# Poland's martial law government shuts nearly all newspapers and interns journalists overnight

Published 2026-09-22. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 2 sources.

Status: historical, as of 2026-09-22.

On December 13, 1981, General Wojciech Jaruzelski declared martial law in Poland, cutting phone and telex lines, suspending nearly all newspapers, and interning thousands of people, most Solidarity trade union journalists among them, within days.[1][2][3]

- Country: [Poland](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/pl) (RSF 2026 rank: 27th of 180)
- Where: PL
- Level of government: National
- Tactics: Shutdowns and blocking, Detention and violence
- Stage: Silence (ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/shutdowns_and_blocking#stage-silence)
- Head of government at the time: [Wojciech Jaruzelski](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/wojciech-jaruzelski)
- Issue of the day: Poland's Solidarity trade union movement had grown into a mass challenge to Communist Party rule through 1980 and 1981, and Jaruzelski's government imposed martial law to suppress the movement and the independent press associated with it.
- Outcome: Reversed, 22 July 1983. Martial law was formally lifted on July 22, 1983, though reduced press controls in Poland continued until the fall of Communist rule in 1989.
- Era: The 1980s

## What happened

General Wojciech Jaruzelski, Poland's Communist Party leader and prime minister, announced martial law on state television at 6 a.m. on December 13, 1981, saying the country stood at the edge of collapse. The government cut all private telephone and telex lines nationwide and subjected mail to press controls. More than 3,000 people were arrested the first night, a number that reached about 5,000 within a week, and most journalists associated with the independent Solidarity trade union movement were among those detained. Nearly all Polish newspapers were suspended; only the Communist Party's own paper, Trybuna Ludu, and the army daily, Żołnierz Wolności, kept publishing, while television and radio were consolidated into a single channel presented by announcers in military uniform. The Solidarity Press Agency's dispatches to Radio Free Europe, an American-funded broadcaster aimed at Eastern Europe, stopped after that first night.[1][2][3]

## What reason was given

Jaruzelski told the country in his televised address that Poland had reached the edge of an abyss and that the structures of the state were ceasing to function, presenting martial law as necessary to prevent collapse.[1]

## What changed for reporting

Nearly every Polish newspaper stopped publishing, phone and telex communication was cut nationwide, thousands of people including most Solidarity-linked journalists were interned, and foreign correspondents were reduced within a week to filing restricted reports based only on state media.[2]

## Timeline

- 1981-12-13: Poland's martial law government shuts nearly all newspapers and interns journalists overnight

## Who acted

| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Wojciech Jaruzelski](https://thewaronnews.com/actors/wojciech-jaruzelski) | announced | First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party and Prime Minister of Poland |

## Sources

1. "All the Telephone and Telex Lines are Disconnected" - RFE and the 1981 Martial Law in Poland. https://www.archivum.org/entries/blog/all-the-telephone-and-telex-lines-are-disconnected---rfe-and-the-1981-martial-law-in-poland (Blinken OSA Archivum).
2. History of Censorship in Poland. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/history-censorship-poland (EBSCO Research Starters).

## Claims cited

[1] Jaruzelski opened his televised address announcing martial law by saying the country had found itself at the edge of the abyss and that the structures of the state were ceasing to function. Quote: "Our country has found itself at the edge of abyss. The structures of the state are ceasing to function." Source: Blinken OSA Archivum. "All the Telephone and Telex Lines are Disconnected" - RFE and the 1981 Martial Law in Poland. https://www.archivum.org/entries/blog/all-the-telephone-and-telex-lines-are-disconnected---rfe-and-the-1981-martial-law-in-poland Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/168, checked 2026-09-22.

[2] All private phone and telex lines were cut off and mail was subjected to censorship once martial law took effect. Quote: "All private phone and telex lines were cut off, mails were subjected to censorship." Source: Blinken OSA Archivum. "All the Telephone and Telex Lines are Disconnected" - RFE and the 1981 Martial Law in Poland. https://www.archivum.org/entries/blog/all-the-telephone-and-telex-lines-are-disconnected---rfe-and-the-1981-martial-law-in-poland Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/169, checked 2026-09-22.

[3] Jaruzelski's martial law suspended the freedoms that had been developing, closed many newspapers and put broadcast media under military control. Quote: "General Wojciech Jaruzelski imposed martial law in December 1981, suspending the freedoms that were beginning to develop, closing many newspapers, and putting the broadcast media under military control." Source: EBSCO Research Starters. History of Censorship in Poland. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/history-censorship-poland Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/170, checked 2026-09-22.

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/1981-poland-martial-law-press-suspended. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.