WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) today applauded the Senate’s passage of a resolution commemorating the 20th anniversary of the end of communist government in Poland. Senator Mikulski introduced the resolution, which was cosponsored by a bipartisan group of her Senate colleagues.

On June 4, 1989, the Solidarity Party was overwhelmingly victorious in Poland’s first open elections since the end of the Second World War. This victory marked the end of pro-Soviet rule in Poland and inspired a succession of peaceful transitions from communism to democracy in other former Soviet Bloc nations.

“In the aftermath of the Second World War, the people of Poland found themselves under the oppression of a harsh communist government put in place by their Soviet occupiers,” Senator Mikulski said. “They did not choose communism – it was forced upon them. After over 40 years of struggle, in early 1989 the historic Round Table discussions were held between the communist government of Poland and representatives of the democratic opposition on a peaceful transfer of power. As a result, on June 4, 1989 the first democratic parliamentary elections in Poland were held. This date is symbolically celebrated as the fall of communism in Poland. It was on this date, many Poles say that ‘Freedom was born in Poland.’

“This anniversary has special resonance for me. For 40 years, I watched the people of Poland live under brutal, communist rule. Growing up as a Polish American in East Baltimore, I learned about the burning of Warsaw at the end of the Second World War. The Germans burned Warsaw to the ground – killing a quarter of a million people – as Soviet troops watched from the other side of the Vistula river. I learned about the Katyn massacre – where Russia murdered more than four thousand Polish military officers and intellectuals in the Katyn Forest at the start of the Second World War.

“This anniversary is a great occasion for the Polish people, for the government of Poland, and the history of the relationship between the United States and Poland. It is fitting that the Senate commemorate this anniversary, that we express our admiration for the resolve that the Polish people demonstrated in the face of political oppression under communist rule, that we congratulate the people of Poland for their accomplishments in the years since the end of communist rule, and that we express our appreciation for the close friendship of between the United States and Poland.”