Category 5.War monument
NAME:„The Anonymous Pedestrian's Sculpture” (Pomnik anonimowych przechodniów)
Presentation by Dominik Jakubczyk
ARTIST: Jerzy Kalina
YEAR OF ORIGIN: was installed in the middle of the night in 2005 on the 12th December.
LOCATION: Wrocław, hike on down to the junction of Piłsudskiego and Świdnicka.
DESCRIPITION: The human figures in bronze, are falling into the pavement ... They hide in one place, in another go again ...
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HISTORY CONTEXT (Why we can call this monument a war monument?):
On a cold and snowy Sunday morning on December 13, 1981 the Poles woke up to find their country under Martial Law .The Martial Law was imposed by the Military Council for National Salvation lead by, then, prime minister Gen. Wojciech Jaruzelski and consisting of 20 other high ranking military officers. They felt threatened by the members of the first independent trade union behind the Iron Curtin - the Solidarity (Solidarnosc). The Solidarity had been founded only 18 months earlier, in August of 1980 after several weeks of strikes. The workers had gone on strike to protest poor living conditions and lack of independent representation. With the birth of the Solidarity hopes were high that the new trade union would help to pressure the government to introduce economical reforms and ease restrictions. The government quickly realized that the Solidarity was a threat to the system. The Constitution stated that martial law could be imposed for defense or national security reasons. The Constitution allowed the State Council (Rada Panstwa) to impose a martial law while the parliament (Sejm) was not in session. Although the parliament was in session, the State Council headed by Henryk Jablonski unconstitutionally passed the law under pressure from the military. Only one member of the Council, Ryszard Reiff, voted against the resolution. The vote took place in the early morning hours of December 13 while Martial Law was under way: people arrested, restriction imposed. The State Council merely rubber stamped the decision of the military that took over the control in the country. The borders were sealed, airports were closed and road access to main cities was restricted. Travel between cities required permission. Curfew was imposed between 10 pm and 6 am. Telephone lines were disconnected. Mail was subject to censorship. All trade union and other independent organizations were de-legalized. All TV and radio transmissions were suspended.
WHY I LIKE IT?: I saw this statue when I was in Wroclaw ...I really liked it ...In my opinion, it shows the situation in Martial Law time ...
People had to hide ... They lived in constant fear ...Looking at this statue, I feel the pain they felt...
People of bronze ... and yet showing so much emotion ...I like the design and emotional layers of the monument:)
Music by Jacek Kaczmarski "Mury" (one of the most famous political song in Poland)
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