August 1980. Gdansk shipyard workers go on strike. The first moments of the protests are immortalized by Leszek Biernacki, a 20-year-old boy. An art school graduate, he always carried a camera with him. The photos he took during the first week of the strike will be sent to newspaper editors in Gdansk, Gdynia, Sopot and other cities to inspire hope and encourage people to protest.

First days of strike...

Leszek Biernacki and his friends from a theatre company perform in the centre of Gdansk "Pulcinello", theatre dell'arte, and the show "Dragon". Crowds flocked to see it. Biernacki tries to convince his companions to go to the shipyard and perform for the workers. But his colleagues in the troupe feared reprisals. He goes alone to the shipyard.

"I went alone to the shipyard. At the entrance, two flags, that of Poland and that of the Vatican, lots of flowers around a portrait of John Paul II. The atmosphere at the entrance was just as it had been a year earlier, during the Pope's first pilgrimage to Poland. A loudspeaker announces that the strike is continuing. A wooden cross in front of the door. The shipyard guards saw me taking photos and invited me in to photograph the strike. [...] I was given a permanent pass, so I could look around, talk and take photos. I worked closely with the shipyard strike committee, which included - albeit sporadically - Anna Walentynowicz and Lech Wałęsa. After the Pope's pilgrimage in 1979, I bought a boxed set of several CDs containing a selection of papal songs and homilies from the first pilgrimage. I took it to the shipyard. The shipyard worker played them from time to time over the loudspeaker in the BHP hall. So the Pope was not only present in the form of a portrait on the door, he was also talking to the workers. All the while, I was taking photos, going home, developing the negatives, enlarging them in the bathroom where I'd set up a secret darkroom, and taking them to the strikers."

Bohdan Górski, an economist and expert on the countries of the Soviet bloc, followed events in Poland closely from his exile in Switzerland. He describes the paradox of the Communist system.

During its stay in Switzerland, the Solidarnosc delegation was split into two groups. One group of Polish trade unionists visited the French-speaking Switzerland, while the other visited the German-speaking part. The programme prepared by the national coordination of Swiss trade unionists included a whole series of meetings, debates and discussions with trade unionists, local authority representatives and local residents. Highlights included visits to companies and factories in Basel, Zug, Biel, etc., where they met trade unionists, employees and management. These exchanges within companies were often an opportunity to request material aid or technical support for various branches of Polish industry.

Maria Nowak was part of the Solidarnosc delegation that visited German-speaking Switzerland. The group was welcomed at thepharmaceutical company Sandoz, in Basel. Maria Nowak stresses the importance of this visit:

‘The visit was very constructive. We talked about the fact that [in Poland] there was a shortage of many basic medicines and intermediate products. Sandoz undertook to help Poland, more specifically the pharmaceutical industry, and in particular the Warsaw plant, which had a small chemical synthesis business in addition to packaging medicines. Sandoz decided to offer its assistance and send, free of charge, intermediate products essential for chemical synthesis and medicines, up to the value of 500,000 francs, products that were lacking in all the groups in Poland. This was very important for us too, and we were very proud to be able to benefit from such professional help. Among the many companies we visited were several factories producing energy meters, among other things."

During their visit to French-speaking Switzerland, the trade unionists were warmly received by various local authorities. Particularly strong links were forged during their visit to the Jura. Jerzy Grebski, a Warsaw doctor representing the Solidarnosc section in the Masovie region, was one of a group of Polish trade unionists who visited French-speaking Switzerland.

 ‘There were a few meetings, the first of which, if I remember correctly, took place in a Bobst factory. It was a former metallurgical plant that was also a packaging plant, where they made cardboard boxes for the production. A meeting was organised just like that, attended by trade unionists from these factories as well as management. It was a very political discussion. They were interested in Poland, but it was a rather formal meeting.

In constrast, meetings with Swiss farmers and milk or cheese producers were completely different. These meetings were very cordial and took place not at the level of a union or an organisation, but rather at that of a village or a community group. After our arrival, some people welcomed us into their homes for a few days. They proudly showed us their small cheese factory, where several tonnes of milk were processed, and the cheeses were truly delicious. The room was barely two square metres. And it was in a room no bigger than two large cellars that they showed us their animal pens. In fact, it was also a family reunion, as we were accompanied by our hosts' children. And to please us, they gave us skis, which two of us, visiting the French Jura, were eager to try. So, we did a bit of skiing there. It was truly a very warm welcome.

The meetings with students in Geneva, for example, were already more political. We met people with a left-wing vision. Their discussions brought back the Trotskyites, but also Bukharin, in our memories. They paved the way. I know today that they were small groups, just a few people, but very influential and extremely busy people; excellent organisers. When they invited me to introduce myself, I spoke about my political views in the same way as a Pole who had been subjected to martial law by the Communists in Poland. My answers were received with understanding, but the students were still trying to find, so to speak, an explanation for this myth of the Soviet Union that didn't work.They were always dismayed by the fact that the subject of the official speech would suddenly turn out to be a country with gulags, a country lacking freedom—not only trade union freedom but freedom in general—and which posed a threat to peace.. So, at the same time as they were, for example, anti-American, I have the impression that they had a certain fear of the Soviet Union, of the Red Army, of a possible attack. After all, in the background, we had known for a long time what the Russians were doing in Afghanistan.

But the [left-wing sympathisers] couldn't relate to the Americans. At least, that's who we met, the people from student circles in Geneva. At the time, it wasn't yet possible to talk about the Greens. The party didn't yet exist, but these were people with a clearly left-wing attitude

In contrast, the political attitude in the Jura was different; these people were not looking for large-scale political aims. They did their own politics on the spot. That was something that really touched me, because it was an internal Swiss democracy. They were used to voting several times a year, to organising all sorts of referendums, on everything from the cycle path that was going to pass by the swimming pool to the recruitment of a new employee, everything was subject to referendum. I have to say that at first it seemed exotic, but then I realised that it was a valid method, at least for such a small community. I don't know how well it would work in Poland, but it's a method and it worked there. That's how it happened, the way I saw the political aspects of Switzerland at the time.

« From the Swiss Jura, I remember very well the president of the Swiss Farmers' Association, Fernand Cuche. He was an extremely interesting person, whose profile immediately reminded us of Janosik from Poland. He had light, medium-length hair, moved with great agility and was well built. He was an excellent organiser, who charmed us with his outspokenness and the warmth he showed us, for example by inviting us to dinner with his family, and even introducing us to his girlfriend, who was also Swiss. His attitude was positive and instilled confidence in us."