Flowers were laid in front of the plaque commemorating the events of 1981 by, among others, Tomasz Cudny, President of the JSW Management Board, and Edward Paździorko, Vice-President of the JSW Management Board for Technical and Operational Matters, as well as directors of JSW mines and representatives of the NSZZ “Solidarność” Trade Union. It is a tribute to the miners protesting against the introduction of martial law, on 15 December 1981 who were shot at by the militiamen pacifying a strike in the then "Manifest Lipcowy" mine.
"A visualization of a mural commemorating the events of 40 years ago has been created on the wall of the pithead building," said Roman Brudziński, Vice-President of "Solidarność" in JSW.
"This artistic vision will convey a message showing all of our Jastrzębie mines during the events of 1981. There will also be a multi-level parking lot for "Zofiówka" employees with one level dedicated to the history of the Jastrzębie mines in the 1980s and to the birth of the city of free people," said Brudziński, adding that it will be a tribute to all the unsung heroes of those years.
The "Manifest Lipcowy" coal mine (today's Zofiówka) was the first industrial plant where militia officers used firearms against strikers. On 15 December 1981, 1,700 militiamen and soldiers, as well as tanks and combat vehicles, confronted the miners. Four miners were injured in the pacification. One day later, on 16 December 1981, the "Wujek" mine in Katowice was pacified – 9 miners were killed and 23 wounded.
