Poland: State and/or Society

Warsaw in early September 1988 was a city swept by an air of excitement, hope, and nervous anticipation. The government had just announced a course of action designed—or so it would seem— to set Poland on the road to economic and political well-being.

It was all grimly familiar. Exactly two years before, the government had proclaimed a sweeping amnesty for political prisoners. It would no longer “repress” or “discriminate against” anyone “for his or he...