Ludwika Wujec (1941)

Ludwika Wujec was born on 2 April 1941 in Lviv (present-day Ukraine) to the Jewish family of Oskar and Regina Okrents. Her life, while complicated and challenging, is at the same time a demonstration of determination and involvement in the processes of transition that mark the post-war history of Poland.

Ludwika graduated from the University of Warsaw with a degree in physics, and in 1972 she obtained a diploma from the University of Łódź. Her social activities had started already in the 1950s and 1960s, when she was a member of the Polish Students’ Association, the Socialist Youth Union, and the Polish United Workers’ Party. She explained that the reason for her initial fascination with socialism lied in her Jewish background and the traditions of social and political involvement prevailing in her family. After all, Ludwika did not describe herself as a religious person. She emphasized the need to adapt to the conditions prevailing in her catholic homeland, which meant, for example, hiding from older members of her family the fact that she worked on the Sabbath day.

After graduating from the university, she started to work as a mathematics and physics teacher at a primary school, and during 1973–1977 she was the deputy headmaster of her institution. She was removed from that position as part of the repressions for the opposition activities of her husband, Henryk Wujec, who was on hunger strike in the Church of Saint Martin in Warsaw during the protests against the arrest of workers striking in Ursus and Radom in 1976 and of collaborators of the Workers’ Defence Committee (KOR) established to defend them. Her involvement in education and learning simultaneously became a battleground in the fight for teacher autonomy in the face of increasingly stronger control of the communist authorities.

The 1970s and 1980s were a decisive period in Ludwika’s life, one during which she became directly involved in the activities of the opposition. Cooperating with the KOR, and later with the “KOR” Committee for Social Self-Defence, she became not only a witness but also a victim of the repressions directed against society by the communist regime. She actively supported the protesting workers, especially after their protests in Ursus and Radom in 1976. In 1977, together with leading activists of the opposition, she became one of the co-creators of the independent journal Robotnik, which was intended mainly for workers of large industrial plants.

The journal, distributed in its second circulation, sought to inform the working class of its rights, to expand their historical knowledge (the communist government censored educational materials and manipulated historical facts), and, later on, to inform them of strikes and provide them with essential knowledge about the establishment and functioning of trade unions. Robotnik is best known for publishing the “Karta Praw Robotniczych” (Charter of Workers’ Rights), a document created as a result of the cooperation of its editorial committee with activists of the Free Trade Unions of the Coast. The Wujecs’ flat served as the editorial office and location where the journal was printed.

At the same time, Ludwika became involved in the activities of the so-called “Flying University” (an informal institution of higher education organised by the opposition, one which frequently changed the location of its meetings), among other ways, by making her flat available as a lecture room. Together with her husband Henryk, Ludwika ran the Workers University (Wszechnica Robotnicza) of the Mazovia Region. This place became an arena for free thinking and the exchange of ideas, and this was particularly valuable in times of restricted academic liberties. Thanks to her experience gained during the publishing of Robotnik, she also became a member of the editorial committee of “Niezależność”, the official journal of the NSZZ “Solidarność” of the Mazovia Region (an all-Poland trade union that coordinated the largest union district in the country).

Ludwika’s role in editing the journal Robotnik and her involvement in organizing support for repressed people reflected her integrity in the face of repressions and increasing oppression by the communist authorities. During the period of martial law, Ludwika Wujec was interned together with many other activists of the opposition. However, this did not break her determination or inhibit her activities in the name of democracy and human rights. After her release in 1982, she continued her activities in the opposition movement. Her participation in the editing of the underground Tygodnika Mazowsze and her cooperation with the Primate’s Assistance Committee for the Imprisoned and their Families reflected her deep involvement in the fight for human rights and civil liberties. During subsequent years, she also operated as a representative of the Provisional NSZZ “Solidarność” Coordinating Committee for political prisoners, providing legal and financial assistance as well as assistance in kind.

During the political transition, Ludwika Wujec played a crucial role in organizing the Round Table Talks and related works. Her involvement as an assistant to Tadeusz Mazowiecki (the prime minister of the first non-communist government after World War II) as well as her work in the Office of the Citizens’ Committee were crucial contributions to the restoration of democracy and pluralism in Poland. After 1989, she continued her political activities, becoming involved in the Citizens’ Movement for Democratic Action, the Democratic Union, and the Freedom Union, as well as in the development of local government in Warsaw.