June 1976: Protests in Radom and Ursus

1976 saw renewed workers’ protests, in Radom and Ursus, with the militia suppressing them brutally. Many workers were detained or beaten. In the aftermath, a group of opposition activists decided to set up the Workers’ Defence Committee which became the basis of the Polish democratic opposition. Almost simultaneously, other opposition-based organisations appeared, such as the Movement for Defence of Human and Civic Rights and the Confederation of Independent Poland.