In December 1981, in response to the declaration of martial law in Poland, the “Wujek" coal mine in Katowice became the scene of dramatic events that were deeply etched into the national memory. This chronicle is dedicated to a detailed account of those events. The miners’ strike was a key act of protest against political repression and the curtailment of civil rights.
On the night of December 12–13, officers of the Citizens’ Militia and ZOMO carried out an attack on the apartment of Jan Ludwiczak, the chairman of the Works Committee of “Solidarity" at the “Wujek" mine. The militiamen and ZOMO officers forcibly broke into the apartment, beat the miners who were present, and detained Ludwiczak. Stanisław Siorek describes how he was attacked and lost consciousness. In response to these events, the miners decided to begin a strike.
At one point, someone shouted
– Against the wall!
And then I was struck
on the back of the head and fell.
Jan Ludwiczak
The crowd’s reaction took me by surprise.
At first, they called us traitors.
They accused us of betraying them because we wanted to persuade people to go back to work.
We had to explain to them that this was the military commissioner’s request
…but the decision was theirs to make.
Stanisław Płatek
The decision was reached democratically; the overwhelming majority of miners were in favour of the strike. The demands of the striking workforce at ‘Wujek’ were presented to the mine management and representatives of the military. The authorities were required to: release Jan Ludwiczak and the other internees, lift martial law, and honour the agreements concluded by the government in August and September 1980.
When news spread that the “Wujek" workforce was on strike, people—families, relatives, and friends—began gathering at the mine from Monday afternoon onward, supporting the miners by bringing them bread, cold cuts, cigarettes, and tea. That day, Father Henryk Bolczyk once again celebrated Holy Mass for the miners in the chain bathhouse. Upon hearing about the first pacifications of workplaces, the miners decided to secure the mine; among other measures, mining patrols walked the grounds, and barricades were set up in several places to make it more difficult for the ZOMO forces to take over “Wujek." On Tuesday, Father Bolczyk was at the mine again. However, Holy Mass was not celebrated, as there were fears it could be disrupted by a pacification operation. Instead, the miners began praying the Rosary, which was interrupted by a false alarm.
Everyone was heading toward the exit (…). I stood there, thinking intensely about what might happen. (…) I remember one of the young men with a trembling hand, holding a holy image in that hand, looking me in the eyes (…) and asking: “Please bless me, Father." I blessed him (…).
Rev. Henryk Bolczyk
Driven back by water (…) people ran toward the management building and joined the crowd there. People fled into the management building, others toward a nearby parking lot, and still others toward a small park. I first ran into the management building. I remember two, perhaps sixteen-year-old girls, crying and shouting: “Our father is there!" I ran out of the management building and hid between two tanks. They were positioned roughly with their backs toward the park and the management building, and their barrels were pointed toward the mine.
Ewa Widuch
The Militia and ZOMO, after dispersing the crowd, proceeded to pacify the mine. Tear gas and smoke candles were fired toward “Wujek," and the striking miners were sprayed with water from water cannons. The pacification operation was carried out from several directions (from the railway gate side, from Pola Street where a tank rammed into the paint and varnish warehouse), but the main forces attacked the square between the boiler house and the clothing warehouse. The officers entered the mine grounds through a breach in the fence that had been forced open by a tank.
At the moment when the pacification forces were unable to break deep into the mine, officers of the ZOMO special platoon, armed with submachine guns, entered the grounds of “Wujek". Shots were fired at the striking miners.
I ran up to the place where the scales were. I saw that a man was lying near the stairs, that is, near the boiler house. I wanted to run over and pull him up a little, and then I felt pain.
Jan Futyma
A barrage and gunfire were ongoing. From a distance of 25–30 meters, I could see my colleagues being carried out of the line of fire to the first aid room. In the meantime, I also noticed that my colleague Płatek was staggering. I ran up to him (…). I saw that he had been shot. That was when I realized that firearms had been used.
Adam Skwira
The wounded miners were carried to a shaft-side first aid post, where doctors from nearby medical centers had already arrived. The bodies of the killed miners were taken to the Mine Rescue Station located in the same building.
The strike was ended. Six miners were shot dead on the spot, three more died in hospitals, and 23 were wounded by gunfire. Ambulance crews evacuating the injured and those affected by tear gas were exposed to arrest and beatings by ZOMO officers.
On December 16, 1981, the day of the pacification of the mine, the striking miners brought their mission cross to the Mine Rescue Station, where the bodies of the shot miners were located. Later that same afternoon, they placed it in the breach in the fence made by a tank. It was through this very breach that ZOMO officers entered the mine grounds.
Throughout the 1980s, the cross was a place of remembrance. This was despite the repression that could befall anyone who prayed there, laid flowers, or lit a candle. On June 23, 1991, construction of the monument began; at that time, the wooden cross was moved to the Chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows on Piękna Street in Katowice-Brynów.
On December 23, 1981, the Military Garrison Prosecutor’s Office in Gliwice decided, in an expedited procedure, to initiate an investigation into the organization and leadership of the strike between December 13–16, 1981 at the “Wujek" Coal Mine.
An indictment dated January 13, 1982 charged nine people, who—on the day the charges were presented—were placed in pre-trial detention. (At the same time, the investigation into members of the ZOMO special platoon regarding the use of firearms was discontinued on January 20, 1982.)
The trial of the “Nine from Wujek" began on February 3 and ended with a verdict announced on February 9, 1982. The Military District Court in Wrocław, sitting in Katowice, sentenced four strike leaders from the “Wujek" mine to prison terms ranging from 3 to 4 years, acquitted four people, and discontinued proceedings against one miner.
The harshest sentence was given to Stanisław Płatek: 4 years of imprisonment and a three-year deprivation of civic rights. Jerzy Wartak was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison and a 3-year deprivation of civic rights. Adam Skwira and Marian Głuch were each sentenced to 3 years in prison and a 2-year deprivation of civic rights.
