"The first wall to fall was torn down in 1980 at the Gdansk shipyards.

Europe’s economy is under attack from all sides (economist.com)

EU to release €6.3 billion in aid to Poland - nu när Tusk, tidigare ordförande i Europeiska rådet, kommit till makten

https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2024/02/eu-to-release-63-billion-in-aid-to.html

Later it was the turn of the  walls, and the Germans brought down the real wall in Berlin."

Walesa was the chairman of the Solidarity trade union in communist Poland from 1980 to 1990 and later became the first elected president of democratic Poland, serving from 1990 to 1995. 

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to freedom and democracy.

Deutsche Well 23 March 2024

Parliamentary elections were held in Poland in 1989 to elect members of the Sejm and the recreated Senate. 

The first round took place on 4 June, with a second round on 18 June. 

They were the first elections in the country since the Communist Polish United Workers Party abandoned its monopoly of power in April 1989.

Not all parliamentary seats were contested, but the resounding victory of the Solidarity opposition in the freely contested races paved the way to the end of communist rule in Poland. Solidarity won all of the freely contested seats in the Sejm, and all but one seat in the entirely freely contested Senate. In the aftermath of the elections, 

Poland became the first country of the Eastern Bloc in which democratically elected representatives gained real power

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Polish_parliamentary_election

Mer än 600 östtyskar flyr den 19 augusti 1989 från Ungern till Österrike.

De ungerska gränssoldaterna vänder ryggen till när järnridån öppnas på glänt.

Tre månader senare faller Berlinmuren och Europa återförenas. 

Polackerna är, med räta, missnöjda med att det är Murens fall som blivit symbolen för kommunismens sammanbrott.

The European Commission has produced a clip for the 20th anniversary of the fall of communism, but it forgot to mention that it all started in Poland.

“Solidarity”, Lech Walesa and the events of 1989 are completely absent.

The rare shots from Poland show general Jaruzelski, who introduced martial law in 1981.

https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2009/08/habsburgs-pcknick-och-slutet-pa.html

Do not march on Moscow – Unless You Are Polish!

In the 16th century, most European countries were focusing on colonization, yet not every country had opportunities to cross the seas. For Eastern Europe, the Terra Incognita and the sphere of interests were laying on the east. For Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the biggest countries in Europe back then, a big neighbor like Russia, afflicted by many internal conflicts, was tempting prey. 

Russia saw it coming and in 1609 signed an alliance with the Kingdom of Sweden.

In 1605, the Polish-Russian War started.

A few months later, 15,000 Swedish soldiers and mercenaries from Scotland, England, France and Germany entered Veliky Novgorod to aid the current Tsar of Russia. 

The King of Poland, Sigismund III Vasa who still had desired his Swedish throne back, marched out with his 22,000-man army toward Smolensk, one of the strongest Russian fortresses. 

A joint Swedish-Russian Army led by Dmitry Shuisky was sent by Tsar Vasily IV (brother of Dmitry) in order to break the siege of Smolensk.

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/rule-one-book-war-not-march-moscow-unless-polish.html