Emilie and Zbigniew Brzeziński awarded the Medal of Gratitude

Thursday (August 31) marked the 43rd anniversary of the the signing of the 1980 August Agreements, which led to the emergence of the Solidarity trade union and freedom movement.

Among various commemorations was a ceremony at the European Solidarity Center (ECS) in Gdańsk, during which Zbigniew Brzeziński and his wife Emilie Benes-Brzezinski were posthumously awarded the Medal of Gratitude.

"This year, on Thursday, we shall honor people without whom there would be no free Poland," ECS Director Basil Kerski said, announcing the ceremony.

Their son, U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski, accepted the award on behalf of his parents.

Zbigniew Brzeziński was a Polish-American diplomat and political scientist. He served as a counselor to President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1966 to 1968 and was President Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor from 1977 to 1981.

His wife, Emilie Benes-Brzezinski, was a Swiss-American sculptor.

The Medal of Gratitude is awarded to foreigners who supported Poland in its fight for freedom and democracy, without whom the victory of Solidarity in Europe would be much more difficult.

The ECS established this honorary award on the 30th anniversary of the birth of Solidarity. Over 700 persons from all over the world have received it so far. Some smuggled printing machines and radio transmitters for the underground Solidarity Trade Union, others organised shipments of food and medication, others took care of the families of interned oppositionists or demonstrated to defend Poland’s violated civil rights.

The people of Poland would like to thank all those whose support has helped us regain our freedom.

The chairman of the chapter of the Medal of Gratitude is Lech Wałęsa, the former president of Poland, historical leader of Solidarity Trade Union, Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

43 years ago, in the summer of 1980, Poland saw a wave of mass protests sparked by the increase of food prices. First strikes broke out in the seaside cities.

On August 30, 1980, an agreement was signed in Szczecin, ending the strikes in West Pomerania. The first agreement between the striking workers and the government was followed the next day by the Gdańsk Agreement, signed by Inter-Enterprise Strike Committee Chief Lech Wałęsa and Deputy PM Mieczysław Jagielski, at the legendary BHP Hall of the Lenin Shipyard.

The Gdańsk Agreement, also known as August Agreements, led to the establishing of Solidarity - the first legal and independent trade union in communist states of the Soviet Bloc - and spurred the systemic changes of 1989, toppling of communism and dismantling of post-Yalta order.