Erich Honecker and Helmut Schmidt at Lake Werbellin, December 1981 (Photo: The Federal Government, Photographer: Engelbert Reineke)
Meeting between SED General Secretary Erich Honecker and West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt at Lake Werbellin in the GDR. Both leaders express their support for an intensification of mutual relations despite the increasingly tense East-West conflict.
13 December
1981
General Wojciech Jaruzelski, Poland’s prime minister and defence minister, proclaims martial law in the country; he claims that this is to pre-empt any intervention by the Soviet Union. The independent union "Solidarity" is banned, most of its leaders are taken into custody and its chairman, Lech Walesa, is put under house arrest.more
c.d.n. (ciag dalszy nastapi), "To be continued!" - signet of the Underground Solidarnosc (Source: Information bulletin published by panel of the committees and initiatives "Solidarität mit Solidarnosc" ("Solidarity with Solidarnosc"), 1981)
As a reaction to the proclamation of martial law in Poland, the US government imposes economic sanctions on the Soviet Union; the shipping agreement and air traffic are also suspended.
The Poland crisis becomes a turning point in American strategy for Eastern and Central Eastern Europe. US President Ronald Reagan issues secret directives that aim to undermine Soviet power and launch strategies of economic war. As well as economic sanctions, these include, as a "proactive measure", the secret support of "Solidarity".
From March 1982, the CIA begins pumping millions of dollars a year into Poland; later, photocopying and printing equipment, radios and radio transmitters are delivered to the Polish underground.
The "Second Cold War" takes the place of the policy of détente that prevailed in the 1970s. Rising military expenditure, a stop on loans by the West and the extension of embargo measures aggravate the already precarious economic situation of all Comecon countries.less
