Grudzien '70

Artist Michal Wieckowski

Printer Druk Z. G. DSP Zam Poland

Date1980

Dimensions38 1/4 x 26 1/2 in. (97.2 x 67.3 cm)

ClassificationsPoster

Credit LineGift of Peter A. Blatz

Terms

Object numberPH.22

DescriptionThis is one of many Polish posters commemorating the protests in the Baltic coastal cities of northern Poland between December 14 and 22, 1970, sparked by a sudden increase in food prices after a series of bad harvests. The protests were started by the workers of the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk and were put down by the Polish People’s Army and the Citizens’ Milita, resulting in the deaths of at least 44 people and the injury of some one thousand. Subsequent protests in 1976 and 1980 ultimately led to the founding of the Solidarity movement. This somber poster shows the Monument to the Fallen Shipyard Workers, set against a black ground, that was unveiled in December 1980 at the entrance to the Lenin Shipyard. It was printed by Dom Słowa Polskiego (DSP) or the House of the Polish Word, opened in 1950; by the time the poster was released, it was the largest printing plant in Poland.

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