June 28 — 80 percent of the workers of the Cegielski factory (ZiSPO) fail to appear at their work posts. The workers form a procession which is joined on the way by the employees of Poznań’s other enterprises and passers-by. The protesters are demanding the cancellation of unjust work quotas, price reductions and rises in their wages. At around 8 a.m. 100,000 people gather to demonstrate in Stalin square (Mickiewicz square now). The demonstrators are waiting for the arrival of the authorities’ representatives.

Kazimierz Kaniewski (ZiSPO worker):

  It never occurred to anyone from the municipal or party authorities to come out and merely say: ”Good morning, we will contact Warsaw by telex or in some other way and we will let you know what the answer is.” People stood waiting for two hours and nobody came out.

Edmund Taszer (chairman of the Factory Council at ZiSPO):

   Various slogans could be heard; someone started singing the hymn Boże, coś Polskę while others kept singing Serdeczna Matko…, and a part of the crowd was shouting: “We want bread! We want freedom!” [...]

   However, tension kept growing fast. Someone in the crowd shouted that the delegation of workers from the Cegielski factory had been arrested and taken to the prison in Młyńska street or to the Security Office’s (UB) jail in Kochanowskiego street. I then began to shout that it wasn’t true, that our delegation was here in the crowd, but few people heard me due to the prevailing tension and agitation. Thus, a part of the demonstrators started marching towards Młyńska street and a part towards Kochanowskiego street.