Martial law in Poland

Martial law in Poland –was introduced to Communist Poland on the 13^th  of  December 1981 by general Wojciech Jaruzelski and lifted on the 22^nd of  July 1983. It was introduced to prevent the opposition from gaining more power in Poland. Thousands of members of opposition organizations like the Solidarity Trade Union were jailed overnight without any charges. Many restrictions were imposed: a curfew, postal censorship, telephone lines were disconnected and the mobility of people was restricted.  Martial law in Poland cost at least 100 lives, including the lives of nine miners during the pacification of the Wujek Mines. Historians are divided in their opinions on whether martial law was necessary. Some say that without it we could have faced Soviet military intervention but others claim, and they are rather in the majority, that there was no real threat from the Soviet Union.