to Polish schools and preschools. Due to such policies, only eight Polish-language public schools existed in

2014-605: The Great Privilege , the town was granted full autonomy and protection by the King of Poland. The privilege removed tariffs and taxes on trade within Poland, Lithuania, and Ruthenia (present day Belarus and Ukraine ), and conferred on the town independent jurisdiction, legislation and administration of her territory, as well as the right to mint its own coin. Furthermore, the privilege united Old Town , Osiek , and Main Town , and legalised

2120-481: The Kashubian language the city is called Gduńsk . Although some Kashubians may also use the name "Our Capital City Gduńsk" ( Nasz Stoleczny Gard Gduńsk ) or "Our (regional) Capital City Gduńsk" ( Stoleczny Kaszëbsczi Gard Gduńsk ), the cultural and historical connections between the city and the region of Kashubia are debatable and use of such names raises controversy among Kashubians. The oldest evidence found for

2226-621: The Kingdom of Prussia in 1793, in the Second Partition of Poland . Both the Polish and the German-speaking population largely opposed the Prussian annexation and wished the city to remain part of Poland. The mayor of the city stepped down from his office due to the annexation. The notable city councilor Jan (Johann) Uphagen, historian and art collector, also resigned as a sign of protest against

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2332-613: The Kristallnacht riots in November 1938, the community decided to organize its emigration and in March 1939 a first transport to Palestine started. By September 1939 barely 1,700 mostly elderly Jews remained. In early 1941, just 600 Jews were still living in Danzig, most of whom were later murdered in the Holocaust . Out of the 2,938 Jewish community in the city, 1,227 were able to escape from

2438-931: The National Museum , the Gdańsk Shakespeare Theatre , the Museum of the Second World War , the Polish Baltic Philharmonic , the Polish Space Agency and the European Solidarity Centre . Among Gdańsk's most notable historical landmarks are the Town Hall , the Green Gate , Artus Court , Neptune's Fountain , and St. Mary's Church , one of the largest brick churches in the world. The city

2544-754: The November and January uprisings and refugees from the Russian Partition of Poland fleeing conscription into the Russian Army, and insurgents of the November Uprising were also imprisoned in Biskupia Górka ( Bischofsberg ). In May–June 1832 and November 1833, more than 1,000 Polish insurgents departed partitioned Poland through the city's port, boarding ships bound for France , the United Kingdom and

2650-661: The Old Town was equipped with city rights as well. In 1380, the New Town was founded as the third, independent settlement. After a series of Polish-Teutonic Wars , in the Treaty of Kalisz (1343) the Order had to acknowledge that it would hold Pomerelia as a fief from the Polish Crown . Although it left the legal basis of the Order's possession of the province in some doubt, the city thrived as

2756-707: The Polish Round Table Talks , as a result of which the communists agreed to call elections in 1989, which were won by Solidarity . Though he has withdrawn from active politics, he has "maintained an influential voice through journalism". He has received many awards and honors, including the Legion of Honour and European of the Year . He is also one of the 25 leading figures on the Information and Democracy Commission launched by Reporters Without Borders . In 2022, he received

2862-603: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , the city inhabitants largely became bi-cultural sharing both Polish and German culture and were strongly attached to the traditions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The city suffered a last great plague and a slow economic decline due to the wars of the 18th century. After peace was restored in 1721, Danzig experienced steady economic recovery. As a stronghold of Stanisław Leszczyński 's supporters during

2968-579: The Princess of Asturias Award in the category "Communication and Humanities". Adam Michnik was born in Warsaw , Poland, to a family of communist activists of Jewish origin. His father Ozjasz Szechter was First Secretary of the Communist Party of Western Ukraine , and his mother Helena Michnik was a historian, communist activist, and children's-book author. His step-brother on his mother's side, Stefan Michnik ,

3074-773: The Round Table Talks in 1989, in which he also participated. Adam Michnik inspired and collaborated with the editors of the Ulam Quarterly , before 1989 that journal pioneered the World Wide Web in the USA. After the Round Table Talks, Lech Wałęsa told him to organize a big Polish national daily, which was supposed to be an 'organ' of the Solidarity Citizens' Committee, before the upcoming elections. This newspaper, under

3180-581: The Sicherheitsdienst camp Stutthof some 50 km (30 mi) from Danzig, and murdered. Many Poles living in Danzig were deported to Stutthof or executed in the Piaśnica forest . During the war, Germany operated a prison in the city, an Einsatzgruppen -operated penal camp, a camp for Romani people , two subcamps of the Stalag XX-B prisoner-of-war camp for Allied POWs, and several subcamps of

3286-760: The Stutthof concentration camp within the present-day city limits. In 1941, Hitler ordered the invasion of the Soviet Union , eventually causing the fortunes of war to turn against Germany. As the Soviet Army advanced in 1944, German populations in Central and Eastern Europe took flight, resulting in the beginning of a great population shift. After the final Soviet offensives began in January 1945, hundreds of thousands of German refugees converged on Danzig, many of whom had fled on foot from East Prussia , some tried to escape through

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3392-564: The Tricity ( Trójmiasto ), with a population of approximately 1.5 million. The city has a complex history, having had periods of Polish, German and self rule. An important shipbuilding and trade port since the Middle Ages , in 1361 it became a member of the Hanseatic League which influenced its economic, demographic and urban landscape . It also served as Poland's principal seaport, and

3498-614: The United States (see Great Emigration ). The city's longest serving mayor was Robert von Blumenthal, who held office from 1841, through the revolutions of 1848 , until 1863. With the unification of Germany in 1871 under Prussian hegemony , the city became part of the German Empire and remained so until 1919, after Germany's defeat in World War I . Starting from the 1850s, long-established Danzig families often felt marginalized by

3604-709: The Versailles Treaty , it became the Free City of Danzig , an independent quasi-state under the auspices of the League of Nations with its external affairs largely under Polish control. Poland's rights also included free use of the harbour, a Polish post office, a Polish garrison in Westerplatte district, and customs union with Poland. The Free City had its own constitution, national anthem , parliament , and government ( Senat ). It issued its own stamps as well as its currency,

3710-414: The War of the Polish Succession , it was taken by the Russians after the Siege of Danzig in 1734. In the 1740s and 1750s Danzig was restored and Danzig port was again the most significant grain exporting ports in the Baltic region . The Danzig Research Society , which became defunct in 1936, was founded in 1743. In 1772, the First Partition of Poland took place and Prussia annexed almost all of

3816-405: The diacritic over the "n" is frequently omitted) the usual pronunciation is / ɡ ə ˈ d æ n s k / or / ɡ ə ˈ d ɑː n s k / . The German name, Danzig , is usually pronounced [ˈdantsɪç] , or alternatively [ˈdantsɪk] in more Southern German-speaking areas. The city's Latin name may be given as either Gedania , Gedanum , or Dantiscum ;

3922-450: The first clash of World War II at Westerplatte . The contemporary city was shaped by extensive border changes , expulsions and new settlement after 1945. In the 1980s, Gdańsk was the birthplace of the Solidarity movement, which helped precipitate the collapse of the Eastern Bloc , the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact . Gdańsk is home to the University of Gdańsk , Gdańsk University of Technology ,

4028-465: The martial law in Poland , the Association was banned on February 5, 1981, and many of its activists were arrested. The NZS was still active in the underground, especially in large population centers, such as Warsaw, Wrocław and Kraków. Some of its members, such as Teodor Klincewicz from Warsaw, were actively involved in various forms of anti-government protests. Also, students of the Law Department at Łódź University, in opposition to martial law, organized

4134-424: The 10th century have been found in archaeological excavations of the city. The site was ruled as a duchy of Poland by the Samborides . It consisted of a settlement at the modern Long Market, settlements of craftsmen along the Old Ditch, German merchant settlements around St Nicholas' Church and the old Piast stronghold. In 1215, the ducal stronghold became the centre of a Pomerelian splinter duchy . At that time

4240-410: The 14th century, after the takeover of the city by the Teutonic Knights. At latest in 1263 Pomerelian duke, Swietopelk II granted city rights under Lübeck law to the emerging market settlement. It was an autonomy charter similar to that of Lübeck, which was also the primary origin of many settlers. In a document of 1271 the Pomerelian duke Mestwin II addressed the Lübeck merchants settled in

4346-459: The Brandenburgians left the town. Subsequently, the city was taken by Danish princes in 1301. In 1308, the town was taken by Brandenburg and the Teutonic Knights restored order. Subsequently, the Knights took over control of the town. Primary sources record a massacre carried out by the Teutonic Knights against the local population, of 10,000 people, but the exact number killed is subject of dispute in modern scholarship. Multiple authors accept

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4452-513: The Communists did not want to give up their monopoly of youth organizations. Most Polish colleges began a sit-in, and in Kraków, street fights erupted. During the historic semi-free June 1989 elections, the NZS actively helped Solidarity candidates. The Association was re-legalized on September 22, 1989, when Poland was already ruled by the oppositional government of Tadeusz Mazowiecki . In the 1990s, NZS limited its political activities, concentrating on cultural events, as well as entertainment. Across

4558-434: The German influx on the general outlook of the city. Boosted by heavy investment in the development of its port and three major shipyards for Soviet ambitions in the Baltic region , Gdańsk became the major shipping and industrial centre of the People's Republic of Poland . In December 1970, Gdańsk was the scene of anti-regime demonstrations , which led to the downfall of Poland's communist leader Władysław Gomułka . During

4664-445: The Jews for the crisis. Michnik was arrested and sentenced to three years imprisonment for "acts of hooliganism". In 1969, he was released from prison under an amnesty, but he was forbidden to continue his studies. Not until the middle of the 1970s was he allowed to continue his studies of history, which he finished in 1975 at the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań , under the supervision of Prof. Lech Trzeciakowski . After he

4770-459: The King during the incorporation in March 1454 in Kraków , and the city again solemnly pledged allegiance to the King in June 1454 in Elbląg , recognizing the prior Teutonic annexation and rule as unlawful. On 25 May 1457 the city gained its rights as an autonomous city. On 15 May 1457, Casimir IV of Poland granted the town the Great Privilege , after he had been invited by the town's council and had already stayed in town for five weeks. With

4876-518: The Nazis before the outbreak of war. Nazi secret police had been observing Polish minority communities in the city since 1936, compiling information, which in 1939 served to prepare lists of Poles to be captured in Operation Tannenberg . On the first day of the war, approximately 1,500 ethnic Poles were arrested, some because of their participation in social and economic life, others because they were activists and members of various Polish organisations. On 2 September 1939, 150 of them were deported to

4982-424: The Polish Post office were tried and executed then buried on the spot in the Danzig quarter of Zaspa in October 1939. In 1998 a German court overturned their conviction and sentence. The city was officially annexed by Nazi Germany and incorporated into the Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia . About 50 percent of members of the Jewish community had left the city within a year after a pogrom in October 1937. After

5088-411: The Polish newspaper, Gazeta Wyborcza . Reared in a family of committed communists, Michnik became an opponent of Poland's communist regime at the time of the party's anti-Jewish purges. He was imprisoned after the 1968 March Events and again after the imposition of martial law in 1981. He has been called "one of Poland's most famous political prisoners ". Michnik played a crucial role during

5194-503: The Polish patriotic traditions of fighting for independence. The NZS was an alternative to the official Polish Students' Association (ZSP), which was subordinated to the Polish United Workers' Party . The first request for legalization of the NZS was presented in the Provincial Court in Warsaw on October 20, 1980, but the Justice refused. On November 13, the Warsaw Court stated that only laborers were entitled to create trade unions. In response, strikes and protests were organized throughout

5300-446: The Polish press. German students attacked and expelled Polish students from the technical university. Dozens of Polish surnames were forcibly Germanized, while Polish symbols that reminded that for centuries Gdańsk was part of Poland were removed from the city's landmarks, such as the Artus Court and the Neptune's Fountain . From 1937, the employment of Poles by German companies was prohibited, and already employed Poles were fired,

5406-418: The Polish province of Royal Prussia , and later also of the Greater Poland Province . The city was visited by Nicolaus Copernicus in 1504 and 1526, and Narratio Prima , the first printed abstract of his heliocentric theory , was published there in 1540. After the Union of Lublin between Poland and Lithuania in 1569 the city continued to enjoy a large degree of internal autonomy (cf. Danzig law ). Being

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5512-459: The Round Table agreement, was Gazeta Wyborcza ("Election Newspaper") because it was supposed to appear until the end of the parliamentary election in 1989. After organizing this newspaper with journalists who worked in the "Biuletyn Informacyjny", Adam Michnik became its editor-in-chief. In the elections to the Contract Sejm on 4 June 1989 he became a member of parliament for Lech Wałęsa's Solidarity Citizens' Committee electoral register, as

5618-403: The Soviet Army, which captured the heavily damaged city on 30 March 1945 , followed by large-scale rape and looting. In line with the decisions made by the Allies at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, the city became again part of Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until the Fall of Communism in the 1980s. The remaining German residents of

5724-437: The Teutonic Knights imprisoned or murdered local patricians and mayors without a court verdict. On the request of the organisation King Casimir IV of Poland reincorporated the territory to the Kingdom of Poland in 1454. This led to the Thirteen Years' War between Poland and the State of the Teutonic Order (1454–1466). Since 1454, the city was authorized by the King to mint Polish coins. The local mayor pledged allegiance to

5830-724: The Third Meeting of NZS Delegates in Gdańsk, new leaders were elected. Soon afterwards, the Registration Committees were opened across the nation, and thousands of students joined the Association. During the round table talks , it was agreed that the NZS would be re-registered. However, the government did not keep this promise. This resulted in the creation of the National Student Strike Committee, which consisted of: Tomasz Ziemiński, Mariusz Kamiński, Przemysław Gosiewski, P. Nycz, W. Kiliński, Sławomir Skrzypek, R. Kosiorek, Grzegorz Schetyna , B. Pichur, Artur Olszewski, Igor Wójcik, P. Janiszewski, A. Jasionowski, K. Zemler, R. Bitner, A. Szczepkowski and P. Swaczyna. As Lech Kaczyński later recalled,

5936-407: The addition of the morpheme ń / ni and the suffix -sk . The name of the settlement was recorded after St. Adalbert's death in 997 CE as urbs Gyddanyzc and it was later written as Kdanzk in 1148, Gdanzc in 1188, Danceke in 1228, Gdańsk in 1236, Danzc in 1263, Danczk in 1311, Danczik in 1399, Danczig in 1414, and Gdąnsk in 1656. In Polish documents, the form Gdańsk

6042-411: The annexation. His house exemplifies Baroque in Poland and is now a museum, known as Uphagen's House . An attempted student uprising against Prussia led by Gottfried Benjamin Bartholdi was crushed quickly by the authorities in 1797. During the Napoleonic Wars , in 1807, the city was besieged and captured by a coalition of French , Polish , Italian , Saxon , and Baden forces. Afterwards, it

6148-440: The area of the later city included various villages. In 1224/25, merchants from Lübeck were invited as hospites (immigrants with specific privileges) but were soon (in 1238) forced to leave by Swietopelk II of the Samborides during a war between Swietopelk and the Teutonic Knights , during which Lübeck supported the latter. Migration of merchants to the town resumed in 1257. Significant German influence did not reappear until

6254-592: The association was met by Łódź student's applause. The students stood up and sang the Polish national anthem . The Łódź Agreement is still regarded as the student equivalent of the Gdańsk Agreement. Furthermore, the student strikes in Łódź were mentioned by the Communist services as one of reasons for establishing the law. Between 3–6 April 1981, at Kraków's Pedagogical University , the First Meeting of NZS Delegates took place. It gathered 240 activists from 66 Polish colleges and universities (out of 89 such schools existing then nationwide). The National Coordinating Commission

6360-406: The city as his loyal citizens from Germany. In 1300, the town had an estimated population of 2,000. While overall the town was far from an important trade centre at that time, it had some relevance in the trade with Eastern Europe . Low on funds, the Samborides lent the settlement to Brandenburg, although they planned to take the city back and give it to Poland. Poland threatened to intervene, and

6466-422: The city was home to a large number of Polish-speaking Poles, Jewish Poles, Latvian-speaking Kursenieki , Flemings , and Dutch . In addition, a number of Scots took refuge or migrated to and received citizenship in the city, with first Scots arriving in 1380. During the Protestant Reformation , most German-speaking inhabitants adopted Lutheranism . Due to the special status of the city and significance within

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6572-419: The city who had survived the war fled or were expelled to postwar Germany. The city was repopulated by ethnic Poles ; up to 18 percent (1948) of them had been deported by the Soviets in two major waves from pre-war eastern Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union . In 1946, the communists executed 17-year-old Danuta Siedzikówna and 42-year-old Feliks Selmanowicz , known Polish resistance members, in

6678-409: The city's port in a large-scale evacuation involving hundreds of German cargo and passenger ships. Some of the ships were sunk by the Soviets, including the Wilhelm Gustloff after an evacuation was attempted at neighbouring Gdynia . In the process, tens of thousands of refugees were killed. The city also endured heavy Allied and Soviet air raids. Those who survived and could not escape had to face

6784-747: The city, and Poles managed to organize seven more private Polish schools. In the early 1930s, the local Nazi Party capitalised on pro-German sentiments and in 1933 garnered 50% of vote in the parliament. Thereafter, the Nazis under Gauleiter Albert Forster achieved dominance in the city government, which was still nominally overseen by the League of Nations' High Commissioner . In 1937, Poles who sent their children to private Polish schools were required to transfer children to German schools, under threat of police intervention, and attacks were carried out on Polish schools and Polish youth. German militias carried out numerous beatings of Polish activists, scouts and even postal workers, as "punishment" for distributing

6890-529: The city, encouraged by the secret support of Denmark and Emperor Maximilian , shut its gates against Stephen. After the Siege of Danzig , lasting six months, the city's army of 5,000 mercenaries was utterly defeated in a field battle on 16 December 1577. However, since Stephen's armies were unable to take the city by force, a compromise was reached: Stephen Báthory confirmed the city's special status and her Danzig law privileges granted by earlier Polish kings . The city recognised him as ruler of Poland and paid

6996-410: The country, he was jailed and accused of an "attempt to overthrow socialism". He was in jail without a verdict until 1984 because the prosecutor's office deliberately prolonged the trial. Adam Michnik demanded an end to the judicial proceedings against him or have his case dismissed. Meanwhile, he wanted to be granted the status of a political prisoner and began a hunger strike while in jail. In 1984, he

7102-418: The demolition of New Town , which had sided with the Teutonic Knights . By 1457, New Town was demolished completely, no buildings remained. Gaining free and privileged access to Polish markets, the seaport prospered while simultaneously trading with the other Hanseatic cities. After the Second Peace of Thorn (1466) between Poland and the Teutonic Order the warfare ended permanently; Gdańsk became part of

7208-491: The demonstrations in Gdańsk and Gdynia, military as well as the police opened fire on the demonstrators causing several dozen deaths. Ten years later, in August 1980, Gdańsk Shipyard was the birthplace of the Solidarity trade union movement. Adam Michnik Adam Michnik ( Polish pronunciation: [ˈadam ˈmixɲik] ; born 17 October 1946) is a Polish historian , essayist , former dissident , public intellectual , as well as co-founder and editor-in-chief of

7314-399: The end of the 18th century, Gdańsk was still one of the most economically integrated cities in Poland. It was well-connected and traded actively with German cities , while other Polish cities became less well-integrated towards the end of the century, mostly due to greater risks for long-distance trade , given the number of violent conflicts along the trade routes. Danzig was annexed by

7420-400: The enormous sum of 200,000 guldens in gold as payoff ("apology"). During the Polish–Swedish War of 1626–1629 , in 1627, the naval Battle of Oliwa was fought near the city, and it is one of the greatest victories in the history of the Polish Navy . During the Swedish invasion of Poland of 1655–1660, commonly known as the Deluge , the city was unsuccessfully besieged by Sweden . In 1660,

7526-512: The existence of a settlement on the lands of what is now Gdańsk comes from the Bronze Age (which is estimated to be from 2500–1700 BCE). The settlement that is now known as Gdańsk began in the 9th century, being mostly an agriculture and fishing -dependent village. In the beginning of the 10th century, it began becoming an important centre for trade (especially between the Pomeranians ) until its annexation in c. 975 by Mieszko I . The first written record thought to refer to Gdańsk

7632-502: The fall of 1980 and winter of 1980-1981, with the most extensive taking place at the University of Poznań (November 1980), and the University of Łódź (January - February 1981). Among those who took part in the Łódź strikes was an international soccer player, Stanisław Terlecki , who used his connections to get food for students. Desperate students of the Warsaw University began to occupy the college in late November 1980, but due to

7738-458: The former Royal Prussia, which became the Province of West Prussia . However, Gdańsk remained a part of Poland as an exclave separated from the rest of the country. The Prussian king cut off Danzig with a military controlled barrier, also blocking shipping links to foreign ports, on the pretense that a cattle plague may otherwise break out. Danzig declined in its economic significance. However, by

7844-421: The largest and one of the most influential cities of Poland, it enjoyed voting rights during the royal election period in Poland. In the 1560s and 1570s, a large Mennonite community started growing in the city, gaining significant popularity. In the 1575 election to the Polish throne, Danzig supported Maximilian II in his struggle against Stephen Báthory . It was the latter who eventually became monarch but

7950-531: The late 1970s organization, Student Committee of Solidarity , created in 1977, following the murder of Stanisław Pyjas . In 1980, the Association may have been viewed as a student equivalent of Solidarity, as it was created following the strikes of the so-called Polish August 1980. It led to the gathering of young people who wished to organize themselves independently of the Communist regime. They called for democratization of Polish universities, as well as respect for

8056-416: The liberal version. Everything else is a contradiction in terms." According to Canadian translator and writer Paul Wilson , Adam Michnik "[holds a] core... belief... that history is not just about the past because it is constantly recurring , and not as farce, as Marx had it, but as itself: The world is full of inquisitors and heretics , liars and those lied to, terrorists and the terrorized. There

8162-467: The local prison. The port of Gdańsk was one of the three Polish ports through which Greeks and Macedonians , refugees of the Greek Civil War , reached Poland. In 1949, four transports of Greek and Macedonian refugees arrived at the port of Gdańsk, from where they were transported to new homes in Poland. Parts of the historic old city of Gdańsk, which had suffered large-scale destruction during

8268-576: The mediation of rector Henryk Samsonowicz , the protest was terminated. On January 11, 1981, students of the Mathematics - Physics - Chemistry Department of the University of Łódź began a strike, which on January 21 spread across the whole college. According to NZS sources, it was the longest occupational strike of students in the history of Europe, with 10 000 students participating. On February 9, University of Poznań joined their Łódź colleagues, declaring

8374-530: The name Independent Students’ Association was approved. There were other suggestions for the name, such as Solidarity of the Association of Polish Students, but they were not popular. During the meeting, it was decided that the NZS would be seated in Warsaw , and the National Founding Committee was established, with eleven members (among them Maciej Kuroń , and Piotr Bikont ). The NZS associated itself with

8480-542: The new town elite originating from mainland Germany. This situation caused the Polish to allege that the Danzig people were oppressed by German rule and for this reason allegedly failed to articulate their natural desire for strong ties with Poland. When Poland regained its independence after World War I with access to the sea as promised by the Allies on the basis of Woodrow Wilson 's " Fourteen Points " (point 13 called for "an independent Polish state", "which should be assured

8586-439: The number given in the original sources, while others consider 10,000 to have been a medieval exaggeration, although scholarly consensus is that a massacre of some magnitude did take place. The events were used by the Polish crown to condemn the Teutonic Knights in a subsequent papal lawsuit. The knights colonized the area, replacing local Kashubians and Poles with German settlers. In 1308, they founded Osiek Hakelwerk near

8692-583: The origins of the town was retrieved mostly after World War II had laid 90   percent of the city centre in ruins, enabling excavations. The oldest seventeen settlement levels were dated to between 980 and 1308. Mieszko I of Poland erected a stronghold on the site in the 980s, thereby connecting the Polish state ruled by the Piast dynasty with the trade routes of the Baltic Sea . Traces of buildings and housing from

8798-463: The political system in Poland. In 1965, the PZPR forbade the printing of his works. In 1966, he was suspended for the second time for organizing a discussion meeting with Leszek Kołakowski , who was expelled from the PZPR several weeks earlier, for criticizing its leaders. From then on, he wrote under a pseudonym to several newspapers including "Życie Gospodarcze", "Więź", and "Literatura". In March 1968, he

8904-470: The portal gazeta.pl, the outdoor advertising company AMS, and has shares in several radio stations. Adam Michnik does not have any shares in Agora and does not hold any office, other than chief editor, which is unusual in business in Poland. Michnik's shares are kept by Agora. Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki in his exposé in September 1989 began a new, so-called " thick line "attitude to the political history of

9010-472: The quality of life, safety and living standards worldwide, and its historic city centre has been listed as one of Poland's national monuments . The name of the city was most likely derived from Gdania , a river presently known as Motława on which the city is situated. Other linguists also argue that the name stems from the Proto-Slavic adjective / prefix gъd- , which meant ' wet ' or ' moist ' with

9116-456: The recent past. Michnik is a proponent and advocate of this policy. On 27 December 2002, Adam Michnik and Paweł Smoleński revealed the so-called " Rywin affair " which had to be explained by a specially called parliamentary select committee. In autumn 2004, due to health problems (he suffered from tuberculosis) he resigned from active participation in editing Gazeta Wyborcza and passed his duties to editorial colleague Helena Łuczywo. He

9222-522: The return of Danzig to Germany along with an extraterritorial (meaning under German jurisdiction ) highway through the area of the Polish Corridor for land-based access from the rest of Germany. Hitler used the issue of the status of the city as a pretext for attacking Poland and in May 1939, during a high-level meeting of German military officials explained to them: "It is not Danzig that is at stake. For us it

9328-425: The situation to a correspondent of Le Monde , "whose report was then carried on Radio Free Europe ". Both Michnik and Szlajfer were expelled from the university. Upon their expulsion, students organized demonstrations, which were brutally suppressed by the riot police and "worker-squads". Władysław Gomułka used Michnik's and several other dissidents' Jewish background to wage an anti-Semitic campaign, blaming

9434-568: The town, initially as a Slavic fishing settlement. In 1340, the Teutonic Knights constructed a large fortress, which became the seat of the knights' Komtur . In 1346 they changed the Town Law of the city, which then consisted only of the Rechtstadt , to Kulm law . In 1358, Danzig joined the Hanseatic League , and became an active member in 1361. It maintained relations with the trade centres Bruges , Novgorod , Lisboa , and Sevilla . Around 1377,

9540-407: The use of Polish in public places was banned and Poles were not allowed to enter several restaurants, in particular those owned by Germans. In 1939, before the German invasion of Poland and outbreak of World War II , local Polish railwaymen were victims of beatings, and after the invasion, they were also imprisoned and murdered in concentration camps . The German government officially demanded

9646-553: The variety of Latin and German names typically reflects the difficulty of pronunciation of the Polish/Slavonic city's name, all German- and Latin/Romance-speaking populations always encounter in trying to pronounce the difficult and complex Polish/Slavonic words. On special occasions, the city is also referred to as "The Royal Polish City of Gdańsk" (Polish: Królewskie Polskie Miasto Gdańsk , Latin: Regia Civitas Polonica Gedanensis , Kashubian: Królewsczi Pòlsczi Gard Gduńsk ). In

9752-440: The war was ended with the Treaty of Oliwa , signed in the present-day district of Oliwa . In 1677, a Polish-Swedish alliance was signed in the city. Around 1640, Johannes Hevelius established his astronomical observatory in the Old Town . Polish King John III Sobieski regularly visited Hevelius numerous times. Beside a majority of German-speakers, whose elites sometimes distinguished their German dialect as Pomerelian ,

9858-473: The war, were rebuilt during the 1950s and 1960s. The reconstruction sought to dilute the "German character" of the city, and set it back to how it supposedly looked like before the annexation to Prussia in 1793. Nineteenth-century transformations were ignored as "ideologically malignant" by post-war administrations, or regarded as "Prussian barbarism" worthy of demolition, while Flemish/Dutch, Italian and French influences were emphasized in order to "neutralize"

9964-566: The years, NZS total membership has been around 180 000. Several of its activists are now public figures - politicians, journalists, businessmen, artists. Among the most prominent are Donald Tusk , Grzegorz Schetyna , Waldemar Pawlak , Cezary Grabarczyk , Bogdan Zdrojewski , Maciej Płażyński , Marek Jurek , Włodzimierz Julian Korab-Karpowicz , Jan Maria Rokita , Maciej Kuroń , Bronisław Wildstein , Marcin Meller , Paweł Piskorski , Adam Bielan , Tadeusz Nowicki . Gda%C5%84sk Gdańsk

10070-563: Was a free city from 1807 to 1814, when it was captured by combined Prussian-Russian forces. In 1815, after France's defeat in the Napoleonic Wars , it again became part of Prussia and became the capital of Regierungsbezirk Danzig within the province of West Prussia . Since the 1820s, the Wisłoujście Fortress served as a prison, mainly for Polish political prisoners, including resistance members , protesters, insurgents of

10176-701: Was a military judge in the 1950s, who passed sentences, including executions, in politically motivated trials of members of Polish anti-Nazi resistance fighters . Stefan Michnik (who lived in Sweden from 1968 until his death in 2021), was later formally accused of zbrodnie komunistyczne ("communist crimes") by the Polish Institute of National Remembrance . A step-brother of Adam Michnik on his father's side, Jerzy Michnik (born 1929), settled in Israel after 1957 and then moved to New York. While attending primary school, he

10282-406: Was a very active association, which organized meetings with key members of the opposition movement (such as Adam Michnik , Lech Wałęsa , Jacek Kuroń ). Furthermore, the Association was deeply engaged in political actions. On May 25, 1981, in several Polish cities, the students organized street marches in defence of political prisoners. In November 1981, 55 000 students of 81 Polish colleges declared

10388-444: Was always used. The German form Danzig developed later, simplifying the consonant clusters to something easier for German speakers to pronounce. The cluster "gd" became "d" ( Danzc from 1263), the combination "ns" became "nts" ( Danczk from 1311)., and finally an epenthetical "i" broke up the final cluster ( Danczik from 1399). In Polish, the modern name of the city is pronounced [ɡdaj̃sk] . In English (where

10494-584: Was an active member of the Polish Scouting Association (ZHP), in a troop which was led by Jacek Kuroń . During secondary school, this particular Scouting troop was banned, and Adam began to participate in meetings of the Crooked Circle Club . After its closing in 1962, with the encouragement from Jan Józef Lipski and under Adam Schaff's protection, he founded a discussion group, "Contradiction Hunters Club" (Klub Poszukiwaczy Sprzeczności); he

10600-416: Was elected, and the first chairman of the NZS was Jagiellonian University 's Jarosław Guzy . Statutes of the Association were written by a young student of law, Jan Maria Rokita . The Association quickly grew, reaching by May 1981 some 80 000 members. Its Coordinating Commission was planning to open an independent students’ magazine, but the government refused, explaining that there was "lack of paper". NZS

10706-481: Was expelled from the university for his activities during 1968 Polish political crisis . The crisis was ignited by the ban of Kazimierz Dejmek 's adaptation of Adam Mickiewicz 's poetic drama Dziady ("Forefathers' Eve") in the National Theatre . The play contained many anti-Russian allusions, which were greeted with enthusiastic applause by the audience. Michnik and another student, Henryk Szlajfer , recounted

10812-462: Was one and the most visible leader of the left wing student opposition group, the Komandosi . In 1964, he began to study history at Warsaw University . A year later he was suspended because he disseminated an open letter to the members of Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR) among his schoolmates. Its authors, Jacek Kuroń and Karol Modzelewski appealed for a beginning of reforms which would repair

10918-449: Was one of the best known opposition organizations of the 1970s. He became one of the most active opposition activists and also one of the supporters of the Society for Educational Courses (Towarzystwo Kursów Naukowych). Between 1977 and 1989, he was the editor or co-editor of underground newspapers published illegally, samizdat : Biuletyn Informacyjny , Zapis , and Krytyka . He was also

11024-611: Was released from jail, under an amnesty. He took part in an attempt to organize a strike in the Gdańsk shipyard. As a consequence, he was rearrested in 1985 and this time sentenced to three years imprisonment. He was released the following year, again under another amnesty. In 1988, he became an adviser of Lech Wałęsa 's informal Coordination Committee, and later he became a member of the Solidarity Citizens' Committee . He took an active part in planning and preliminary negotiations for

11130-516: Was released from prison, he worked for two years as a welder at the Róża Luxemburg's ( Rosa Luxemburg ) Industrial Plant and then, on the recommendation of Jacek Kuroń , he became private secretary to Antoni Słonimski . In 1976–77 he lived in Paris. After he returned to Poland, he became involved in the activity of Workers' Defence Committee (KOR), which had already existed for a couple of months. It

11236-458: Was the largest city of Poland in the 15th-17th centuries. In 1793, within the Partitions of Poland , the city became part of Prussia , and thus a part of the German Empire from 1871 after the unification of Germany . Following World War I and the Treaty of Versailles , it was a Free City under the protection of the League of Nations from 1920 to 1939. On 1 September 1939 it was the scene of

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