Row Over Freedom Film
A short film commissioned by the EU to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of Communism in Europe has angered Polish MPs and laymen alike.
The 3 minute flash upset Poles by a lack of any references to the Solidarity movement, or indeed any of the Polish figures who forged the path to freedom, such as Pope John Paul II or Lech Walesa.
Historians have argued that Poland led the way in the anti-communist revolution, beginning with the Solidarity movement in 1980. It was the free Polish election on June 4th 1989 that was the final nail in the coffin, Poles argue, not the fall of the Berlin Wall five months later.
Since the Poles complaint in mid-May, the EU Commission has admitted errors, and the makers of the film have endeavoured to re-edit the film, revealing Solidarity banners.