Description of Incident: In the mid-1970s the Polish constitution was revised, leading to protests from intellectuals. This led to the blacklisting of many Polish writers and many works were banned. Worker's riots and strikes helped in the forming of an underground information network. One of the first publications produced from this network was "Zapis" (Recorded Work) which was published in Britain and then smuggled in to Poland. Poland's leading writers contributed and helped found the publication. In 1977 another literary journal was published in the underground called "Puls". This publication sought to unify writers. Martial law was declared in 1981 and many of the second circulation works were confiscated, including many copies of "Zapis". The government failed to totally eradicate the underground publishing network however. In 1985 they introduced new laws to punish printers and distributors of illegal materials.

Results of Incident: In 1988 the publications of second circulation were widely available, especially on college campuses. Finally in 1989 after round table talks independent publishers were allowed to take part in the Warsaw International Book Fair.