Which general introduced martial law in Poland in 1981?
Martial law in Poland Martial law in Poland Martial law in Poland () refers to the period of time from December 13, 1981 to July 22, 1983, when the authoritarian communist government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted normal life by introducing martial law in an attempt to crush political opposition. Thousands of opposition activists were jailed without charge and as many as 91 killed. Although martial law was lifted in 1983, many of the political prisoners were not released until a general amnesty in 1986. Led by General of the Army Wojciech Jaruzelski and the Military Council of National Salvation ("Wojskowa Rada
Martial law in Poland Earlier in the autumn of 1981, Polish television had broadcast a special film on the 1956 events in Hungary, showing scenes of rebels hanging security officers etc. The introduction of martial law was enthusiastically supported by some figures on the radical right like Jędrzej Giertych, who believed Solidarity to be a disguised communist movement dominated by Jewish Trotskyites. Even after martial law was lifted, a number of restrictions remained in place for several years that drastically reduced the civil liberties of the citizenry. It also led to severe economic consequences. The ruling military dictatorship instituted major price rises (dubbed "economic