Background[]
The Polish authorities had planned a army parade in Szczecin for some time in 1962.
The event[]
The 1962 Szczecin military parade involved a road traffic accident in which a tank of the Polish People's Army crushed bystanders, most of whom were children; killing 7 children and injuring many more. This was conpounded as he resultant panic caused in the crowd led to a stampeed and further injuries in the rush to escape. The incident was covered up for many years by the Polish communist authorities and cencored out of state media.
Aftermath[]
It helped ferment the public hatred of Life under communism and the 1968 Polish political crisis. The city of Szczecin then witnessed several anti-communist revolts in 1970 and one of the four August Agreements, which led to the first legalization of the pro-democracy trade union Solidarity, was signed in Szczecin during 1980.
Also see[]
- 1968 Polish political crisis
- 1970 Polish protests
- Poznań 1956 protests
- Bydgoszcz events of March 1981
- The 1981 warning strike in Poland
- 1971 Łódź strikes
- Summer 1981 hunger demonstrations in Poland
- 1981 Declaration of Martial Law in Poland