Poland 10 Zlotych 2008 Student protesters in front of gates of Warsaw University

To understand the reasons and the background of the „March events” it is necessary to go back to the end of 1950s and the beginning of 1960s. It was at that time that the government led by Władysław Gomułka began to abandon the more liberal policy that it had adopted in October 1956. The conflict between the members of the intelligentsia and the state and party authorities in Poland was gradually aggravating. This was accompanied by a secret struggle over power and influence among the highest officials of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR). It involved mostly young low- and middle-ranking members of the party who sought to move up the career ladder at the expense of the older members, who more often than not were of Jewish origin. Their plans included the formation within the party of an informal coterie (the so-called “Partisans”) with the minister of the interior, general Mieczysław Moczar at head. The group tried to instrumentally use the students who protested against the administrative decision taking Dziady by Adam Mickiewicz off the stage of the National Theatre. To defend their friends expelled from the university, in relation with the protests, on 8 March 1968 students organized a protest rally at the Warsaw University courtyard. The rally was brutally dispersed, with the use of truncheons, by „worker activists” and regular troops of the Militia. The rally marked the beginning of a wave of solidarity manifestations at universities all over the country. Several cities saw street demonstrations and battles with the militia. Obverse: On the right-hand side, there is an image of the eagle established as the emblem of the Republic of Poland. There is a semicircular inscription: RZECZPOSPOLITA POLSKA over the eagle. Below the eagle, on the right-hand side, there is a notation of the year of issue: 2008. At the bottom there is an image of an opened book, and another one closed beneath. On the left-hand side there are images of falling book pages. There is a mint mark under the eagle’s right leg. Reverse: The image of the main entrance gate of the University of Warsaw. Below there is a flag as a symbol of Polish national flag and images of banners. At the top, there is a semicircular inscription: 40.ROCZNICA /MARCA’68, and at the bottom, images of militiamen and protesting students. Coin designer Andrzej Nowakowski