Scattered around the city of Wroclaw are over 300 small bronze statues of dwarfs. About 15cm tall, they are tucked away everywhere and it is cute trying to find them. Poles though have never been strong on 'cute' and the dwarfs are a political symbol that harks back to the last years of the Soviet era.
The Solidarity Movement of the 1980s was part of a wider unrest sweeping Poland over the Soviet occupation and in Wroclaw it took a very unusual and innovation turn. In 1981 whenever authorities painted over anti government slogans, Waldemar Frydych would stencil a dwarf on the fresh paint to illustrate that it would take more than paint to stop the protest. Quickly the dwarf with its distinctive orange cap (apparently Polish dwarfs wear orange caps) started appearing everywhere under the slogan "No freedom without dwarfs". The dwarf figures mocked and poked fun at the authorities who were powerless to move against what was on the surface just some silliness. But the message was clear and as the eighties progressed the dwarf movement became much bolder, but never lost its sense of fun.
Groups of mainly young people paraded through the streets dressed as dwarfs with slogans such as 'Help the militia, beat up yourself'. The authorities had to act but were left arrested people and charging them for wearing an orange hat or trousers.
The peak of the movement came in 1988 when over 10,000 people packed the central city all dressed as dwarfs.
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