H. Res. 328
In the House of Representatives, U.S., 
July 18, 2005.
Whereas, although Victory in Europe on May 8, 1945, re-
sulted in liberty and democracy in many nations, Poland 
and other countries of Central and Eastern Europe fell 
behind the repressive Iron Curtain of the Soviet Union; 
Whereas for more than four decades Poland and the nations 
of the Soviet Bloc struggled under authoritarian rule; 
Whereas in June 1979, Pope John Paul II, the former Car-
dinal Karol Wojtyla, returned to his homeland for the 
first time and exhorted his countrymen to ‘‘be not 
afraid’’ of the Communist regime; 
Whereas in July and August of 1980, Polish workers in the 
shipyards of Gdansk and Szczecin went on strike to de-
mand greater political freedom; 
Whereas workers’ committees, led by electrician Lech Walesa, 
coordinated these strikes and ensured that the strikes 
were peaceful and orderly; 
Whereas in August 1980, the Communist government of Po-
land yielded to the 21 demands of the striking workers, 
including the release of all political prisoners, the broad-
casting of religious services on television and radio, and 
the right to establish independent trade unions;
•HRES 328 EH 
Whereas the Communist government of Poland introduced 
martial law in December 1981 in an attempt to block the 
growing influence of the Solidarity movement; 
Whereas the Solidarity Trade Union and its 10,000,000 
members became a great social movement committed to 
promoting fundamental human rights, democracy, and 
Polish independence from the Soviet Union; 
Whereas in February 1989, the Communist government of 
Poland agreed to conduct talks with the Solidarity Trade 
Union that led to elections to the National Assembly in 
June of that year, in which nearly all open seats were 
won by candidates supported by the Solidarity Trade 
Union, and led soon after to the election of Poland’s first 
non-Communist Prime Minister in the post-war era, Mr. 
Tadeusz Mazowiecki; 
Whereas the Solidarity movement ended communism in Po-
land without bloodshed, inspiring other nations under So-
viet control to do the same and playing an important role 
in the fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe; 
Whereas on November 15, 1989, Lech Walesa gave an his-
toric speech before a joint meeting of the United States 
Congress with the opening remarks ‘‘We the Peo-
ple. . .’’, which stirred a standing ovation from the Mem-
bers of Congress; 
Whereas on December 9, 1990, Lech Walesa was elected 
President of Poland; 
Whereas the support of the United States and the Polish-
American community was essential to the survival and 
success of the Solidarity movement; and 
Whereas a bond of friendship exists between the United 
States and Poland, which is among the strongest allies of
•HRES 328 EH 
the United States, a contributing partner in the North 
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a reliable partner 
in the Global War on Terrorism, and a key contributor 
in Iraq and Afghanistan: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) recognizes the 25th anniversary of the workers’ 
strikes in Poland that led to establishment of the Soli-
darity Trade Union; 
(2) honors the struggle and sacrifice of the citizens 
of Poland who risked their lives to restore democracy to 
their country and to return Poland to the democratic 
community of nations; and 
(3) offers Poland as a model for other nations 
struggling to emerge from authoritarian rule and estab-
lish a flourishing representative government. 
Attest:
Clerk.