On the Sidelines: Culture and History

On the sidelines of the meeting, participants were given the opportunity to learn more about the history of Gdansk and its special connection to the democratic change that spread across Central and Eastern Europe in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Polish-British photographer Chris Niedenthal gave a presentation of his photos that caught key moments of this history, including the strike at the Gdansk Shipyard in 1988, the imposition of martial law in Poland (famously captured in a photo of a tank in front of the Moscow cinema in Warsaw showing Apocalypse Now), and the fall of the Berlin Wall. He also showed his portrait of Hungarian Communist leader János Kádár, for which he was awarded a World Press Photo prize in 1986.

Although brought up in the UK, Niedenthal explained that the fact that was also Polish gave him access to events that was denied to other international photographers. He saw the luck of “being at the right place at the right time” as being crucial to his success.

The event was held, alongside an exhibition of his photos, at the Museum of the City of Gdansk, with the welcome of the Vice Mayor Piotr Borawski.

Participants were also offered a guided tour to the European Solidarity Center, a modern museum building near the original seat of Solidarity, the BHP Hall, where the DoP conference was held. The tour covered the events leading up to the Gdansk shipyard strikes following the sacking of worker Anna Walentynowicz for complaining about corruption, the origins of the Solidary trade union movement, the imposition of martial law, the first partially free elections, and the eventual transition to democracy in Poland.