1980 Creation of the Solidarity trade union in Poland

35 years ago, on August 14, 1980, an independent trade union "Solidarity" was created at the Lenin shipyard in Gdansk, which led the protests of Polish workers against the communist regime. Lech Walesa, an electrician from the Gdansk shipyard, became the leader of Solidarity. Before Solidarity went underground after the introduction of martial law in December 1981, its ranks numbered about 10 million people.