NEWSWEEK.COM 19
Pope John Paul II’s
visit to Poland shook
the control of the
Soviet dictatorship
and marked the
beginning of the end
for the Soviet Empire.ETERNAL CITY Romans atop a tank in
June 1944 after Allied troops rolled into
the city. Although usually overshadowed
by the Normandy invasion, the liberation
of Rome is one of the signal moments
LQWKHɿJKWDJDLQVWW\UDQQ\the Soviet dictatorship and marked
the beginning of the end for the
Soviet Empire.
President Donald Trump captured
the importance of this trip in a state-
ment from the White House, saying:
“In his homily forty years ago, St.
Pope John Paul II delivered a pow-
erful message of hope to the crowd
gathered in Warsaw, to all of Poland,
and to the world. His words stood
tall against the repressive forces of
communism throughout Poland
and the rest of Europe. He inspiredcourage in the hearts of millions
of men and women to seek a better,
freer life.
“Today, we celebrate this historic
moment and reaffirm our com-
mitment to ensuring that freedom
always prevails. The United States
and our allies stand united against
the shackles of communism and as
a beacon of liberty and prosperity
throughout the world.”
Finally, a decade after Pope John
Paul II’s visit, Solidarity candidates
were widely elected to Poland’s par-
liament. This was the first free elec-
tion to be held in Poland since 1928.
Solidarity candidates won every seat
that could be won under the rules.
It was a profound shift away from
communism and toward freedom
in Poland. A central symbol of the
Solidarity movement was actually a
poster that featured the American
actor Gary Cooper from the movie
High Noon. The photo was altered to
show Cooper with a Solidarity badge
and ballot. This showed how deeply
connected the Polish people felt to
the Americans.
We should remember all three of
these great milestones on the road to
religious and political liberty.Ơ Newt Gingrich was speaker of the
United States House of Representa-
tives from 1995 to 1999. He is now
the host of the Newt’s World podcast
and the author of trump’s america:
the truth about our nation’s great
comeback. Follow him on Twitter:
@newtgingrich.
The opinions expressed in this piece
$^5 are the author’s own.
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