The Phoenix of Warsaw

We are back in Greece aboard Songster enjoying the warmth and sunshine of summer.  I now have some time to catch up on the last of our travels in Northern Europe.  From Vilnius we went to Warsaw, Poland.  

One of the beautiful parks in Warsaw

In this part of the world, World War II is always close to consciousness.  The area was devastated and restoration work is still going on 70 years later.  Next to Belarus, Poland was the country that lost proportionally the most people during the war – 17% of their population or about 6 million people.  But of course the USSR lost the most absolute number of people – about 2 million.  (Just for some perspective the US lost 419,000 military personnel and civilians, 0.3% of the US population; Australia lost 40,000 people, 0.6% of the population and Britain which suffered direct bombings lost 450,000, or 0.9% of its population.  So of the main allies, the USSR lost 30 times more people than the US and UK combined.  A fact not given in my high school history.)  

But the city of Warsaw was particularly hard hit.  It lost over 60% of its population and 85% of its buildings.  The city was flattened.  It is hard to conceive.  Imagine if 2 of every 3 people in your city were killed and 8 out of every 10 buildings were in rubble.  The Poles did fight back during the German occupation in two major uprisings; the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the Warsaw Uprising.  Sadly both resulted in mass slaughter, in large part due to the very specifically planned lack of assistance from the Russians and Allies.  At the Yalta Conference, the US, Britain and the USSR had already decided that Poland would not have independence  after the war and destroying Warsaw would get rid of any resistance and thus make occupation easier.  The hubris and evil of this arrogant and inhuman decision is sickening.

From Wikipedia - total destruction of Warsaw during WWII

The Warsaw Ghetto was established shortly after the German occupation.  An area west of the Vistula River was walled off and the city’s 400,000 Jews were crammed into it with an average density of 7 people per room.  Nearly a quarter of the inhabitants died of hunger-related disease and starvation in the first 2 years.  Then the deportations to the death camps started.  In early 1943 there had been a lull in deportations and when the Germans tried to start the rounding up again, the remaining inhabitants of the ghetto and the Ghetto underground fought back.  The Nazis retaliated in force and totally flattened the entire area, killing or deporting every one.

The outline of the Warsaw Ghetto

A bit of the wall kept as a memorial

Another section of the Ghetto wall

Where the wall is no more, the spot is marked

In August 1944 as the Germans were retreating and Russian forces were closing in, the Polish Resistance fighters tried to liberate Warsaw, assuming the allies, in particular the nearby Russian forces would come to their aid.  This Warsaw Uprising lasted for 63 day of terrible fighting without any outside assistance, resulting in the death of 200,000 civilians and the final destruction of the city.

We went to a museum devoted to the Uprising.  Sadly we found the museum very poorly laid out, the lighting too dim and the signage text too small to read.  The items on exhibit were very good but not displayed so as we could appreciate them.  It was frustrating that such an important subject matter didn’t have a better venue.

Memorial to the Resistance fighters

After the War, Warsaw decided to rebuild the historical part of town just as it had been.  They did such a good job of making the new look old that UNESCO declared it a World Heritage site.  I found it a bit disconcerting to see these beautiful old buildings and then realise they are only 40 to 50 years old.   

The new old - beautifully reconstructed town square

  

The veterans hospital

The new new

The old town was wonderful to explore.  We wandered around the cobble stone streets and stopped at the many outdoor cafes.  We found a fantastic place for the most delicious pierogis at Zapiecek Restaurant. 

Salmon filled pierogis - delicious

Another day we went to the Royal Castle.  This beautiful building originally dating from the 14^th Century was specifically targeted by the Nazis in WWII for complete destruction.  Immediately after the war, remaining remnants of the castle were salvaged and by 1975 enough money (500 million zloty or about $A30 million) was raised to restore the Castle to its former glory.  They managed to get back a lot of the stolen artworks and restore the Castle beautifully.

The outside of the castle

Chariot clock

Atlas clock

Doorway of the grand hall

Ceiling frescoes

The heads on the fireplace were salvaged from the original castle

Now an independent nation since the breakup of the USSR, the optimism of the Poland shines through.  I found the people and the country quite dynamic and buoyant.