During commemorations in the central city of Radom, one of the main centres of the June 1976 protests, President Karol Nawrocki honoured former anti-communist opposition activists with state decorations for their role in the demonstrations and Poland's eventual transition to democracy.
Marking the anniversary, Nawrocki described the events half a century ago as a moral compass for building "a stronger and more just Poland."
Speaking in Radom, the site of the largest and most violent demonstrations about 100 km south of Warsaw, he said the protests remained an important lesson for the nation.
"Today we must look at June 1976 as a compass of values, a legacy from which we want to build a stronger, more responsible and more just Poland," he said.
Nawrocki said the legacy of June 1976 obliged modern Poland to respect workers and promote social justice.
Officials have paid tribute to workers who staged a series of protests against Poland’s communist regime in June 1976. Photo: PAP/CAF/Reprodukcja
"Poland today, if it wants to remain faithful to the spirit of June 1976, must respect working people, care for every citizen and not become a country only for elites," he said.
The protests erupted on June 25, 1976, after Poland's communist government announced steep food price increases in an effort to address mounting economic problems.
Strikes broke out in dozens of factories across the country, involving an estimated 60,000 workers. The largest demonstrations took place in Radom, the Warsaw suburb of Ursus and the central city of Płock.
In Radom, about 25,000 people took to the streets demanding that the government reverse the price hikes.
After waiting for a response from the authorities, demonstrators stormed and set fire to the local headquarters of the ruling communist party.
Widespread vandalism and looting also occurred, according to Polish state news agency PAP.
The government responded by deploying riot police units from several cities. Security forces used batons, water cannons and tear gas to suppress the unrest.
Many detained protesters were brutally beaten in police stations and detention centres. Some were forced to run between rows of officers striking them with batons in what became known as "health paths," a practice that came to symbolise the repression that followed the protests.
Nawrocki said the events offered a warning about governments that conceal problems behind propaganda and use state institutions against their critics.
"A government that kills the truth with propaganda and uses prosecutors and courts to fight those who defend dignity will fall sooner or later," he said.
The communist authorities later staged a series of trials against protesters.
According to Poland's Institute of National Remembrance, 25 people were convicted in Radom, several of them receiving prison sentences of up to 10 years. Many others lost their jobs and were effectively blacklisted.
The crackdown prompted opposition intellectuals and activists to organise support for those affected.
In September 1976, they established the Workers' Defence Committee (KOR), widely regarded as the first openly operating opposition organisation in a communist country.
KOR helped lay the groundwork for the Solidarity movement, which emerged four years later and ultimately contributed to the collapse of communist rule in Poland.
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Source: PAP
Click on the audio player above for a report by Piotr Urbaniak.