From 1939 to 1945, Warsaw was occupied by the Nazis. Unless you were there, you couldn't imagine what it was like...with the fear, the fighting, the brutal genocide. Completely outnumbered, out-equipped, and supposedly inferior, the Nazis expected the Poles to quietly accept their fate. The failed 1943 Jewish ghetto uprising, was evidence that the city wasn't just going to sit around and wait. Much of the city was destroyed, but that didn't crush the spirits or the hearts of the people. They would fight on in the following year organizing a brave and heroic resistance. And we still remember this 68 years after the first day of the Warsaw Uprising.
At 5pm on August 1, 1944, the uprising began as part of Operation Tempest. Surprisingly, they didn't have cell phones or Twitter back then to organize the timing, so messengers had to run around the city in secret, spreading the news about the planned attack. Tempest was designed for Polish resistance to try to take back various cities around Poland from the Nazis. It was meant to be timed with Russia's move to take out the Nazi forces. But the Red Army stopped short of entering Warsaw, waiting. Some think that Stalin designed the plan to make the Polish underground think they'd have reinforcements, so they would begin the fight, to ultimately be destroyed in Warsaw. This would weaken any resistance to a future Communist Soviet-led regime in Poland.
The fighting lasted 63 days, and the underground had little outside support, even from the allies. They fought with makeshift weapons, were completely untrained, and even women and children took part in the fight for their freedom. The British and US didn't intervene, mostly because the Soviets wouldn't let them land their planes on their airfields. The Polish government in exile was located in London, and they couldn't do anything. Finally they made some supply drops but it was too little, too late.
Although they fought bravely and tirelessly, they were no match for the Nazi forces. Many people died; soldiers, members of the resistance, and regular citizens. After the uprising was quieted, the Nazis decided to make an example of Poland and destroyed all of the buildings systematically with dynamite. About 85-90% of the city was in ruins when they were finished, a city complete uninhabitable. This video, which is shown in 3D at the Warsaw Uprising Museum (which by the way is one of the most interesting and moving museums I've ever been to), shows a computer generated fly-over of what the city looked like after the destruction.
Because of this, the entire city had to be rebuilt, which happened under the Soviet occupation. There are many "soviet-style" concrete buildings throughout the city, but the Old Town was rebuilt from scratch, to match the original design. It truly reflects the spirit and desire of the nation to maintain its history and identity, thanks to the dedicated Polish residents. It's a beautiful place and to imagine what it had gone through to be where it is today, it's very admirable.
Every year the city pays homage to the uprising, remembering those who fought in the name of their country and to remember those lost during the war. Flowers are laid out all around the city, and there are various celebratory events throughout, including a minute of silence to reflect and remember at exactly 5pm. Some filmmakers captured this in a touching video. Another of those events is the run called Bieg Powstania Warszawskiego (Warsaw Uprising Run). Of course, WITC was there.
This isn't the best quality video capture, but I just happened to be in Plac Zamkowy during the 5pm moment of silence. It doesn't really do justice to the chill that went through my body as the entire square stood, froze, and remembered the fallen for one full minute (except some dumb lady in the video). Even the restaurant customers, band, and horses stopped and stood. Here's my video.
Some of these events are captured in movies and books. For example, the Pianist (the one in which Adrien Brody won an Oscar) is about a Jewish-Polish pianist caught in the middle of the Nazi invasion. Another is the book The Zookeeper's Wife. It tells the story of the zookeeper of the Warsaw zoo, and how he was secretly part of the resistance. His wife ran the zoo, while he was doing business in the city, pretending to be sympathetic to the Nazis, fraternizing with those in Berlin, while the whole time secretly smuggling Jewish people safely out of Jewish ghetto and out of the city. Obviously if he was caught, he would have been killed immediately. It's a quite fascinating tale of a true hero (and it's a true story based on the memoirs of the wife). Check it out if you are looking for an interesting book.
Being that it is still fairly recent, there are still a few first-hand stories about what it was like living in the city, or being part of the resistance during the war. A friend of mine, Ola, had a grandfather who was 16 during the Uprising. He has since passed away, but Ola told me about his being a teenage boy scout, who worked as a courier delivering messages to different resistance groups around the city. Maybe he was even one of the people who delivered the messages about the start of the Uprising. He was only a teenager, yet he was risking his life every day, fighting for his country and freedom. Quite often they were traveling through the sewers to stay hidden. Her grandmother doesn't like to talk about it, even to this day, which is understandable. But she still keeps the bloodied arm band that was worn to show his commitment to the cause.
It's fascinating to know that this happened less than 70 years ago, and I live right in the middle of where it took place. Being here has been extremely humbling for me to know that so much has happened in this part of the world that I never even considered before living here. If you haven't visited me yet, I have to keep insisting that you make it happen...if nothing else than to learn a little more about this history and Polish spirit.
Maybe we can all take a moment of silence to remember what's important to us, and to realize how lucky we are to have something that's worth fighting for.
Here's a bit more info if you're interested.
http://www.warsawuprising.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Uprising
Memorial of the Warsaw Uprising
At 5pm on August 1, 1944, the uprising began as part of Operation Tempest. Surprisingly, they didn't have cell phones or Twitter back then to organize the timing, so messengers had to run around the city in secret, spreading the news about the planned attack. Tempest was designed for Polish resistance to try to take back various cities around Poland from the Nazis. It was meant to be timed with Russia's move to take out the Nazi forces. But the Red Army stopped short of entering Warsaw, waiting. Some think that Stalin designed the plan to make the Polish underground think they'd have reinforcements, so they would begin the fight, to ultimately be destroyed in Warsaw. This would weaken any resistance to a future Communist Soviet-led regime in Poland.
The fighting lasted 63 days, and the underground had little outside support, even from the allies. They fought with makeshift weapons, were completely untrained, and even women and children took part in the fight for their freedom. The British and US didn't intervene, mostly because the Soviets wouldn't let them land their planes on their airfields. The Polish government in exile was located in London, and they couldn't do anything. Finally they made some supply drops but it was too little, too late.
Although they fought bravely and tirelessly, they were no match for the Nazi forces. Many people died; soldiers, members of the resistance, and regular citizens. After the uprising was quieted, the Nazis decided to make an example of Poland and destroyed all of the buildings systematically with dynamite. About 85-90% of the city was in ruins when they were finished, a city complete uninhabitable. This video, which is shown in 3D at the Warsaw Uprising Museum (which by the way is one of the most interesting and moving museums I've ever been to), shows a computer generated fly-over of what the city looked like after the destruction.
How the city looked after the Nazi destruction
Because of this, the entire city had to be rebuilt, which happened under the Soviet occupation. There are many "soviet-style" concrete buildings throughout the city, but the Old Town was rebuilt from scratch, to match the original design. It truly reflects the spirit and desire of the nation to maintain its history and identity, thanks to the dedicated Polish residents. It's a beautiful place and to imagine what it had gone through to be where it is today, it's very admirable.
Every year the city pays homage to the uprising, remembering those who fought in the name of their country and to remember those lost during the war. Flowers are laid out all around the city, and there are various celebratory events throughout, including a minute of silence to reflect and remember at exactly 5pm. Some filmmakers captured this in a touching video. Another of those events is the run called Bieg Powstania Warszawskiego (Warsaw Uprising Run). Of course, WITC was there.
Remembering those who fought for freedom
Wreaths laid all over the city
This isn't the best quality video capture, but I just happened to be in Plac Zamkowy during the 5pm moment of silence. It doesn't really do justice to the chill that went through my body as the entire square stood, froze, and remembered the fallen for one full minute (except some dumb lady in the video). Even the restaurant customers, band, and horses stopped and stood. Here's my video.
Some of these events are captured in movies and books. For example, the Pianist (the one in which Adrien Brody won an Oscar) is about a Jewish-Polish pianist caught in the middle of the Nazi invasion. Another is the book The Zookeeper's Wife. It tells the story of the zookeeper of the Warsaw zoo, and how he was secretly part of the resistance. His wife ran the zoo, while he was doing business in the city, pretending to be sympathetic to the Nazis, fraternizing with those in Berlin, while the whole time secretly smuggling Jewish people safely out of Jewish ghetto and out of the city. Obviously if he was caught, he would have been killed immediately. It's a quite fascinating tale of a true hero (and it's a true story based on the memoirs of the wife). Check it out if you are looking for an interesting book.
Being that it is still fairly recent, there are still a few first-hand stories about what it was like living in the city, or being part of the resistance during the war. A friend of mine, Ola, had a grandfather who was 16 during the Uprising. He has since passed away, but Ola told me about his being a teenage boy scout, who worked as a courier delivering messages to different resistance groups around the city. Maybe he was even one of the people who delivered the messages about the start of the Uprising. He was only a teenager, yet he was risking his life every day, fighting for his country and freedom. Quite often they were traveling through the sewers to stay hidden. Her grandmother doesn't like to talk about it, even to this day, which is understandable. But she still keeps the bloodied arm band that was worn to show his commitment to the cause.
It's fascinating to know that this happened less than 70 years ago, and I live right in the middle of where it took place. Being here has been extremely humbling for me to know that so much has happened in this part of the world that I never even considered before living here. If you haven't visited me yet, I have to keep insisting that you make it happen...if nothing else than to learn a little more about this history and Polish spirit.
Maybe we can all take a moment of silence to remember what's important to us, and to realize how lucky we are to have something that's worth fighting for.
I'd say this city is worth fighting for
I promise I was taking a picture of the flag
I apologize if something here is not 100% historically accurate, but I did my best based on my research, visiting museums, and from talking to locals. Here's a bit more info if you're interested.
http://www.warsawuprising.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Uprising
>I promise I was taking a picture of the flag
ReplyDeleteI do not believe you :)