Wojciech Jaruzelski

Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski (pronounce: [[Media:Jaruzelski.ogg|['vɔjtɕεx jaru'zεlski]]]) (born July 6, 1923) was a communism Poland political and military leader, Prime Minister from 1981 to 1985, head of the Polish Council of State from 1985 to 1989 and President from 1989 to 1990. Jaruzelski was born into a family of Polish gentry. Following the Nazi-Soviet pact when he was a teenager, he was deported to the Asian part of the Soviet Union, where his father died from lack of medical treatment. An officer of the Polish Army, he was trained at the Polish Higher Infantry School and the General Staff Academy, and joined the Polish United Workers' Party (the former Polish Communist Party), becoming a member of the Central Committee in 1964. Soon after, he was named the minister of defense. [[Image:Jaruzelski_przemowienie.jpg|thumb|left|230px|Jaruzelski declared martial law (December 13, 1981)]] In 1968, he was heavily involved in the "cleansing" of the Polish army as part of Moczar's antisemitic campaign. In the same year, he led the invasion on Czechoslovakia. In 1970, he was involved in the plot against Wladyslaw Gomulka and probably took part in organization of the massacre in the coastal cities of Gdansk, Gdynia, Elblag and Szczecin. Jaruzelski became the party's national secretary and prime minister in 1981, when Lech Walesa's Solidarity movement was starting to gain popularity, both within Poland and abroad. On 13th December 1981 Jaruzelski imposed Martial law in Poland. According to his explanation, this action was intended to prevent a Soviet invasion. Most former opposition members argue that it was merely the action of Polish communist regime organized in order to keep control of the power and strangle newly-born and developing civil society. However, historical evidence has been brought to light indicating that the Soviet Union did not plan to invade Poland; in fact, the Soviets strictly rejected Jaruzelski's request for military help in 1981, leaving the Solidarity problem to be sorted out by Polish comrades. This question, as well as many other facts about Poland 1945-1989, are presently under the investigation of independent historians grouped in National Memory Institute (Instytut Pamieci Narodowej, IPN), whose publications reveal facts from communist archives. [[Image:Jaruzelski_Castro_1972.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Jaruzelski with Fidel Castro (Poland, May 1972)]] [[Image:Jaruzelski TIME cover 1981.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Jaruzelski on the TIME magazine cover, December 28, 1981. Headline: 'Poland's ordeal: The darkness descends'']] The policies of Mikhail Gorbachev also stipulated political reform in Poland. By the close of the 10th plenary session in December 1988, the Communist Party had decided to approach leaders of Solidarity for talks. From February 6 to April 15, talks of 13 working groups in 94 sessions, which became known as the "roundtable talks," radically altered the shape of the Polish government and society. The talks resulted in an agreement to vest political power in a newly created bicameral legislature and in a president who would be the chief executive. Solidarity was legalized. After the elections, the Communists, who were guaranteed 65 percent of the seats in the Sejm (the parliament), did not win a majority, and Solidarity-backed candidates won 99 out of 100 freely contested seats in the Senate. Jaruzelski, whose name was the only one the Communist Party allowed on the ballot for the presidency, won by just one vote in the National Assembly of Poland. Although Jaruzelski tried to persuade Solidarity to join the Communists in a "grand coalition," Wałęsa refused. Jaruzelski resigned as general secretary of the Communist Party but found he was forced to come to terms with a government formed by Solidarity. In 1990 Jaruzelski resigned as Poland's leader and was succeeded by Wałęsa in December. Subsequently, Jaruzelski has faced charges for a number of actions he committed while he was defense minister during the communist period. ==See also== *Polish areas annexed by the Soviet Union ==External links== * [http://polskaludowa.com/dzwiek/nagrania/Jaruzelski_stan_wojenny.mp3 Jaruzelski declared martial law (1)] * [http://polskaludowa.com/dzwiek/nagrania/Jaruzelski_jeszcze_Polska.mp3 Jaruzelski declared martial law (2)]
(on December 13, 1981) 1923 births Heads of state of the People's Republic of Poland Presidents of Poland Prime Ministers of Poland Polish generals Recipients of Virtuti Militari

Wojciech Jaruzelski

This is mostly communism propaganda. User:Taw 13:36 Jan 9, 2003 (UTC) === Biography === Jaruzelski fought in World War II and became a general in 1956. He began his rise in the Polish United Workers Party in 1960. As a leading figure in the Polish High Command he played a major role in oppressive ending of strikes in Gdansk and Szczecin in 1970. It was a military and special police forces operation that was characterized by brutality and bloodshed. Unofficial figures say several hundreds of protesters killed, many more wounded. During the 1981 crisis involving ''Solidarity'' and other democratic movements in the country, Jaruzelski became prime minister and secretary general of the Communist Party. Known as a moderate, he was often viewed as a benevolent dictator. Jaruzelski sought a compromise but finally ordered a military crackdown, placed Poland under martial law in December 1981, outlawed Solidarity, and ordered the arrest of Solidarity leaders including Lech Walesa. By the end of 1982, Solidarity had been suppressed, the martial law was lifted, and Walesa was released. By 1987 however, Jaruzelski found his attempts at economic reform thwarted by Solidarity, which forced him to a dialogue through a series of strikes which crippled the country. In April 1989 Solidarity was legalised and granted the right to campaign for the upcoming elections. In June, Solidarity members won almost every seat of the granted 35% margin in the ''Sejm''. This restriction allowed Jaruzelski to be elected president by a one-vote margin in the national assembly. However, he was unable to maintain a Communist-led government, he was forced in September to agree to a Solidarity prime minister - Tadeusz Mazowiecki. Jaruzelski was succeeded as president by Walesa in the first fully democratic presidential elections, which were held in December 1990. In 1993 Jaruzelski and others were put on trial charged with criminal conduct during 1970 protests. However, court proceedings, which began in 1996, have progressed slowly because of deliberate delays by Jaruzelski lawyers. ''see also History of Poland, Presidents of Poland''

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