"The physics laboratories of Warsaw University, for instance, are better equipped than any in Britain, and only yield place to those in the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R"
Now a country of some 27 million people, Poland has seen several episodes of severe economic and political upheaval since Bernal wrote those words. In 1970, growing dissatisfaction with the regime and riots in Gdansk and elsewhere forced the ouster of several leaders, including Wiadyslaw Gomulka, as the party and state made changes designed to revitalize the Polish economy. But subsequent jumps in food prices despite static wages led in July 1980 to strikes and widespread disruption. These forced the government to agree to reforms, including the existence of independent trade unions. Led by Lech Walesa, these became a powerful force until he and other activists were detained when martial law was declared by General Wolciech Jaruzeiski's government in December1981. The lifting of ...
