The ‘April Fool’s orange movement’ that helped bring down communism
Enjoying their first breakthrough success on April Fool’s Day, 1987, tomorrow marks one of the most important dates in the history of the Orange Alternative.
Sometimes cited as one of the inspirations behind Ukraine’s own Orange Revolution, and often widely (and incorrectly) credited as being the root cause behind Wrocław’s recent epidemic of decorative gnomes, the legends that surround the Orange Alternative mask an extraordinary story of a group that played a defining role in the fall of the PRL.
Sometimes cited as one of the inspirations behind Ukraine’s Orange Revolution, the legends that surround the Orange Alternative hide an extraordinary story of a group that played a defining role in the fall of the PRL.
Shaped by surrealist, Dadaist philosophy, the movement was founded in the early 80s by a Wrocław-based art student by the name of Waldemar Frydrych.
Awarding himself the title of Major, Frydrych published an underground newspaper called Pomarańczowa Alternatywa.
Although derided and dismissed by the more serious political activists of the time, it soon earned cult popularity for its avant-garde character.
By marrying elements of street theatre to a common cause, they fostered a trend that still exists to this day.
Backed by friends such as ‘Pablo’ and ‘Lieutenant Zizi Top’, the Major’s movement quickly evolved.
Gnomes became an underlying motif, and before long Wrocław’s walls soon found themselves enriched by gnome graffiti.
More often than not, these gnomes found a place on the very walls that had just been freshly painted over to obscure more forceful anti-government messages.
Shaped by surrealist, Dadaist philosophy, the movement was founded in the early 80s by a Wrocław-based art student by the name of Waldemar Frydrych.
Painting the first gnome himself on the evening of August 30th, 1982, Frydrych’s action spewed a spate of copycat acts – over the following years, around 1,000 would find themselves adorning the streets of Poland’s biggest cities: Warsaw, Łódź, Gdańsk, Poznań, Kraków.
By using such an absurd icon to highlight the government’s censorship policies, the Orange Alternative inadvertently struck gold.
Awarding himself the title of Major, Frydrych published an underground newspaper called Pomarańczowa Alternatywa.
With authorities zipping around towns to diligently paint over the gnomes that were appearing, the major’s growing band of followers were able to demonstrate in the starkest terms the lunacy of the regime.
This, however, was to prove to be but the beginning. On April 1st, 1986, the OA organized a manifestation during which a gaggle of students strode around Wrocław’s city centre wielding paper tubes.
Gnomes became an underlying motif, and before long Wrocław’s walls soon found themselves enriched by gnome graffiti.
Dressed in colourful and flamboyant costumes, the good-natured march bamboozled the militia who, up to that point, were largely accustomed to dealing with hostile, unruly crowds.
Noting the militia’s hesitancy to quell such a carnival-style gathering, the small-scale parade set in motion a series of events that would culminate in some of Poland’s strangest demonstrations.
Buoyed by what had happened, April Fool’s Day, 1987, was picked as the day that things would take a more dramatic turn. Dubbed ‘the Centipede March’, the Major prepared an intricate paper and cardboard composition that would be carried through the streets of Wrocław by files of his followers.
By using such an absurd icon to highlight the government’s censorship policies, the Orange Alternative inadvertently struck gold.
Having been stunned into inaction the previous year, this time around the militia took less kindly to the subversive action and blocked the route before dispersing the throng.
Even so, those that had taken part enthused about what had happened, going so far as to claim that their action had illustrated “that even a single militiaman standing on the street can be viewed as a work of art.”
On April 1st, 1986, the OA organized a manifestation during which a gaggle of students strode around Wrocław’s city centre wielding paper tubes.
Rather than discouraging further actions, the events of April 1st, 1987, strengthened the resolve of a group determined to forge ahead with this unconventional outlook and method of protest.
Over the next couple of years, dozens of actions were organised across Poland, each with its own quirky theme – often waving placards bearing such slogans as “Citizens, help the militia and beat yourself up”, to the untrained eye it must have seemed as if the Monty Python team had landed in Poland.
One December protest, for instance, saw 2,000 people march through the streets dressed as Father Christmas. Calling for “the release of Santa”, it’s said that when the police began rounding-up participants, several store employees who were legitimately dressed as Father Christmas were also arrested in the sweep.
The events of April 1st, 1987, strengthened the resolve of a group determined to forge ahead with this unconventional outlook and method of protest.
There was one action that saw the distribution of toilet paper, and another that was christened ‘Secret Agent Day’. Urging those taking part to dress as undercover agents, passers-by were treated to the spectacle of seeing secret agents apprehending people impersonating them.
These happenings, though, would pale compared to the largest of them all – dubbed ‘the revolution of gnomes’, some 10,000 people gathered on Wrocław’s Świdnicka street dressed in gnome-style headgear.
As humorous as these actions were, the concept of absurdist peaceful protest both irritated and confounded the authorities in equal measure.
As humorous as these actions were, the concept of absurdist peaceful protest both irritated and confounded the authorities in equal measure.
Beatings and arrests were not unknown, and the Major himself was apprehended on Women’s Day for handing out sanitary pads to passing females. Rather than making the ‘system’ appear strong, it merely served to spotlight its increasingly desperate and pathetic nature.
Whilst it could never be said that the Orange Alternative played a decisive role in the collapse of Polish Communism, their part was by no mean inconsequential and fully warrants much more than just a footnote in history.
Still active as an artistic movement, the long-term impact of their bizarre actions continues to resonate.
Moreover, they helped pioneer a completely new form of protest. By marrying elements of street theatre to a common cause, they fostered a trend that still exists to this day.
Still active as an artistic movement, the long-term impact of their bizarre actions continues to resonate. By channelling absurd means to fight an absurd regime, there can be few contemporary movements that have done more to showcase the social power that irony can have.
