Monument to the Victims of December 1970

The Monument to the Victims of December 1970, popularly called the Angel of Freedom (Anioł Wolności), stands on Solidarity Square in Szczecin. It commemorates the people who died during the events of December 1970. It was unveiled on 28 August 2005.

The site of the events

Solidarity Square lies next to the former Provincial Committee of the PZPR. In December 1970 demonstrations and street fighting took place here. According to the National Museum in Szczecin, which runs the Przełomy Dialogue Centre on this square, 16 people were killed in clashes with army and militia units. The numbers of victims may differ between studies, so the exact figures should be checked in the materials of the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN).

The monument

The foundation stone was laid on 17 December 2003. The construction was initiated by city councillors and the December ’70 - January ’71 Association (Stowarzyszenie Grudzień ’70 - Styczeń ’71). It was financed from city funds, public funds and gifts from the American Polonia.

The bronze monument was designed by Czesław Dźwigaj. It is 11 metres high and weighs 9.5 tonnes. It depicts the figure of an angel with vertically raised wings, holding in its hands a crown of thorns that forms the inscription “Grudzień 1970”. The angel stands on a boat emerging from the ground and shattering the paving around it. Around it stand four vertical granite slabs with commemorative inscriptions and the names of the fallen.

The square today

Before the monument and the museum were built the square was occupied by a green space, and earlier there had been townhouses destroyed in the bombing of 29 to 30 August 1944 and not rebuilt after the war. Today the square serves as a place of remembrance and anniversary ceremonies. Beneath it is the museum of the Przełomy Dialogue Centre.

Practical information

• Address: plac Solidarności, Old Town.
• The monument stands on an open square and can be viewed at any time. Ceremonies are held on the square, so we ask for quiet and respect for the place.
• The museum beneath the square has an entrance from the square and from Świętych Piotra i Pawła Street.