Pope who inspired liberation of his motherland from the shackles of communism

Pope John Paul II was the main inspiration behind political uprisings in his motherland of Poland. [Getty Images]

 He came to Kenya two times during his papacy; May 1980 for the first time and August 1985 which included visits to other countries in Africa on his second tour.  At that time few people knew about his other engagements and joined the world in recognising his place as the Holy Father: Leader of the Christian faith with the largest following in the world.  

The title Holy Father would belong to him throughout his 27 years at the Vatican, which, obviously, to many, implies that he played in a league that is well above the shenanigans of politics.  

While he served the Holy See, few people knew that during the 1980s-decade, Pope John Paul II was the main inspiration behind political uprisings in his motherland of Poland. He energised anti-communism movements through visits to Warsaw, in his speeches, and exchange of letters with leaders of the movements. He would engage in phone conversations with world leaders especially United States then president Ronald Reagan.

The communist regime that indirectly colonised Poland after World War II, as it did countries of Eastern Europe, was atheist and had placed a freeze on freedom of worship. It ruled a country that for centuries subscribed to the Catholic church. It was in that country that the Pope had been born and raised.

And so shortly after his election to the papacy in 1978, the Pope launched a series of visits in the midst of dramatic social changes where his image became the poster card of peaceful protests and walks in several cities of Poland by the people who wanted change. His four visits to his homeland started in June 1979. He was welcomed by chants of “We want God! We want God!”  He visited again in1983, 1987, and after the collapse of communism in 1991.

Because of this, the Pope’s name carries the weight that Mahatma Gandhi’s name does in India.

 “Pope John Paul had the biggest influence in the country and the world. He and first president of democratic Poland Lech Walesa” said Patrycjusz Piechowski a keen historian who runs tour guide services to foreign government visitors and media delegations to Poland.

His election as Pope was deliberate, the college of cardinals wanted change at Vatican which could also influence change in Eastern Europe, says Dr Jaseck Koltan a researcher at the European solidarity centre in Gdansk Poland. Younger cardinals wanted a leader of the powerful catholic institution who would work towards ending communism. No one was better placed than a well-educated young cardinal from Poland.

“Pope Paul VI, during his reign, would invite him to give speeches at Vatican. He made an impression on his colleague cardinals especially those from Germany.” Says Dr Koltan.

Pope John Paul II during a visit to his motherland of Poland in 1983. [Wellingtone Nyongesa, Standard]

Born in Wadowice Southern Poland as Karol Jozef Wojtyla, he remains modern Poland’s greatest son. The other Pole whose name easily carries reverence in the country is Lech Walesa’ the first president of democratic Poland of 1989. His anti-communism campaigns caused him painful clashes with Soviet police, several stints in detention, but also brought him the coveted Nobel prize for peace.

History lessons in classrooms from whichever continent one studies rarely give finer details about the political history of a country. One comes across missing dots when they tour select cultural centres and through interviews with people who lived the experience.  One such centre is the European Solidarity Centre in the polish city of Gdansk, northern Poland. “Inspired by the Pope’s visit in1979 the port workers of this city launched a workers’ movement that morphed into a political one to free Poland from communism. The workers trade union was called Solidarity” Says Koltan.

The centre is a structure whose outer appearance borrows heavily from a ship’s hull.

“It was designed that way deliberately in honour of port workers at the shipyard. It serves as a commemoration of the solidarity movement that led to our freedom from the Soviets. It was opened in 2014 to serve as a library and museum to commemorate Polish Trade unionism which as I have said inspired political movements that ended communism.”

Nestled inside the ship structure that rises six floors are facts that connect the dots about Pope John Paul’s involvement in his motherland’s push for political freedom and towards democracy.  

Images of Pope John Paul II projected on a museum big screen during a visit to his motherland of Poland in 1983. [Wellingtone Nyongesa, Standard]

A walk through the museum, reveals that in 1979, less than a year after ascending to the Catholic Church's highest office, Pope John Paul II returned to his home country, then under communist rule. He disembarked at the airport, knelt, and kissed the Polish ground.

Today, it is written in preserved material at the museum that that moment was arguably the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union.

Rendered through video which plays on huge screens in the museum, newspaper articles, and wall posters, his image in white robes surrounded by huge crowds is well displayed. His voice echoes in several rooms of the museum. His wave of the hand still seems to capture the hearts of the Polish people more than 21 years after he died at the Vatican. The museum has also preserved the white FIAT car that he used on his visits.

Initially authorities had viewed the Pope’s visit with apprehension, fearing it could inspire dissent against the communist regime. However, they ultimately allowed it to proceed, which turned out to be a monumental miscalculation as his speech and presence galvanized the Polish people’s faith and desire for freedom.

Records available in the museum show that more than a third of the population of Poland showed up to see the first ever Slavic pope during his nine-day trip to his motherland.

While celebrating Mass at Warsaw's Victory Square, John Paul drew the crowd's attention to the nearby tomb of the unknown soldier. “In the ancient and contemporary history of Poland this tomb has a special basis, a special reason for its existence” He said. “In how many places in our native land has that soldier fallen! In how many places in Europe and the world has he cried with his death that there can be no just Europe without the independence of Poland marked on its map! On how many battlefields has that solider given witness to the rights of man?”

It was an astonishing political rebuke to the Soviets, who installed communist governments across Eastern Europe after World War II. The institutions were said to be independent but in name only because that independence remained for a few sacred cows who were men and women loyal to the kremlin. There was no church nor active religion in countries that had been forced into Soviet communism. And so, the Pope’s message was framed as an admonition.   

“Without Christ it is impossible to understand the history of Poland, especially the history of the people who have passed or are passing through this land.” The speech is today filed among speeches of the Papacy at the Vatican.

The following year, Solidarity trade union burst into being in the city of Gdańsk. It would soon span the country, representing millions of Poles from every industrial sector and becoming the focus of the nation's anti-communist resistance. Under a banner frequently accompanied by John Paul's face, members battled for the right to organize, liberalize, and democratise.

“The Pope’s visit, being a son of Poland, was the instigator of the anti-communism movement. It was after his speech to millions of the Polish people in Warsaw that workers in other cities arose and begun to push the communists for freedoms” Said Dr Koltan. Solidarity’s membership peaked up to 10 million by September 1981, representing one-third of the country's working-age population. Because of this, the workers trade union grew into political push as millions of workers across communist Poland. The union demanded greater rights, and end to censorship and an overhaul of the political system. The movement gained widespread support from workers and intellectuals and quickly became a powerful force for change in Poland.

The soviet government in Moscow was concerned about the moment and pressured the Polish government to take action

General Wojciech Jaruzelski was elected Prime Minister and head of the Polish communist Party and his goal was to restore order. He tried to get parliament to approve measures imposing martial law and outlawing solidarity but it failed. On December 12^th 1981 he did it himself by imposing martial law and arresting the leaders of solidarity including Lech Walesa. He banned all independent trade unions, including Solidarity, and arrested thousands of activists, intellectuals, and dissidents. The media was placed under strict government control, and censorship targeting newspapers, radio, and television.

The imposition of martial law was met with widespread condemnation from the international community, with many countries imposing economic sanctions on communist Poland. In the United States, President Ronald Reagan denounced the move, calling it a "crude violation of human rights" and imposing sanctions on the Polish government.

On December 14 1981 Reagan had a phone conversation with the Pope passing his well wishes to him following the sad developments in his home country. An excerpt of the conversation is preserved by the Ronald Reagan diaries;

“Your holiness, I want you to know how deeply we feel about the situation in your homeland."

“I look forward to the time when we can meet in person.”

“Our sympathies are with the people, not the government.''

“Our country was inspired when you visited Poland, and to see their commitment to religion and belief in God. It was an inspiration to the whole world to watch on television. All of us were very thrilled.''

The pope sent messages of hope to the Polish people during the hard time. Polish politician Bogdan Borusewicz who belonged to the Solidarity movement says “The pope spoke to us, to remnants of those who continued our activities. He visited Poland twice during martial law. First in 1983 when resistance was very high. He came to calm the situation. He came again in 1987 when resistance was weak, he came to raise the temperature.”

The 77 year old politician who once acted as president says “ I recall he quoted in a public speech one sentence from a letter we had sent him”

Despite government's crackdown, Solidarity continued to operate underground, organising protests and strikes in defiance of the regime.

The end of communism came when Lech Walesa won the 1989 Polish Parliamentary election ushering in a transition government until 1990 when he became president making Poland the first Eastern European country to become democratic.