The Polish crisis in the early 1980s provoked a great deal of reaction in the West. Not only governments, but social movements were also touched by the establishment of the Independent Trade Union Solidarnosc in the summer of 1980, the proclamation of martial law in December 1981, and Solidarnosc's underground activity in the subsequent years. In many countries, campaigns were set up in order to spread information, raise funds, and provide the Polish opposition with humanitarian relief and technical assistance. Labor movements especially stepped into the limelight. A number of Western...

Au XIXe siecle, la Pologne est divisee entre la Russie, la Prusse et l Autriche. Les Polonais se soulevent a plusieurs reprises, mais doivent a chaque fois s incliner. Une grande partie de l elite polonaise se refugie en Europe occidentale. Ce livre etudie le volet belge de cette Grande Emigration. Il s interesse non seulement aux figures celebres, comme le chef de file democrate Joachim Lelewel et les officiers polonais engages dans l armee belge, mais aussi aux centaines d anonymes. Il demonte au passage de nombreux mythes et conteste la representation de ces exiles romantiques comme des...