Gdańsk lived its most dramatic moments in the 20th century. World War II began right here in 1939, when Hitler invaded. And those cranes mark the shipyard where, 40 years later in 1980, the Soviet Bloc finally began to crack.

During communist times, Gdańsk was home to the massive Lenin Shipyard. In 1980, after decades of frustrations and struggles, shipyard workers went on strike. They created a trade union called Solidarity. Locking themselves inside the shipyard, they refused to work and scrawled their list of 21 demands on plywood.

A fired shipyard electrician, Lech Wałęsa, heard news of the strike. He came here and literally climbed over the wall to get inside and join his comrades. The strike had its leader.

The European Solidarity Center—with its industrial-strength architecture and inspiring exhibits—tells the story both vividly and proudly. For 18 days, 17,000 workers—welders, machinists, and steel-workers—stood strong.

Their only connection to the outside world was to come to the gate. There they’d pass messages to family members and receive food, supplies, and encouragement.

The strikers were hungry, tired, and scared. But they were both inspired and emboldened by the new Polish pope—John Paul II.

Finally, the communist authorities gave in and legalized the union. Half of the nation’s workforce joined Solidarity, and change was in the air.

But then, after 16 hopeful months, Polish authorities—fearful of Soviet intervention—declared martial law. Tanks rumbled through the snowy streets of Poland, and the riot police cracked down on dissidents.

Solidarity went underground yet gained momentum. In 1989, the Round Table Talks brought about elections. The result: Solidarity—now a political party—won every available seat.

These first cracks in the Eastern Bloc spread quickly. Within a few months, the Berlin Wall fell, borders opened up, communist regimes voted themselves out of existence, and Lech Wałęsa was elected the first post-communist president of Poland.