Topic: A long way to freedom

Target group

8th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

8th‑grade students of elementary school

XXXVII. Beginnings of communism in Poland. Pupil:

2. characterizes the attitudes of Poles towards the new authorities, with particular emphasis on armed resistance (unwavering soldiers [cursed]).

XXXVIII. Stalinism in Poland and its effects. Pupil:

2. discusses the Stalinist terror system in Poland and assesses its effects;

3. explains the causes and effects of Poznan's June 1956 (Poznań Uprising) and the significance of the events of October 1956.

XXXIX. Poland in the years 1957‑1981. Pupil:

1. describes the system of power in the 1960s and 1970s in the PRL and the form of dependence on the USSR;

2. characterizes the realities of social and cultural life, taking into account the specificities of Gomułka and Gierek times;

3. presents and situates in time the variety of causes of social crises in 1968, 1970, 1976 and their consequences;

4. explains the importance of the role of the Catholic Church in political and social relations;

5. describes the birth and operation of the political opposition in the years 1976‑1980;

6. presents the role of John Paul II and assesses his influence on social and political changes;

7. explains the causes and consequences of the August strikes in 1980;

8. characterizes the Solidarity social movement.

XL. Decade 1981‑1989. Pupil:

1. explains the reasons for the introduction of martial law, describes its course and consequences;

2. presents the attitudes of Poles towards martial law, the phenomenon of social resistance;

3. explains the reasons for concluding the Round Table Agreement, presents its main participants and describes the provisions.

General aim of education

The student acquires knowledge and skills about the Polish People's Republic

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• what were the most important events of the PRL (Polish People's Republic) period;

• about the social protest against the authorities in 1956‑1989;

• who Władysław Gomułka, Edward Gierek, Wojciech Jaruzelski and Lech Wałęsa were;

• why the martial law was introduced in Poland in 1981 and what were its consequences;

• about the importance of the „Solidarity” for Poland and the Eastern Bloc.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

1. Students should know what the realities of the Polish Stalinist period were like and what forms of social repression against power opponents were used. They should also read the archive film from the part * Pope Polak * in the e‑textbook.

Introduction

1. The teacher states the subject of the lesson, explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.

2. The teacher, referring to the homework, asks students what the first years of Poland and its inhabitants looked like after the end of World War II. If we were in the camp of winning countries, could we have called ourselves winners? Asking questions, the teacher remembers to formulate them to be key questions.

Realization

1. The teacher, supplementing students' knowledge from the introduction, explains to the students that in the majority of cases Polish society did not support the imposed communist power and tried to oppose it in various ways. As an example, it gives the so‑called „cursed soldiers” – anti‑communist and independent underground. Students carry out ** Task 1 **, looking for information about „cursed soldiers”. Together, they try to create a note on this concept.

2. Next, the teacher explains that the period known as People's Poland (1944‑1989) was not uniform and the control of power over society and its repressiveness were different depending on the years. Referring to the previous lesson and the period of Stalinism in Poland, he presents the events of June 1956 in Poznań and their meaning to the students. The form of teacher's presentation is up to him, but it must be short, maximum 3‑4 minutes. It will be a framework for students during their own work. He then divides the students into 6 groups and assigns each of them with the so‑called „Polish months” (October '56, March '68, December '70, June '76, August '80, December '81). The task of the students is to create a short presentation about the events and their meanings – they follow the formula of the teacher's presentation. Students can use resources from e‑textbook or any content from the Internet. The teacher should indicate where to search for the information.

3. Students present their work briefly, for 3‑4 minutes. Then they perform ** Task 2 **, in which they reflect on the division proposed by prof. Andrzej Paczkowski. The teacher points out that it is the events that took place a decade earlier (The choice of a Pole to become the Holy Pope and the emergence of Solidarity) that led to the changes of 1989. He also emphasizes that in 1978, 1980 or even in 1988, virtually no one expected that in 1989 the communists would share their power with the opposition and that Poland would regain its independence. Students perform Exercise 1 **. The teacher provides feedback and checks the correctness of completed tasks..

4. The teacher emphasizes the importance of the „Solidarity carnival” and the feelings that it raised in Poles. He points out that it's the first social movement in history that in 10 months would bring together 10 million people. Then he asks students – was the communist power satisfied with the emergence and support of Solidarity's Polish society?.

5. Referring to the students' answers – that the authorities were afraid of Solidarity and its growing strength - explains to the students that the communists, at the time of signing the consent to the creation of independent trade unions, already began preparations for the crack down on opposition. Students perform ** Exercise 2 **, describing the emotions associated with the figure of John Paul II. The teacher provides feedback and checks the correctness of completed tasks..

6. While working on exercises and instructions, the teacher uses a set of cards in three colors: green, yellow and red. Thanks to the cards, the students signal to the teacher if they have difficulties in carrying out the orders (green color – I'm doing great, yellow - I have doubts, red - I'm asking for help).

7. The teacher explains to the students the consequences of the martial law, listing both international – embargo, social protests all over the world, etc. and national – deepening apathy and hopelessness and lack of willingness of the society to cooperate with the authorities as a result of disintegration and banalization of „their” Solidarity.

Summary

1. AS a summary, the teacher once again explains the phenomenon of the Solidarity movement and its significance for the history of Poland and the world. Students get acquainted with the graphic describing the martial law (** Task 2 **).

2. The teacher says that martial law was such a momentous event that it was reflected in popular culture. Students carry out **Task 3 ** and the teacher indicates that the lyrics are ironic.

3. The teacher assesses the students' work during the lesson, taking into account their input and commitment. For this purpose, he may prepare an evaluation questionnaire for self‑assessment and assessment of the teacher's work and other students.

Homework

1. The teacher tasks willing students with a homework: Search the Internet for the demands of workers striking in August 1980 formulated by Inter‑Enterprise Strike Committee. Read them carefully and divide them into economic, social and political. Which category is the largest? What was it that the workers wanted when they announced their demands?.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

A long way to freedom

Not everyone supported the communist rule in Poland. But quite a big part of Polish society decided to put up with it, as they felt threatened and simply fought for survival. However, every few years the accumulation of unsolved social, economic and political problems led to general discontent, which triggered strikes and protests (1956, 1968, 1970, 1976). In most cases, they got suppressed by the authorities, for example in Poznań in June 1956. The strikers were mostly workers of metropolitan heavy industry plants, who were also supported by the intellectuals. In 1980 another wave of strikes took place leading to the establishment of the formally recognized by the authorities Independent Self‑governing Labour Union „Solidarity”. The head of the Solidarity was an electrician, Lech Wałęsa. This union constituted a sort of a loophole in the political system of the country. Solidarity demanded the improvement of living conditions, the respect for human and citizen rights, initially leaving political issues to the authorities. On 13 December 1981, the communist authorities under General Wojciech Jaruzelski declared the martial law. The Solidarity became delegitimized and the authority of the country was taken over by the Military Council of National Salvation. The democratic opposition became clandestine again.

The picture you can see was taken by a Polish photographer Chris Niedenthal on 14 December 1981. Taking it was quite dangerous, as at that time one could get arrested just due to the fact of owning a camera, not even mentioning taking a picture of the army in the street. Despite the danger, the photographer managed to capture an unusual scenery of the street in Warsaw and the cinema Moskwa advertising the film „Apocalypse Now”. This picture became the most widely recognizable photograph of the martial law period. Now, it is considered one of its symbols and one of the most important photographs in the history of Poland.