Waldemar Fydrych

dwarves and toilet paper against the oppressor

Waldemar Fydrych is a Polish artist who organised peaceful protests against the communist regime with his movement Orange Alternative. He used art, humour and the grotesque as the basic tools of political struggle. According to communist ideology, property was supposed to be distributed equally among all citizens. But in reality Poland suffered large shortages of basic goods. During demonstrations, Fydrych distributed scarce products like toilet paper and sanitary pads. By doing so, he showed that the ‘official truth’ held up by the Communist Party did not match reality.

The communist regime, which took itself very seriously, could not deal with absurdity. So Waldemar Fydrych made absurdity a weapon to protect critical thought, ridiculing the regime’s dogmas. When oppositional political slogans were painted over by militiamen, Fydrych and his companions started painting dwarves on walls. Soon, the dwarves started to appear everywhere in the city of Wroclav, and later in other cities as well. The Orange Alternative started to organise dwarf protests, with thousands of people dressed up like dwarves. Their mere appearance made the militia, who were arresting the dwarves, look ridiculous and awkward.

The status quo in Waldemar Fydrych’s time:

From 1945 to 1989 Poland was ruled by a dictatorial communist regime.

There was no freedom of expression and no freedom of information. The regime decided what books could be read, what music could be listened to, and what the newspapers had to write.

To achieve certain goals, like getting admitted to university, people needed to prove their loyalty to the communist party.

Communism promoted equality, but in reality there was an elite with huge privileges.

THE PRESENT