1. Assume all communications and activities are monitored.

Surveillance satisfies three goals of authoritarian states: rooting out dissent, building mistrust among people, and controlling the actions of the general population. Those living in an authoritarian regime must speak and act as though they are being watched and take steps to hide their communications and activities from the government.

After Stalin’s death, Poland’s Ministry of Internal Affairs launched its Security Service (Służba Bezpieczeństwa, or S.B.), which was Poland’s primary intelligence agency until its disbandment in 1990. At its height, the S.B. is estimated to have had almost 100,000 informants under its control, many of whom were forced to spy on their family, friends, and neighbors under threat of having incriminating information on themselves released. Anyone could be a surveillance target; the government wanted control over as many people as possible.

The communist government, of course, read letters and tapped phone lines; they also kept detailed logs of people’s movements and associations. Having the wrong friend could mean being fired from one’s job or even being sent to prison. Being visited by an activist, a non-Party member, or a priest could be a mark on one’s record. A family member’s association could be imputed as one’s own. Those in power used surveillance to break the bonds that brought people together as a community, but it cannot be permitted to do so.

Those living under surveillance should communicate as much as possible using methods that cannot be easily intercepted. In Communist times, this meant face-to-face meetings in the middle of the night with one’s most trusted friends; in modern-day Poland, it means encrypted text messages and private Internet browsing. Be careful what you share with others.

2. Do not trust any information released by the government.

Authoritarian governments control the flow of information to the public and manipulate it to their own ends. First, they suppress independent media and consolidate official news into government-owned or sanctioned mediums. Without accountability and with control over the press, leaders have impunity to lie to their people.

The communist regime created its first TV program, Official News (Dziennik Telewizyjny, or D.T.V.) in 1958; by the 70s and 80s, D.T.V. was the primary method through which the government spread propaganda. The broadcast glorified the actions of Soviet bloc leaders, accused foreign powers of conspiring to cause food shortages, and blamed labor uprisings on the agitations of isolated hooligans and criminals.

People in urban areas knew that D.T.V. was unreliable, but it had credibility in rural areas among lower-educated citizens who believed that if something was on TV or in the newspaper, it must be accurate. The ability to distinguish true from false media is an acquired skill that requires an educated populace. Only when people feel confident to distrust purported “authority figures” can they challenge an oppressive and manipulative regime.

3. Support the production and dissemination of independent media.

In Nazi-controlled and then communist Poland, underground media — illegal to possess and distribute — was critical to the resistance effort. Bibuła (literally “tissue,” named after the bootleg paper that contraband media was printed on) educated a population whose leaders were trying to keep in the dark, challenged the state as the sole source of authority, and fostered discontent with the ruling powers. It was also a personal lifeline for those who had access to it: a brief respite from the heavily censored official press.

The Polish Secret Military Printing Works, launched at the height of Nazi occupation in the fall of 1940, was the largest underground publisher in the world, producing hundreds of thousands of newspapers, magazines, brochures, and leaflets each month. The communist era saw the creation of several large underground publishing houses, as well as hundreds of smaller productions and thousands of bootleggers who copied texts in the middle of the night. Secret publications contained national and international news, foreign translations, history lessons, and political science texts; they ranged from one-page dailies and news bulletins to weekly newspapers to book-size treatises.

Soon after the Law and Justice Party came to power in 2015, it consolidated control over the media, ousting 60 established journalists from the state-run station T.V.P. (a largely independent analog of the B.B.C., and a far cry from the D.T.V. of the past). The newly-appointed T.V.P. chief, a right-hand man of the President, replaced traditional media broadcasts with pro-Party messages. In response to government media suppression, the Polish opposition movement is now organizing itself through the Internet. Now, just as in the past, independent, hard-hitting investigative journalism must be supported financially and read widely as a check on government actions.

4. Move banned activities and observances underground.

In their efforts to control populations, autocrats often ban certain activities, speech, or beliefs labeled as unpatriotic or traitorous. Even when such bans are contrary to the purported laws of a country, they can be enforced through the might of a police state. Forbidden religious observances, political gatherings, and classes should be moved underground and conducted in secret. It was not just printing presses that ran all night in Poland: it was also Catholic weddings, baptisms, history lessons, musical productions, and other remnants of normal life that gave people a feeling of power over their own destinies and the tools needed to question the regime.

5. If necessary, change your identity.

Sometimes, members of persecuted groups must make the difficult decision to change their identities — outwardly or inwardly — to stay under the radar. Many Jews during the War created counterfeit IDs with Christian names to survive, and Catholic teenagers doctored birth certificates so that they would appear too young to be conscripted in the Soviet army. Many people claimed allegiance to the Communist Party while secretly despising it, solely to feed their children. Many gay Poles still pretend to be straight to avoid harassment, or worse. Such deception does not mean acquiescence to authoritarianism; rather, it’s a pragmatic decision in the face of horrendous choices.

6. If you are able, shield those more vulnerable than yourself.

Authoritarian leaders need scapegoats: individuals and groups, often minority populations, that can be vilified as the cause of a nation’s problems. During the War, the Nazis singled out Jews. Under communism, the intelligentsia was targeted and winnowed through executions until government ire was redirected at labor unions. Under the current Law and Justice regime, enemies of the state include leftists, feminists, gays and lesbians, immigrants and refugees, all of whom are accused of destroying Polish culture.

Some Poles collaborated with the oppressors, but many risked their lives to help others. Poland has the most citizens of any country designated as “Righteous Among the Nations,” an honorific given by the state of Israel to non-Jews who saved Jewish lives during the Holocaust. During student strikes in the communist era, university faculty would sit with students, acting as a buffer against abuse by government forces. Today, heroes include doctors who risk jail time to perform illegal abortions, of which up to 150,000 take place a year.

Those who are not members of the most vulnerable populations should use their relative privilege, whenever possible, to protect those who are at much more immediate risk of harm.

7. Have a hiding place or escape plan ready.

Sometimes, efforts at concealing communication, affiliation, identity, or ideology are unsuccessful, or too late. Members of persecuted groups and other targets may make the difficult decision to try to evade authorities as long as possible.

Networks of safe houses, often affiliated with churches, were used extensively both during the War and the communist era, but the secret police would eventually find their targets if they hid domestically. Fleeing abroad, outside the Soviet zone of influence, was the safest option for those who had the means and opportunity.

Those who believe they may be targeted by the government must have a plan ahead of time: Whether it’s with a distant relative, a community that is known for providing sanctuary, or a friend outside the country, sometimes escape is the only option.

8. Make room for culture, even in dark times.

Poland, as an idea worth fighting for, survived for 125 years between the last partition and the end of WWI because we refused to let our culture be suppressed. We kept our language, religion, music and arts; our courtships, weddings, and funeral rites. Chopin, a Pole, composed his greatest patriotic pieces in France because his homeland was part of the Austrian Empire; our national anthem, “Poland Is Not Yet Lost,” was composed two years after Poland was erased from the map.

During World War II, both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union engaged in cultural genocide against the Polish people, killing thousands of scholars and artists and destroying countless cultural artifacts. Goebbels declared, “The Polish nation is not worthy to be called a cultured nation” and shut down all press and schools; the Polish language was banned in public and its flags were burned. The Polish Underground State undertook heroic efforts to salvage as much of our heritage as possible, and held covert classes, concerts, and even theatre productions.

During communist rule, culture was an escape from reality and daily misery. Poles listened to the radio, which had been a death sentence during the War, watched movies, and celebrated Polish art. While official demonstrations of Polish pride were heavily censored, culture was everywhere and its preservation kept Poles united. When the time came to mobilize en masse against the communist government, Poles stood in solidarity with one another.

9. Support labor unions and work stoppages.

Authoritarian leaders fear both mass uprisings and worker revolts that weaken the state’s economy. Powerful labor unions and worker coalitions can be a potent force in bringing about change.

Worker strikes in 1976 and 1981 crippled the communist regime and forced the state to institute martial law — which was disastrous to the Polish people in the short-term, but longer-term signaled the death knell of the government and its loss of legitimacy. By 1981, Solidarność (Solidarity), Poland’s largest non-governmental trade union, had 10 million members, or one-third of the total working-age population in Poland. It was the Solidarność union which led to the dissolution of communist rule, and its founder became the first president of newly-democratic Poland.

More recently, in October, thousands of Polish women went on strike and marched in the streets to protest a proposed law that would have made all abortions illegal. The government was humiliated by the outpouring of opposition and withdrew the law, its first major defeat since entering power. To succeed, protests have to hit where it hurts most: at the image of national success.

10. Keep the spirit of resistance alive and never lose hope.

Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła, kiedy my żyjemy. Poland has not yet perished, so long as we still live.

As long as a spark of freedom stays alive, so there is always hope to prevail against an oppressive force. In the mid-1600s, Poland was attacked from the north in what became known as the Deluge; an estimated third of the Polish population died, and most of its cities and wealth were destroyed before the Swedish invaders were beat back. Poland was an occupied territory for over a hundred years and was reconquered right after regaining independence. Over six million Poles died during World War II, one-fifth of the pre-war population, and its people suffered horribly through almost 50 years of Soviet repression.

Yet, through all this time, people fell in love, married, and raised kids; they fought with their siblings, experienced their first kisses, and learned how to cook. Life went on, because it had to, and everyday resilience was its own form of resistance. As long as people can dream of a better life for their children and grandchildren, there is a chance for the future.

Co nam obca przemoc wzięła, szablą odbierzemy. What the foreign power has taken from us, we’ll take back by sword.

And eventually, Poles always know, the time will come to fight back.