Kulisy stanu wojennego i rozmów władz PRL z Lechem Wałęsą
Behind the Scenes of Martial Law and the Talks between the Communist Authorities and Lech Wałęsa

An Unknown Document from the German Archives

Summary/Abstract: After martial law was declared in Communist Poland, the authorities of the German Democratic Republic kept their eye on the activities and plans of General Wojciech Jaruzelski and his staff. Berlin received information through multiple channels. For example, the Ministry for State Security, also known as the Stasi, and its Main Department XVIII (HA XVIII), which was responsible for supervising the national economy, had its own sources of information. This paper contains the whole report by HA XVIII of 18 January 1982. The document was created in the initial weeks of Martial Law in Communist Poland. Much focus is being paid to what was happening behind the scenes of 13 December, including the pressure put by Polish Generals on General Jaruzelski. It also includes information about the plans of the government in Warsaw for the Independent Self-governing Labour Union “Solidarity” and in this respect, the talks with its chairman Lech Wałęsa. The document also mentions that the Communist authorities could use information about the former contacts of the Solidarity leader with the Security Service in the ongoing negotiations. The author tries to describe the historical context in which the report was written as well as to verify the credibility of key information contained in this document.

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