Ewolucja nastrojów społecznych w Polsce w latach 1980–1989

Abstract

The 80s were undoubtedly a breakthrough period in the recent history of Poland. No surprising, the events of the years 1980–1989 became known as the “long march” to independence and democracy. The purpose of this paper is to take a closer look at the changes in public sentiment in the Polish People’s Republic during the time span ranging from the strikes of summer 1980 to the parliamentary election of June, 4th 1989. By “Public sentiment” I mean all attitudes people had towards important social issues – attitudes that people would not share in public but generally could be identified in exhaustive sociological survey. The main aim of the research was to find out people’s attitudes towards and opinions regarding socio-political situation in the country and its economy (ie. public optimism indicator) as well as the attitudes of the citizenry towards the authorities and the opposition (trust or distrust). Moreover, I presented public opinion of specific breakthrough events of the 80s: martial law, the round table talks and the parliamentary election in June 1989.