The carpenter who became the unofficial leader of Poznań June
He later recalled: "I was so outraged that I took an upholstery knife and began climbing the loudspeaker pole to cut the wires."
Stanisław Matyja was a carpenter at Poznań's Cegielski (ZISPO) works who, trusted by his workmates, became the voice of workers' rights. As head of the 27-member delegation that negotiated in Warsaw in June 1956, he won promises of wage rises and tax refunds, but when the government reneged overnight he emerged as the unofficial leader of the 28 June uprising. Arrested and savagely beaten after the suppression, then sacked from the factory, he was honoured by Solidarity in 1980 and unveiled the Poznań Crosses memorial in 1981.
Career Timeline
- 1946–1949Resumed education at Poznań's School of Building Trades
- 1951Hired as a carpenter at the Cegielski (ZISPO) works
- 1953First to protest ZISPO labour-rights violations; elected works-council delegate
- 1956.06Head of the 27-member Warsaw delegation; emerged as unofficial leader of Poznań June
- 1958Sacked on a fabricated charge, given the 'wolf's ticket'
- 1980Made honorary member of Solidarity
- 1981.06.28Unveiled the Poznań Crosses memorial