Commemoratuve events. ;   A brief history. - click on pictures to enlarge

WARSAW UPRISING - 70TH ANNIVERSARY

1 August to 2 October, 1944, Poles fought against Nazis

August 1. 2014, at 5 p.m., all traffic in Warsaw (and many other Polish cities), came to a standstill. Pedestrians stood silently for 70 seconds to honor the members of the underground Home Army (Armia Krajowa = AK) and the civilians who rose up 70 years ago against the Nazi invaders, and took over most of the city, in spite of lack of heavy weapons. Over 10,000 of the 40,000 insurgents. and over 150,000 civilians were killed (many in mass executions of civilians carried out by SS forces in the first days of the Uprising).

Thousands participated in the ceremonies of wreath laying - at the Grave of the Unknown Soldier - at the memorial to the Underground Polish State and AK - at the Powązki Miltary Cemetery - and many other memorials around the city.

Background

The Uprising against Nazi occupiers lasted 63 days.
It failed because Stalin couldn't tolerate a free Polish force in Warsaw. Even Allied planes acarrying supplies to Warsaw were denied landing on Soviet airfields.
Recently opened documents revealed that, in spite of pleas of Churchill and the Polish government in London, president Roosevelt absolutely refused to pressure Stalin to assist the insurgents.

Commemorative Events

29 July - Opening of Exhibition in Berlin

The President of Poland - Bronisław Komorowski- and German President - Joachim Gauck - jointly opened a photographic exhibition of the Warsaw Uprising. Some of the photographs show the destruction of the city on Hitler's direct order and massacres of civilians by SS troops.

30 July

In front of the Memorial Wall (inscribed with the names of Insurgents killed during the Uprising}, president Komorowski greeted the several hundred surviving veterans, many on crutches or in wheel chairs, who had come from as far as South Africa and Argentina to honor their comrades. He presented many with medals, including many who had helped maintain the traditions and built the Uprising Museum, such as the Museum Director Jan Ołdakowski.
In the evening, President of Warsaw, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, hosted the veterans and their families at the Town Hall. In a musical presentation "Young Warsaw", 14 singers and actors presented a vision of everyday life among civilians and combatants in the fighting city.

31 July

Veterans of Battalion "Kilinski" and their families laid wreaths at the memorial to the unit in Plac Powstanców (Insurgents' Square). Later many gathered for a luncheon at the top of the PAST building, which had been captured by the battalion after a long gruelling battle on 20 August 1944.

Veterans of the many other AK units likewise paid tribute at their memorials around the city.

That evening veterans and their families, together with members of the government and and Armed Forces gathered at a memorial Mass in Krasinski Square.

1 August

At noon the normal two man honor guard which stands at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, was ceremoniously replaced by an honor guard made of of members of all branches of the Armed Forces.
Dozens of delegations representing branches of government, veteran organizations, including two prominent Jewish organizations, laid wreaths at the Tomb. Great Britain, France, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Australia and United States, as well as Ukraine and Belorus; also the cities of Paris, London and Budapest were among the foreign delegations.
A three gun salute preceded a parade of units of the Armed Forces and Scouts.

Two hours later a similar ceremony, on a much smaller scale, took place at the Memorial to the Polish Underground State and AK, which stands across the street from the parliament.

All afternoon huge crowds started gathering at the military cemetery Powązki, to light torches and place flowers on the graves. Each major unit has its own quarter for graves of its members. The writer attended the "Kilinski" quarter. It is adjacent to the central black marble mounument Gloria Victis. This is where the Polish President (who is a relative of General " Bor"-Komorowski) - came to lay his wreath. At "W" hour, sirens sounded and all stood at attention in silence for 70 seconds, followed by a bugle call and three gun salute. Friends told the writer that the crowds at the cemetery grow each year. Although veterans are dying off, children and grandchildren come in increasing numbers.

Rest of August - general observations

Many activities and concerts are planned for the rest of August.
All activities were exceptionally well planned. The only problem wwas the high temperature, around 30C (86F) every day except, fortunately, August 1.
The veterans from outside Warsaw were housed in three hotels at the cost of the city. From these hotels, fleets of buses carried the veterans and their accompanying families to and from all events. Hundreds of Boy and Girl Scouts carried bottles of water for distribution to whoever needed them. Volunteers in recognizable uniforms were everywhere to provide information or assistance.

A team from Japanese TV was filming to prepare a special in Japanese about the Uprising.
On a personal note, a film "Powstanie Warszawskie" was released in May. It is a modified and colorized version of the original black & white films made during the Uprising and contains a clip of our wedding. This wedding, one of many by insurgents, is the only one photographed and filmed; and probably the only one that has survived 70 years. As a result the writer was interviewed several times by Polish TV and press.

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Brief history

During five years, members of the Polish resistance groups carried out a steadfast resistance to the German invaders, including sabotage and attacks on Nazi troops, particularly by partisans in the country and forests. For four years "underground" units had been training and establishing plans to attack German positions in the city. In July 1944, the Allies had established firm footholds in France and Italy and were steadily advancing. Soviet armies were advancing westward across Poland and by July 30 had reached eastern suburbs of Warsaw. Germans were retreating through the city. Soviet planes were bombing military targets in and around Warsaw. Soviet radio called on the Poles to rise up against the oppressors.

The Home Army command designated 17:00 (5 p.m.) of August 1 as "W" hour. Although lacking any heavy weapons, the approximately 20,000 strong Home Army units had most of the center city and three outlying areas under their control by the third day, capturing weapons and food supplies, with the Germans hanging on to many heavily armed strong points. Rail and road communications with the German front line on the eastern side of the river Vistula had been cut. Thousands joined the Home Army units, while thousands of civilian volunteers dug up paving stones building heavy anti-tank barricades. Others cooked for the troops and helped in any way they could. The power station was in Polish hands, water and electricity was available in the city center for three weeks. However the Soviet Army ceased all attacks, Soviet planes disappeared from the skies.

During the first 3 weeks, the Home Army had some successes, capturing the 11 story PAST building, the central railway station, the international telephone exchange and several other German positions, obtaining valuable supplies and prisoners. At the same time German armor drove a wedge separating the Old Town from the center and whittled away at the area held by the insurgents. Continuous aerial bombing, mortar fire and a railroad siege gun firing 1000kg shells flattened many buildings. SS units massacred 40,000 civilians in areas they regained, including patients and staff of two hospitals and nuns in a convent.

The Soviet Army resumed its offensive in September and reached the east bank of the river on September 13. They then halted and passively watched as across the river the Germans pounded away at us, pushing us back into three small areas, buildings reduced to smoking rubble. Finally the Germans recognized the Home Army as combatants under the Geneva Conventions and on October 2 the Home Army commander, general "Bor"-Komorowski surrendered. The surviving AK personnel were transported to P.O.W. camps already occupied by American, British and other Allied prisoners. The surviving civilian population dispersed into the country-side, except thousands of healthy persons were taken to Germany to work in factories and on farms.

The above is only a brief synopsis. For more complete information see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Uprising
and
Personal accounts, newsreels, photos, songs.

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Go to Biega photos taken at the ceremonies, be sure to click on the several links.