Czesław Kiszczak quasi-government administering Poland during the martial law (1981–83). In 1982 he became a deputy member of the Politburo of the Polish United Workers' Party and a full member in 1986. From December 1981 until June 1989 Kiszczak was the second most important person in Poland, after General Wojciech Jaruzelski, the nation's top leader. Together they orchestrated the crackdown aimed at crushing the "Solidarity", the Eastern Bloc’s first non-communist labor union movement. Martial law included the mass roundup and internment of "Solidarity" activists, curfews and other harsh measures. Generals Kiszczak and Jaruzelski later insisted that they were imposing martial law to
1981 warning strike in Poland General Jaruzelski, two days later, he met Wałęsa and other Solidarity activists. The demands of the opposition were: If no agreement between the government and Solidarity had been reached, the general strike was planned for Tuesday, March 31. In between, a meeting between representatives of the NCC, headed by Wałęsa, and members of the Council of Ministers' Committee for Trade Unions, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Mieczysław Rakowski took place in Warsaw, but it ended without agreement. During this meeting, a Solidarity activist from Szczecin, yelled at Rakowski: "What if your wife cheats on you once, twice, three times? Will