When this poster was issued, ‘Solidarity’ was an underground organization following the proclamation of Martial Law on December 13th 1981. The official motive for imposing martial law was the bad economic situation in Poland. The real reason was to stop democratic reforms and to disable the activity of the Free Trade Unions. Solidarity was outlawed by the communist authorities and its activists were imprisoned. Solidarity couldn’t publish officially and had to rely on the underground production of printed materials. It was supported by a number of offices in foreign countries which took charge of designing, printing and distributing Solidarity materials outside of Poland. This particular poster refers to the persecution of Solidarity and its activists as a result of Martial Law. During the period of Martial Law (December 1981 and July 1983) around 10,000 people were arrested. Many Solidarity activists were forced to emigrate.

Solidarity, founded in September 1980, was the first free trade union in an Eastern Bloc country. It became the leading political force opposing the communist regime in Poland. Eventually the Polish Government was forced to negotiate with the Solidarity-led opposition, resulting in semi-free elections on 4th June 1989. This marked a crucial stage in the democratic transformation of Central and Eastern Europe.