Zbigniew Eugeniusz Godlewski (3 August 195217 December 1970) was a Polish man shot dead by security forces during the 1970 Polish protests in the city of Gdynia. The event was popularized across the country in the poem and song, known by the name of ' ().
On 17 December 1970, during Poland's demonstrations against the Communist regime, the army fired into the crowd of workers emerging from a commuter train in Gdynia, under the pretext of preventing an industrial sabotage action. At least 40 innocent people were killed by police. The image of an anonymous young man's body carried on a door panel through the cordons of police and tanks inspired author Krzysztof Dowgiaà Âà Âo to write the poem about him. The name Janek Wià Âniewski was invented by Dowgiaà Âà Âo for the ballad to symbolize an 18-year old worker killed by the military or the militia. Not knowing his real name, the author gave him a symbolic name sounding typically Polish; it proved quite enduring. Later it was established by the opposition that the man shot dead was named Zbigniew Godlewski and had lived in nearby Elblàg.
The event was popularized across the country in the poem and song, known by the name of ' (); the work is also sometimes known as Pieà Âà  o Janku z Gdyni (Song about Janek from Gdynia). The text was written by and music for the song by Mieczysà Âaw Cholewa. The song, along with the story of Janek Wià Âniewski, was popularized when it was performed at the end of the 1981 movie Man of Iron (by actress Krystyna Janda along with Jacek Kaczmarski). After the fall of communism in Poland, a major street in Gdynia was named after Janek Wià Âniewski and also a street in Elblàg was named after Zbigniew Godlewski.
In 2011, a Polish film about the events of 17 December, titled Czarny Czwartek - Janek Wià Âniewski padà  ("Black Thursday - Janek Wià Âniewski Has Fallen"), was released in cinemas. The title was inspired by a line in Pieà Âà  o Janku z Gdyni. The song was covered by Kazik Staszewski and used in the film trailer.