Gomułka was removed from office after the 1970 Polish protests were violently suppressed on his authority. In December 1970, Gierek was appointed the new First Secretary and "de facto" leader of the Polish People's Republic. The first years of his term were marked by industrialization as well as the improvement of living and working conditions. Having spent time in Western Europe, he opened communist Poland to new Western ideas and loosened the censorship, thus turning Poland into the most liberal country of the Eastern Bloc. The large sums of money lent by foreign creditors were directed at constructing blocks of flats and at creating heavy steel and coal industries in his native Silesia. In 1976, Gierek opened the first fully-operational Polish highway from Warsaw to Katowice, which colloquially bears his name to this day. However, by the end of the 1970s Poland submerged into economic decline. The country was so heavily indebted that rationing was introduced due to shortages as the government was unable to pay off the loans. In 1980, he allowed for the Solidarity trade union to appear per Gdańsk Agreement, which formed a basis for workers' rights. Seen as a radical move to renounce communism, Gierek was removed from office like his predecessor.