In the city of Wroclaw in Poland, you can find hundreds of little bronze statues of dwarfs. They began their street invasion in 2005 but they originated back in 1980 and were the fabrication of The Orange Alternative, an underground anti-communist movement.
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In 1980, Poland was still suffering from communist tyranny. The Orange Alternative Movement started in Wroclaw as an anonymous violent less protest movement against the dictatorship. The group was very ingenious in finding bizarre means of protest, sometimes on the edge of the absurd, members used to dress themselves up as dwarfs or leprechauns, or dwarf graffiti attacked communist symbols throughout the city.
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The idea was to protest on such a ridicule matter that it was not against the law or sufficient reason to arrest someone. The hype caught on and other major Polish cities copied this kind of protest. The movement of the legendary Lech Walesa: Solidarity picked up the protest. The rest is history Lech Walesa finally brought communism to its knees.
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The dwarfs are even now still national heroes. The first ever placed dwarf ‘Papa Dwarf’ is even a real icon. In 2005, the city council who asked an artist to create five new dwarfs; this was the beginning of the dwarf mania, now they pop up all over the city. You can find them in all major places like the university, the park, and all symbolic places. It soon became a kind pre-Pokemon Hunt event and tourist have a new attraction: the hunt to find as many dwarfs as possible.
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The Wroclaw dwarfs are not only a funny anecdote in history, it is a marvelous story that shows that there are simple ways to protest or to spread propaganda by people who dream of a better life.
Photo Credit: 203challenges.com
