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Polish city marks anniversary of workers’ strike

PR dla Zagranicy
Julian Horodyski 27.06.2019 12:00
The western Polish city of Poznań has paid tribute to workers who revolted against the country’s communist rulers in 1956, leading to scores of deaths after the army opened fire on civilians.
Tank on the streets of Poznań, 1956. Photo: czerwiec56.ipn.gov.pl

Commemorations on Thursday included a wreath-laying ceremony at a monument to lawyers who defended the protestors and a meeting with the veterans of the demonstations.

On 28 June, 1956, workers from the Cegielski engineering plant in Poznań went on strike and marched through the streets to protest against the refusal of the authorities to reduce their work quotas and raise wages.

The march turned into a massive demonstration as the city’s population joined in, with around 100,000 people taking part.

In clashes that lasted two days, the security police and the army opened fire, killing between 57 and 100 people, including a 13-year-old child. Several hundred people were wounded and some 700 arrested.

The Poznań revolt of 1956 began a long tide of Polish workers’ strikes such as protests on the Baltic coast in December 1970 and the rise of the Solidarity movement in 1980.

(jh/pk)

Source: IAR

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