Biały Krzyż „Solidarności” i jego historia. Z dziejów tożsamości Gorzowa Wielkopolskiego

Abstract

The article depicts the history of the White Cross. It was made in 1981 on the occasion of the outdoor Mass, organised by the Independent Self-Governing Trade Union (Polish: NSZZ) “Solidarity”. Later the Cross was moved to the vicinity of the [Gorzów] Cathedral. In 1982 when the Union was suspended and then disbanded under martial law by the Communist authorities the place around the Cross became the meeting point for Solidarity activists. On August 31, 1982, the White Cross was the place where five to ten thousand people gathered to start the most numerous rally in the history of Gorzów. In March 1983 under pressure from the authorities the diocese decided to move the Cross again, that time to Żeromski Street, where a new church was being built. There the White Cross was again unveiled in 1986, and a year later a commemorative plaque was added. In the years that followed replicas and miniatures of the White Cross appeared in various places in Gorzów; thus, the White Cross has become one of the symbols of the town and an element of its identity.