The Power of Symbols Against the Symbols of Power: The Rise of Solidarity and the Fall of State Socialism in Poland

Jan Kubik begins his study by demonstrating how the strategy for remodeling the national culture was implemented through extensive use of public ceremonies and displays of symbols by the Gierek regime (1970-80). He then reconstructs the emergence of the Catholic Church and the organized opposition as viable counter-hegemonic politics. Their growing strength opened the way for counter-hegemonic politics, the delegitimization of the regime, the rise of the Solidarity, and the collapse of communism.