When Poland, as one of the members of Warsaw Pact, participated in the attack on Czechoslovakia, Polish communist government organized central Harvest Festival (Dożynki). This festival was to divert attention from this, what Poland had to be involved. Warsaw Pact (at a glance) was military pact controlled by the ZSRR in opposition to NATO. Poland under the pressure of Soviet government, had no choice and  joined ZSSR's military operation.

Communistic propaganda was very good in distracting people attention from important events. Harvest Festival was organized with great splendor on 10th-Anniversary Stadium. Right there, during dances, singings of the folks groups and in front of the PRL's TV cameras, ordinary man - Ryszard Siwiec, poured gasoline over himself and set himself on fire  as the act of protest. It was on 8 September 1968. He died 4 days later.

Video with burning Ryszard Siwiec - Warning: drastic scenes!

Siwiec was philosopher, AK (Home Army) soldier, and he could not agree with propaganda. When he saw, that radio and television were silent about agression on Czechoslovakia (current Czech Republic and Slovakia), he decided to do act of self-immolation. He was inspired by the Buddihst monk, who burned himself as protest against the Vietnam war.

He wrote testament in which, he asked the people to pull onself together and "hear the voice of ordinary man". On the way to the stadium, Ryszard wrote a letter to his wife, but after his death, Security Services intercpeted it. His wife saw a letter from her husband after 22 years!

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Nowadays Ryszard Siwiec is regarded as a hero. There were even plans, to rename the stadium to his name. The plaque from the photo above says, that Ryszard Siwiec "gave his life for freedom" and so it was..