Issue and opponent: When Waldemar Fydrych, a student at Wroclaw University, moved to Wroclaw it began his career in politics and protests. During his time at university, he published a paper called, the Manifesto of Social Surrealism; this document later turned into the Orange Alternative protest movement. He targeted General Jaruzelski the leader of the communist government who declared martial law on December 13th, 1981. Along with ending the rule of Jaruzelski and restoring democracy to Poland, the Orange Alternative movement targeted the secret police operating under Jaruzelski.
Dilemma Action: Following General Jaruzelski’s declaration of martial law, Fydrych and his other members of the Orange Alternative movement began spraying painting gnomes all over the streets. According to Fydrych, the gnomes symbolized the regime’s attempt to censor public space and ridicule the militiamen, who like magical fairies, made anti-government images disappear overnight. Even though the gnomes had no political message every night the government chose to paint over the little drawings. During the Gnome Revolution event in Wroclaw, a street protest over 10,000 people participated. The Celebration of the Secret Police happened on 7th October 1987. During this happening the Orange Alternative focused its attention on the secret police. The day of the protest is significant because it is a day designated to celebrate Ministerstwa Spraw Wewnętrznych, the Security Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. First, a group of people gathered around a statue and lay wreaths, and chanted their “love and appreciation” for the security police. They held banners and chanted such slogans as “We are For +! Love the People’s Police and Long Life to the Undercover Agents”. Then when the police intervened the protesters responded positively. They would happily jump into the police cars, kiss the officers, clean their boots, and hand them flowers.
Outcome: The Orange Alternative movement allowed Poland’s state to international attention. The gnomes became so beloved they are still a memorable tourist attraction in Wroclaw. There is a museum dedicated to the Orange Alternative movement and its leader Waldemar “Major” Fydrych. Due to the number of people involved in the campaign, it is the largest phenomenon in the history of that branch of art. People participated in the Orange Alternative movements from 1986-1990 in largely populated Polish cities such as Warsaw, Łódź, Lublin, and Wroclaw.