Warsaw, Poland
World War Two history: Today, 01 August, was the anniversary of the commencement of the “Warsaw (Polish) Insurgenecy.” Not to be confused with the Jewish (Warsaw Ghetto) Uprising that took place in 1943. The Polish Insurgency began on 01 August 1944 at 5:00 p.m. and lasted for just over two months. Both were historically momentous events to fight Nazi occupying forces. The Polish Insurgents attempted to coordinate the uprising with the advance of the Russian army as they were fighting their way west toward Germany. The intent was to help the advancing Russian forces. However, the Russian forces stopped and camped on the eastern shores of the “Wistula” River. Some of their encampments were only a 20-minute walk across a viaduct that connects central Warsaw to what is now “Praga.” The national stadium is located there, and we have attended a couple of the national league soccer matches (or “football”). They fought this insurgency with extraordinarily little help from outside sources.
The Allies in 1944 were attempting to get the Russian army to support the efforts of the Polish Insurgents, who were severely outnumbered, outgunned, and out trained. Really the only chance that they had was the support from the Russian Army. Diplomatic efforts did not help much. The Allied army on the western front were just too far away to have effect on this situation. However, the US did manage to get the Russians to agree to allow allied planes land and refuel. The distance between the closest airfields on the western front and Warsaw were too far for a round trip. Refueling was the only possibility. Allied planes from various airfields on the western front and some from Russia’s eastern front were sent to resupply the besieged Poles in Warsaw. Due to the damage sustained to the structures in and around Warsaw it was exceedingly difficult to get any supplies into these fighters. Many of the supplies fell into the hands of the Nazis.
Over the 62-day battle about it is estimated that 16,000 resistance fighters were killed and approximately 200,000 civilians were killed. Most of the civilians were killed by mass executions that took place throughout the city. It is common to find a plaque or a memorial stone noting the location of a horrific event that took place sometime between 01 August and 02 October 1944. The Polish Insurgent’s Museum is well worth the time to tour. It will take 4-6 hours to really see all the exhibits. Audio guides available and it made my tour much more enjoyable. There is a lot of reading involved at each exhibit. One of the last exhibits was a film from a plane that overflew Warsaw sometime shortly after the Russian forces captured Warsaw. I was utterly surprised to see the devastation. The statistic is at least 85% of the structures in Warsaw were destroyed. However, I the area of the actual battle I think that 100% of the structures were destroyed.
My wife and I arrived in Warsaw extremely late in July of 2021. I do remember the “air raid” sirens sounding at exactly 5:00 p.m. I was a bit surprised because it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon. I was not prepared for this and found it a bit startling. Later I found out the reason. This year I went outside with a colleague to see this event. At exactly 5:00 p.m. the air raid sirens, police car sirens, and a few other city vehicles sounded their car horn. Everyone stopped for 60 seconds to pay their respects. Only a few people did not stop, and they were foreigners in the area and one Uber food delivery person. It was really an awesome display of national pride. The Poles are immensely proud of their history and talk about it often.