VIOLET RECTANGULAR OCENZUROWANO (CENSORED) CANCEL WITH CIRCULAR URZAD CENZURY (CENSORSHIP OFFICE) NUMBER 255
THERE WERE IN THEORY 999 CENSORSHIP OFFICES THROUGHOUT POLAND ALTHOUGH NOT ALL NUMBERS ARE KNOWN ON COVER. THIS LETTER WAS POSTED TO KRAKOW FROM CZESTOCHOWA
On a cold and snowy Sunday morning on December 13, 1981 the Poles woke up to find their country under Martial Law (literally in a State of War or "stan wojenny"). Martial Law was imposed by the Military Council of National Defense (WRON) lead by Prime Minister Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski and a Communist Council of 22 members consisting of high ranking military officers and part officials.
The Wojskowska Rada Obrony Narodowej (WRON) declared Martial Law to "defend socialism". They felt threatened by the members of the Solidarity (Solidarnosc) the first independent trade union behind the Iron Curtain. Solidarity had been founded only 18 months earlier, in August of 1980 after several weeks of strikes. The workers had gone on strike to protest poor living conditions and lack of independent representation. With the birth of Solidarity hopes were high that the new trade union would help to pressure the government to introduce economical reforms and ease restrictions. The government quickly realized that Solidarity was a threat to the system. Several road blocks were created to derail Solidarity but the union seemed to grow stronger. The situation made the Soviets very worried and they, on several occasions, pressured the Polish government and the Polish Communist Party (PZPR) to de-legalized Solidarity. For the Polish government it soon became apparent that the union was too strong and far too popular to simply de-legalize it. Drastic action was need to oust Solidarity, so martial law was imposed.
The Constitution stated that martial law could be imposed for defense or national security reasons. The Constitution allowed the State Council (Rada Panstwa) to impose martial law while the parliament (Sejm) was not in session. Although the parliament was in session, the State Council headed by Henryk Jablonski unconstitutionally passed the law under pressure from the military. Only one member of the Council, Ryszard Reiff, voted against the resolution. The vote took place in the early morning hours of December 13 while Martial Law was already under way. The State Council merely rubber stamped the decision of the military that took over control of the country.
Thousands of Solidarity leaders and activists were arrested and imprisoned without court sentence. Among those arrested was Lech Walesa, the legendary Solidarity leader. The WRON, in an obvious public relations stunt, also arrested some prominent figures from the previous government.
Polish borders were sealed, airports were closed and road access to main cities was restricted. Travel between cities required permission. Curfew was imposed between 10 pm and 6 am. Telephone lines were disconnected. All letters and mail was subject to censorship. All trade union and other independent organizations were de-legalized. All TV and radio transmissions were suspended (except one government TV channel and one government radio station). Public administration, health services, power generation stations, coal mines, sea ports, train stations, and most of the key factories were placed under military management. The employees had to follow military orders or face a court martial. Classes in schools and at universities were suspended.
From the early morning hours the only TV channel and the only radio station transmitted Gen. Jaruzelski's address . The television presenters wore military uniforms. Only newspapers controlled by the Communist Party or the military were published.
The Poles actively resisted Martial Law by organizing strikes and street marches, but any resistance to Martial Law was brutally crushed. On December 16, 1981 the police killed 9 striking coal miners at the Wujek Coal Mine in Katowice. The Poles continued to oppose the WRON - many Solidarity members worked underground. They established, the so called, Revolutionary Solidarity and were involved in publishing independent newspapers, organization of street protests, broadcasting radio programs usually cut off by the government jammers). Thousands were arrested and prosecuted.
Martial Law was suspended on December 31, 1982 and terminated on July 22, 1983. Some of the restrictive legislation introduced during martial law remained in force throughout the 1980's. The failure of the WRON and the ruling Communist Party became clear in 1989 when Solidarity won, by a land-slide, the first free elections to be held in Poland since World War II.
