A Fourth Time

To the Editors:

In an otherwise excellent and thoughtful review of two recent books on the Polish revolution [NYR, February 4], Leonard Schapiro writes that “In Poland, the workers have so far revolted three times against the ‘workers’ state’—in 1956, 1970, and 1980.”

His omission of the June 1976 worker riots seems inexplicable, and especially so because the aftermath of their suppression had a crucial bearing on the rise of the Solidarity movement and its tactics. Suffice it to recall that the brutal revenge by the Polish regime on the workers led to the establishment later that year of a “Committee for the Defense of the Workers,” better known as KOR by its Polish acronym. This for the first time associated dissident intellectuals with the workers’ cause, and ultimately led to the shift from violent protest to peaceful organization—which is what Solidarity is about.

Karl Reyman

Glen Head, New York