Travels in Poland (Warsaw)

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Warsaw, a city of almost 2,000,000 people, is the capital and largest city in Poland. It is located on the Vistula River about midway between the Baltic Sea and the Carpathian Mountains. Warsaw is known as the "phoenix city" as it recovered from extensive damage during the second world war during which 80% of its buildings were destroyed.

During WWII, after the Germans invaded, central Poland came under the rule of a Nazi colonial administration. Warsaw's entire Jewish population, which numbered several hundred thousand, was herded into the Warsaw Ghetto. In the spring of 1943, when Hitler's "Final Solution" was issued, an order came to annihilate the ghetto. In response, Jewish fighters launched the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and held out for about a month despite being outnumbered and outgunned. It ended with most of them being killed. One of the most interesting books that I've ever read about this uprising is Mila 18 by Leon Uris. Also, the film, Holocaust, on TV depicted the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

By the summer of 1944, the Germans were being mauled on the Eastern Front and the Soviet army was pursuing them toward Warsaw. The Poles seized the opportunity to launch the Warsaw Uprising which lasted for over two months. The Red army waited outside of the city and let the Polish fighters go it alone until they were overwhelmed by the Germans. Many were killed or taken to concentration camps and the population of Warsaw was expelled from the city. After this, the Germans razed Warsaw and destroyed about 80% of the city. As the Germans withdrew, the Soviets entered the city. Poland remained under Soviet domination and Communist rule for almost half a century until the system finally collapsed in 1989.

As our Finnair flight from Helsinki broke through the clouds and descended onto the runway of the modern airport in Warsaw, I couldn't help but admire the city which was devastated over a half-century ago. Our hotel was located across the street from a large plaza on which was located the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. After we arrived and checked in, I crossed the street and entered the plaza. There was a crowd of people gathered to watch a ceremony, probably some sort of military event or changing of the guard. I mingled with the crowd and snapped photos of the soldiers who were standing guard at the tomb. It is quite an impressive structure and is located next to a park in which there is a large fountain.

That afternoon, we boarded a bus for a tour of the city. Parts of the city have been rebuilt in the same way as the original buildings before the war. We stopped at the monuments to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943 and the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. Later we toured the Museum of the Warsaw Uprising. Before touring the museum, which is quite extensive, we watched a five minute black and white silent film which showed Warsaw as a devastated city after the war. It reminded me of films of cities which were bombed in Germany during that same war. We then watched a lengthy film with English subtitles about the uprising. The museum covers several floors and is quite large. There are explanations in both Polish and English throughout the museum.

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