ABSTRACT
The purity of the army's record was strongly emphasized by General Wojciech Jaruzelski in his speech to the sixth plenary session of the Central Committee, in which he spoke about the high moral qualities of the Polish armed forces as well as about their democratic character and their patriotic and internationalist stand. The Central Committee endorsed the candidacy of General Jaruzelski as the new prime minister, and on February 12 he was elected by the Sejm to this office. General Jaruzelski's election was greeted with support and optimism by a vast majority of the nation. The idea of convening an Extraordinary Congress was first formulated by Kania at the sixth plenary session of the Central Committee in October 1980. Reactions to the declaration of martial law varied from active support through passive rejection to active resistance. Public opinion thus remained divided in terms of the acceptance of martial law and the extent to which its sources and functions were understood.
