Anti-communist resistance in Poland (1944–1989)

Anti-Communist Resistance in Poland
	Part of the Cold War, anti-communist insurgencies in Central and Eastern Europe, and the Revolutions of 1989
Date	22 July 1944 – 22 December 1990; (46 years and 5 months)
Location	Poland, Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union
Result	Defeat of armed insurgents by the mid-1950sVictory of anti-Communist opposition in 1989 after bilateral negotiations Polish Round Table Agreement; Semi-free parliamentary elections held in 1989 and free presidential elections in 1990; Fall of Communism in Poland;
Belligerents
Opposition movements Armed insurgents (1944–1963) Cursed soldiers; ; Dissident movements Solidarity (1980–1989); ; Anti-government protesters and strikers; Government defectors; Supported by: Government-in-exile; United States; United Kingdom Western Bloc Holy See (from 1978) Catholic Church in Poland	Polish People's Republic Supported by: Soviet Union Eastern Bloc
Commanders and leaders
Łukasz Ciepliński ; Witold Pilecki ; Zygmunt Szendzielarz ; Romuald Rajs ; Józef Kuraś †; ...and others; Lech Wałęsa; Bronisław Geremek; Jacek Kuroń; Adam Michnik; Władysław Frasyniuk; ...and others;	Bolesław Bierut; Edward Ochab; Władysław Gomułka; Edward Gierek; Wojciech Jaruzelski; Stanisław Radkiewicz; Jakub Berman; Czesław Kiszczak; Florian Siwicki; ...and others;
Units involved
Armed resistance Freedom and Independence; NIE; Citizens' Home Army; Peasants' Battalions; National Armed Forces; ...and others Civil resistance Strike committees; Workers' Defence Committee KSS KOR; ; ROBCiO; Free Trade Unions of the Coast; Fighting Solidarity; Orange Alternative; ...and others	Polish United Workers' Party; Polish People's Army; Internal Security Corps; Department of Security; Security Service; ORMO; ZOMO; Citizens' Militia;

Anti-communist resistance in Poland can be divided into two types: the armed partisan struggle, mostly led by former Armia Krajowa and Narodowe Siły Zbrojne soldiers, which ended in the late 1950s (see cursed soldiers), and the non-violent, civil resistance struggle that culminated in the creation and victory of the Solidarity trade union.