Orange Alternative

Orange Alternative (Pomarańczowa Alternatywa) is a name for an underground anarchist movement which was started and led by Waldemar Fydrych (sometimes mispelled as Frydrych), known then as Major (Commander of the Festung Breslau), in Wroclaw in 1983. It organised happenings, painted absurd graffiti on walls and was one of most picturesque element of Polish opposition against communism. They for example organised actions which demanded "Freedom for Santa Claus", painted big, orange smiling dwarfs on buildings etc. In 1989 it suspended its activity, but was reactivated in 2001, when they organise action vote for dwarfs: only dwarfs can save the country!.

Some utterances ascribed to Waldemar Fydrych:

In Poland there are only three places when you can feel free: In churches, but only for the meditations, in prisons, but not everyone can go to prison, and on the streets: they are the freest places.

The Western World will find out much more about the situation in Poland from hearing that I was put to jail for giving tampons to a woman, than from reading the books and articles written by other people from the opposition.

Can you treat a police officer seriously, when he is asking you the question: "Why did you participate in an illegal meeting of dwarfs?"

Orange Alternative movement may also have inspired and influenced the Pora and the so called Orange Revolution movement in Ukraine, which was in turn supported by Poland.

Major Fydrych and a group of students participated in the Orange Revolution through happenings in Poland and Ukraine.

See also

• Gene Sharp
• Nonviolent resistance