In order to understand the dramatic events of 1989 it is necessary to examine the circumstances leading up to them. The Polish Economic Crisis examines the primary factor. The author analyses how the severe recession of the late 1970's and early 1980's intensified the need for economic reform and resulted in the economic slump of the 1980's. Batara Simatupang concentrates on the effects of this period on the Polish people that proved to be a major pre-condition for the revolution of 1989 and influenced events in Eastern Europe as a whole.