III 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 139 

Commemorating the 20th anniversary of the end of communist rule in Poland. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 11, 2009 

Ms. MIKULSKI (for herself, Mr. BURRIS, Mr. SPECTER, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. 

VOINOVICH, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. LEVIN, 

and Mr. CARDIN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Commemorating the 20th anniversary of the end of 

communist rule in Poland. 

Whereas in January 1947, the communist Democratic Bloc 

party seized control of the Polish Parliament in a rigged 

election orchestrated by the Government of the Soviet 

Union; 

Whereas, from 1947 to 1952, the communist Government of 

Poland prosecuted, imprisoned, and executed many individuals who fought as part of the wartime Underground 

Resistance, an organization that valiantly supported the 

Allied struggle against Nazi Germany as part of the largest resistance movement in occupied Europe; 

Whereas in July 1952, the passage of a new constitution formally created the communist People’s Republic of Poland 


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•SRES 139 IS 

and outlawed any non-communist candidate from seeking 

office to represent the people of Poland; 

Whereas during the ensuing years of communist rule, the 

people of Poland suffered severe hardships because of the 

communist-led government’s failure to provide for the 

basic economic needs of its people; 

Whereas under communist rule, Polish intellectuals, religious 

leaders, labor officials, students, and reformers were imprisoned and exiled for speaking out against a succession 

of increasingly corrupt, inefficient, and repressive pro-Soviet puppets; 

Whereas despite the harsh repression of the communist-led 

government and the great personal risk they faced, the 

Polish people struggled for freedom by staging strikes, 

publishing underground newspapers, organizing street 

protests, and speaking out against the economic and political failures of the communist regime; 

Whereas in August 1980, in the wake of a shipyard workers’ 

strike in Gdansk, the Solidarity Movement was created as 

the first free trade union in the Soviet Bloc nations; 

Whereas ultimately 1 in 4 Polish citizens became members of 

the Solidarity movement, which served as the driving 

force for Poland’s liberation from communist rule; 

Whereas, on June 4, 1989, the Solidarity Party secured an 

overwhelming victory over the existing communist government in the first open election in Poland since the end 

of World War II, marking the fall of pro-Soviet rule in 

Poland; and 

Whereas this victory inspired a succession of similarly peaceful transitions from communism to democracy in other 

former Soviet Bloc nations: Now, therefore, be it 


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•SRES 139 IS 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) celebrates the 20th anniversary of the end 

3 of communist rule in Poland; 

4 (2) expresses its admiration for the people of 

5 Poland for their bravery and resolve in the face of 

6 economic hardship and political oppression under 

7 communist rule; 

8 (3) congratulates the people of Poland for their 

9 accomplishments in the years since the end of pro10 Soviet communist rule in building a free democracy, 

11 and for their contributions as international partners; 

12 (4) expresses its appreciation for the close 

13 friendship between the Government of the United 

14 States and the Government of Poland; and 

15 (5) urges the Government of the United States 

16 to continue to seek new ways to enhance its partner17 ship with the Government of Poland. 

Æ 


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