Zielona Góra was neither Warsaw nor Kraków. In these “Recovered Territories,” resistance against communism took on a particular nuance, marked by the struggle of a society that first had to learn how to be a society. Through declassified documents and local chronicles, we reconstruct how this city—initially atomized and lacking traditional elites—forged its own rebellious identity in the face of totalitarianism.

1. A Society Under Construction: The Generational Clash

The initial challenge for the resistance was not just political, but sociological. Analyses from the era describe the Zielona Góra of 1945–1975 as an “atomized” society, dominated by a transplanted rural population that retreated into family circles (the “primary environment”) to survive, ignoring the public sphere. However, documents reveal a turning point: the emergence of the “post-war generation” (the children of the pioneers). Unlike their parents, who were focused on survival, this new generation—better educated and with aspirations of rising through the voivodeship’s institutions—began to urbanize the local mentality. It was the friction between this new civic consciousness and the “political correctness” imposed by the system that created the breeding ground for dissent. The transformation from a mass of inhabitants into a “politically subjective community” was slow and painful, but inevitable.

2. 1956: The Symbolic Recovery of Space

Before physical resistance came symbolic resistance. The “thaw” of October 1956 brought with it a frantic attempt to reclaim the city’s identity. A notable example was the removal of Stalin’s name from the urban map. According to local chronicles, the editors of the “Gazeta” launched a public call asking for proposals to rename Stalin Avenue. The reaction was immediate: in just two days, and via a swift session, the avenue was renamed Aleja Niepodległości (Independence Avenue). This administrative act was, in reality, one of the first collective victories of Zielona Góra society to impose its own historical narrative over Soviet propaganda.

3. 1960: The Bastion of Faith and Blackmail Tactics

The uprising of May 30, 1960, in defense of the Catholic House was not a spontaneous outbreak, but the culmination of a war of attrition. Archives reveal that the authorities attempted to neutralize the parish priest, Kazimierz Michalski, not only with threats but with blackmail: they promised him that the Church would recover the building if he reduced his “rebellious activity.” Michalski, a Dachau veteran who had already been banished in 1953 for refusing to swear loyalty to the State, did not yield. The regime’s response after the pitched battle (tear gas and truncheons against stones) was surgical: in addition to arrests, a “civil death” was applied to participants through job dismissals and blacklists that forced entire families to leave the city.

4. The “Bibuła” and the Regional Information Network

Editorial resistance in Zielona Góra was more sophisticated than the simple distribution of pamphlets suggests. Between 1981 and 1989, the region sustained an underground press network (“drugi obieg”) that spanned more than 19 titles, decentralizing the resistance. Printing did not occur solely in the voivodeship capital; the network extended to satellite towns such as:

• Świebodzin: Where Podziemie was edited (1982).

• Nowa Sól: Headquarters of Solidarność Lubuska (1983–1984).

• Sulechów: Where RMS circulated at the end of the decade. In Zielona Góra, bulletins like the Zielonogórski Serwis Informacyjny and Solidarność Środkowego Nadodrza functioned as official organs in the shadows, countering the Party’s information monopoly and maintaining the cohesion of Solidarity structures during their illegality.

5. The Battle for Consciences: The Parallel Classroom

Beyond politics, the struggle in the 1980s became existential and moral. The Church and Catholic intellectuals created educational spaces outside the State to debate what the regime silenced. The figure of Father Bronisław Kotwica stands out here, identified in testimonies as a key actor in transforming the Polish mentality of the era. Clandestine conferences and meetings not only taught uncensored history but also addressed specific “moral dilemmas” of life under communism. This pedagogical effort achieved a tangible shift in “social sensitivity” between 1980 and 1989, fostering a neighborly solidarity that the system attempted to erode.

6. Repression: “Loyalty” as a Weapon

The declaration of Martial Law on December 13, 1981, activated Operation “Jodła” (Fir). The State Security (SB) had a pre-compiled list of 43 targets in Zielona Góra. The repression had two faces:

1. Physical punishment: 38 activists were interned, first in a segregated section of the local Detention Center and then dispersed to prisons in Głogów and Ostrów Wielkopolski to break their bonds.

2. Psychological pressure: The regime used “loyalty declarations” (lojalki) to break morale. Documents record that 4 activists avoided internment by signing these papers, a fact that illustrates the system’s psychological cruelty: forcing a choice between freedom and betraying one’s own ideals. Others, like Czesław Stasiak, chose a third way: total clandestinity, managing to evade capture until March 1982.

7. Internal Disputes: The Birth of the Structure

The formation of organized resistance was not devoid of internal conflict, an aspect often romanticized. Current historical documents continue to debate the exact details regarding the formation of the Inter-Enterprise Founding Committee (MKZ) in Zielona Góra. Investigations are ongoing to clarify the power dynamics and disputes among different factions of workers and advisors attempting to unify the movement in the summer of 1980, demonstrating that solidarity was a process of constant negotiation, not a monolithic block from the start.