POLAND
Before The Fall
Communism began to show signs of its fading in Poland in early 1989. The Polish government was organizing discussions with its opponents. This set a precedent for the mostly peaceful revolutions in Eastern Europe. In March of that year, while still under a Communist regime, the Polish government publicly announced that it held the Soviet Union responsible for the 1940 Katyn massacre. On April 5, the discussions ended and it was announced that there would be economic reform and free elections in the summer. Other reforms, such as the complete legalization of the Roman Catholic Church, came later. The results of the June elections gave Solidarity, a non-Communist trade-union established in 1980, 99 per cent of the seats contested. By the end of December, the leading role of the party was abolished and the state, renamed "The Republic of Poland", reintroduced the flag and coat of arms which were used before World War II. (Crampton, 1997, 391-392)
After The Fall
The democratization process in Poland was fairly steady, but several problems arose in other areas. The former Communist Party quickly reformed itself. Its leader, Jaruzelski, who remained President, realized he was no longer needed to server his position and voluntarily stepped down at the end of 1990. Poland faced some serious problems as results of its attempts at economic reform. Inflation was as high as 550 per cent in 1990; however, this dropped to 20 per cent in 1995. Despite this apparent halt in inflation, production continued to fall and unemployment continued to rise during the early 1990s. Poland experienced some benefits when states like the USA, France, and Germany reduced Poland's international debts significantly. Leaders sought to never let the Polish deficit exceed 5 per cent. There also appeared to be a high level of political instability following Jaruzelski's resignation, with the president often changing more than once a year. (Crampton, 1997, 447-450)
