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Poland reflects on Communism's fall

Twenty years ago, Poland's communist government did something without precedent - it sat down with the banned Solidarity trade union to try to defuse growing social unrest.

What became known as the Round Table Talks led to the first multi-party elections in the Soviet bloc and a stunning victory by Solidarity, led by Lech Walesa, which heralded the collapse of communism across the eastern half of Europe.

The Iron Curtain has gone, but there is a cold curtain of fog over Gdansk, the birthplace of Solidarity, enveloping the city's church steeples and the shipyard's cranes alike.

Read entire article at BBC