Lecture by Dr. Mateusz Sokulski within the CEEPUS program

On Tuesday, November 7, 2023, at 12 a.m., a lecture by Dr. Mateusz Sokulski from the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland will be held in the library of the Historical Institute. The topic of the lecture is Solidarity in Poland 1980-1981.

The lecture is dedicated to Polish Solidarity, which seriously shook the Eastern Bloc in the years 1980-1981. From an independent trade union, "Solidarity" quickly grew into a large, ten-million-strong social movement. The appearance of "Solidarity" was a great challenge to the communist regime in Poland and in the USSR due to the fear of "exporting the revolution". During the lecture, the most important events in Poland in the early eighties of the 20th century will be discussed, as well as the reactions of the West and the USSR. As part of the presentation, a few words are also planned for Yugoslav official and social reactions to the situation in Poland at the time.

Dr. Mateusz Sokulski (University of Katowice, Institute of History/Institute of National Remembrance, department in Katowice). He is an assistant professor at the University of Katowice, his scientific interest is the history of Central Europe with special reference to Yugoslavia and Poland; relations between Poland and Yugoslavia in the Cold War, history of diplomacy, social history. His book Poland in Yugoslav Politics 1968-1981 is coming out early next year.