Erazm Ciołek was a Polish photojournalist, mostly known for his photographs of the Solidarity movement and the democratic opposition of the 1980s.  A sociologist by training, Ciołek began a photographer career in the 1950s. He worked for major Polish newspapers, magazines and news agencies. He also took interest in visual arts and documented Polish artistic community. In 1980, Ciołek witnessed and documented the birth of Solidarity during the strike at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk in 1980. Prior to that, he was not active in any opposition organizations, though he cultivated friendly ties with individual dissidents. However, the spontaneous trip to Gdańsk in August 1980 was a cathartic experience, which cemented Ciołek's unequivocal and open support for the democratic opposition. He was able to freely photograph the strike in the Lenin Shipyard after Jacek Kuroń, one of the KOR leaders, vouched for him.
Later, Ciołek captured in his photography the martial law period in Poland, opposition protests, the Round Table Talks between the opposition and the party regime, and Solidarity's victory in the partly free elections of 4 June 1989. Member of Solidarity, he took part in the activities of underground publishing setting up photographic services for underground news agencies and publishers. He also photographed police brutality and crackdown on human rights, and paid tribute to victims of communist security and police, including Grzegorz Przemyk and Reverend Jerzy Popiełuszko. With the exception of brief detention in 1985, he was not persecuted by the regime. Ciołek is justly credited for visualizing the most important events in Poland's recent history and contributing to the legacy of Solidarity.