John Paul II Research Paper

The aim of this investigation is to prove whether or not John Paul II played an important role in the fall of the Communist Regime in Poland which in turn influenced the collapse of the Soviet Empire. This subject is a highly controversial one as some historians believe the Pope was elected at the “right” time and that he had no influence over communist leaders nor over the collapse of the Soviet satellite. In order to prove John Paul II played an important role one has to analyze the first Papal visit he made to Poland in the year 1979 as well as the influence of the Solidarity movement, the policies General Secretaries at the time and the economic situation.
The first source which will be evaluated to a great extent is Michael Kort’s “The

Weigel is a political and social activist this serves as a value to the source as he would be an expert in politics and he would be able to give a better understanding of how John Paul influenced the political situation in that era in addition it would give a better understanding to how the persons of Poland were feeling during the time – this being the social situation. In addition the book was written nine years after the collapse of the USSR, which would allow Weigel to benefit from hindsight in analyzing the circumstances causing the source to possibly be more objective. In spite of the values limitations of the source include the fact that Weigel is Catholic and may cause a loss in objectivity as well as a bias in the way in which he wrote about the

The birth of the Solidarity Movement was a direct result of John Paul II visit to Poland in 1979. (The Cause of liberation p.g. 5) During JP’s visit his teachings on social justice, morality and the dignity of the human being was the catalyst to “the most incredible secular movement of the century, Solidarity, being founded [whereby] millions of workers dared to ask for their rights.” (The Cause of liberation p.g. 5) The movement was an anti-communist social movement in Poland (which ideals were to spread to the rest of the empire) that defied Communist authority and sought to unite Poles. “Faced with the disconcerting events the Polish Government on December 13, 1981 abolished the Solidarity Union and incarcerated many of the leaders.” (The Cause of Liberation in The USSR p.g. 6) This would indicate that the Soviets needed to squash the movement (which found its origin in JP’s visit) while they could, as they knew it was posing a direct confrontation to its leadership as it united the people in their fight for social