Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Hannah Langdon
“After years of Nazi occupation in World War II, followed by life under Stalin and subsequent Soviet leaders, the Polish people had suffered enough. By the 1980s, the resistance movement had swelled to a climax. History celebrates the Solidarity Movement, strikes, and international negotiations — and rightly so. But the Orange Alternative also deserves attention — unless it appears to historians like a clownish child whose desire for attention is best ignored. But this movement was hardly an isolated street corner demonstration. In June 1988, 10,000 Poles marched through the streets dressed as dwarves (krasnoludek in Polish) in orange hats. They mocked the Communist police, cracked jokes, and sketched orange dwarves over political slogans around the city.” (08/21/25)