Interviews with Bogdan Borusewicz

[Pope] John Paul II [first Polish pope who led the Catholic Church 1978-2005] is of course a great personage. His election affected Poland and the Poles, and buoyed the Polish people. This impact was especially high during martial law [declared in Poland in 1981]. It was a big deal. The Pope visited Poland twice over that time. The first time he came was in 1983, and this was when resistance was very strong, and he was there to calm the situation down. The second time in 1987, the resistance was weak, his sermons raised the atmosphere.

He spoke to us, to the remnants of those who continued our activities, to Poles who should not give up hope. He had a marvelous command of the current Polish situation. In addition, we were actually in touch with him by letter. And I recall he quoted in a public speech one sentence from a letter we had sent to him. It then dawned on us that the letter had reached him. So a colossal, a major impact during martial law. Earlier though, he had an influence of course on the general atmosphere, but not any direct part in the August Strike [of 1980 in Gdansk, Poland]. Because if we look at where the August Strikes took place – it was not in the places visited by John Paul II. He had not visited Gdansk, nor Szczecin, nor Gdynia.

So indirectly yes, but directly in the time of martial law, when he spoke to us, and when all of Poland was listening to his words.

Bogdan Borusewicz is the Speaker (Marshal) of the Polish Senate. He was born in 1949 and studied history at the Catholic University of Lublin.

Under communism, Borusewicz was an ardent democracy activist. His career as a dissident started in high school, when he was arrested in 1968 for engaging with the opposition movement. In the 1970s, Borusewicz became involved with the Workers’ Defense Committee (KOR) and the Free Trade Unions of the Coast, workers’ advocacy organizations that preceded the Solidarity independent trade union.

Borusewicz rose to prominence as the principal organizer of Gdansk’s Lenin Shipyard strike in August 1980, which led to the formation of Solidarity. When martial law was declared in 1981, Borusewicz went into hiding for four years. During this time, he married fellow freedom activist Alina Pienkowska in secret. When Alina gave birth to the couple’s daughter, Kinga, Borusewicz attended her baptism in disguise for fear of being arrested by authorities. He was later arrested in 1986 and imprisoned for two years. After receiving amnesty, Borusewicz renewed his activism, serving as deputy leader of Solidarity in 1990 and 1991. He was elected to the lower house of parliament in 1990, where he served until 2001.

In 2005, he was elected to the Senate, where he was chosen by his colleagues to serve as Speaker (Marshal). In 2010, he served briefly as the interim Polish President after President Lech Kaczynski died.

http://www.b-borusewicz.pl/