Sam Brownback: “at the end of World War II, Poland, like other Central European countries, fell behind the Iron Curtain. As the country…”

“at the end of World War II, Poland, like other Central European countries, fell behind the Iron Curtain. As the country struggled to recover from the brutal ravages of war and occupation, Soviet-backed communist elements seized the reigns of power. For many decades, those who sought to be free fought what seemed to be a losing, even hopeless, battle. Many were sent to prison, others were murdered or executed. The light of freedom in Poland was never truly extinguished. Year after year, decade after decade, disparate individuals pursued separate paths towards the same goal: a free Poland, a free people. By 1980, these individuals had learned much. First, they had learned to build bridges, bridges that would unite disparate segments of society. By 1980, workers and intellectuals, who had separately fought for reform, and separately failed, came together: electricians and factory workers, writers and teachers. And they learned, following the historic visit of Pope John Paul II to his homeland, in 1979, to ``be not afraid.'' Together, Poles could carve out a space of independence from the regime that sought to control them. Together, in the shipyards of Gdansk, they gave birth to the Solidarity movement. 1980 was not, of course, the first time Polish workers had gone on strike, nor would it be the last. But it was the strike that, for Poland and beyond, demonstrated the capacity of a nonviolent movement to stare down a seemingly more powerful force.…”