Today marks the 20th anniversary of the conclusion of the Roundtable talks in Poland.

The Roundtable talks, initiated on 6 February and ended on 5 April 1989, were co-chaired by the then minister of internal affairs Czesław Kiszczak and head of the banned Solidarity trade union Lech Wałęsa. The dialogue between the Communist authorities and the opposition was to bring about agreement and joint efforts in solving social conflicts.

The talks resulted in the legalization of the Solidarity trade union, partially free elections involving 35 per cent of seats in the Lower House of the Parliament for the opposition and free elections for the Senate.

Historian Andrzej Friszke believes the opposition had no way of knowing just how far-reaching an impact the talks would have on the future of Poland: “I don't think that the opposition leaders that negotiated at the round table imagined that in twenty years from then they would be living in an EU member state, a borderless country safeguarded by alliances. All the changes that took place from that time onwards were beyond the imagination of people in those times. Naturally, these changes cannot be ascribed solely to the round table – but also to the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the entire communist bloc. Nevertheless, the round table played a very significant part in the onset of the process.”

The legendary round table may be viewed at Warsaw’s Presidential Palace, which is opened for visitors this weekend.