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64 THE SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT’S LASTING LEGACY n Although nongovernmental organizations are major partners in implementing the Polish government's democracy assistance, they began their own such activities in the postcommunist region in the 1990s, before the government's program was established. Polish NGOs' involvement in democracy assistance can be considered a legacy of the Solidarity movement , and the historical overview offered here details Polish civil society's role in democratic transformation, not only in Poland but in the whole region, and its links with Western donors. These international donors, as well as the Polish government, have recognized the important role of Polish NGOs in democracy assistance. The Solidarity Movement, Foreign Assistance, and Civil Society Development in Poland Polish civil society was very active long before the democratic revolution of 1989. In order to have a complete picture of the Polish nongovernmental sector today, it is important to take into account its history prior to 1989. The communist People's Republic of Poland actively attempted to eliminate the institutions of civil society and control the work of special interest organizations. The official organizations that existed, such as the women's, sports, environmental, or youth associations, were usually controlled by the Communist Party and could not qualify as civil society organizations. These officially sanctioned groups were quasi-state structures, receiving funds from the state budget and the party elite. However, at the same time, Polish communist authorities did not completely isolate Polish society from external influences. For example, the Polish United Nations Associations were the strongest in Central and Eastern Europe. From the 1950s The Solidarity Movement’s Lasting Legacy Polish NGOs’ Engagement in Democracy Assistance 3 64 65 THE SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT’S LASTING LEGACY to the end of the 1980s, they had succeeded in building up a grassroots network with active local branches.1 The Polish institution most independent from the communist government, however, was the Catholic Church, especially the Catholic Intelligentsia Clubs, established in 1956, and, later, other Catholic communities popular among young people (Weigel 1992; Sadowska 1996). The Catholic Church had relatively significant autonomy, around which different intellectual circles could unite (Michnik 1993). The church’s position became even stronger after the Krakow archbishop, Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, was chosen to become pope in 1978 and when, as Pope John Paul II, he visited Poland in 1983 and 1987 (Weigel 1992, 16). Moreover , as Juros et al. (2004, 562–63) observe, for many civil society activists the Catholic Church was a “legacy of the Old Polish Era” and postwar history : “It is thanks to the Catholic Church that Poland’s culture of social activity could preserve itself in a more or less latent form across the decades following World War II in order to rise again in 1980 in the form of the Solidarity movement.” The origins of contemporary civil society in Poland lie in the dissident movement, which emerged in the 1970s and 1980s. The first organization established under communism was the Workers’ Defense Committee (KOR), created in 1976 by a modest number of workers and intellectuals. KOR later grew into Solidarność (Solidarity)—the world’s best-known mass civic movement, which undermined the Polish communist government (Kenney 2002). Other groups that played an important role in shaping civil society were the Polish Independence Pact (PPN), the Movement for the Defense of Human and Civil Rights (ROPCiO), and Freedom and Peace (WIP), as well as student and youth groups and organizations concerned with education, such as the Independent Students’ Union (NZS) and the Society for Academic Courses (TKN) (Kantorosinski 1991; Kenney 2002).2 When the Polish pope made his first visit to Poland, his support for the Solidarity opposition movement, led by Lech Wałęsa, provided a strong impetus for change in Poland. The emergence of Solidarity in 1980 “signaled a new stage of civil society development across the region and was a harbinger of the processes that eventually led to the overthrow of the communist regimes and the reunification of Europe” (Leś et al. 1999, 325). Solidarity was registered as a trade union in November 1980, but it was a union not only of workers but also 10 million persons, including members of other organizations, such as the Movement of Young Poland, Znak (literally , “The Sign”), and people opposed to the communist regime (Leś et al. 1999, 325).3 The initial brief emergence of Solidarity in 1980–81 paved the way toward the rebirth of organizations that had been dissolved under [18.189.180.244] Project...

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