Today marks the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising; the day when the Polish resistance took up arms in an attempt to liberate their city from German control. Following 63 days of ferocious street fighting by the Polish Home Army, who were supported by the civillian population but failed to attract any substantial international support, the beleaguered resistance capitulated having suffered estimated losses of 16,000 resistance fighters and 150,000-200,000 civillians. Following the rising, the Nazis extracted revenge by systematically reducing most of Warsaw to rubble while executing and forcibly evacuating its surviving citizens – by the time Warsaw was ‘liberated’ by the Soviet Red Army in 1945, 85% of the city had been destroyed and from a pre-war population of 1.3 million only around 1000 people remained, hiding in the ruins. The defeat of the Home Army also removed any serious domestic resistance to Soviet control of the city, where a communist regime was swiftly imposed in the aftermath of the Second World War.
Last year (2013) I was visiting Poland, and I arrived in Warsaw a couple of days after 1st August anniversary. The central monument was still festooned with flowers and candles:
Monument to the Warsaw Uprising, Warsaw (August 2013). Photo © Kelly Hignett.
Monument to the Warsaw Uprising, Warsaw (August 2013). Photo © Kelly Hignett.
Monument to the Warsaw Uprising, Warsaw (August 2013). Photo © Kelly Hignett.
Monument to the Warsaw Uprising, Warsaw (August 2013). Photo © Kelly Hignett.
Monument to the Warsaw Uprising, Warsaw (August 2013). Photo © Kelly Hignett.
More generally, while walking around Warsaw, I noticed that the uprising has become much more ‘visible’ in the city’s heritage. Today, the memory of the Wasrsaw Uprising is intimately integrated within the fabric of the city. In addition to the central monument, numerous smaller plaques and commemorative memorials connected with the uprising are scattered around the city, while the anchored ‘P’ (PW), the symbol most commonly associated with the 1944 uprising and the Polish underground, is a very common sight. This is perhaps unsurprising, as for many decades after WWII the communist authorities attempted to suppress popular memory of the uprising: emphasis was placed on the role played by the Red Army in the liberation of Warsaw, while the leaders of the Polish underground were denounced as German collaborators and terrorists, who acted to protect the interests of the bourgeoisie and rich landowners. Any official commemoration of the uprising was forbidden, and it was only after the fall of communism in 1989 that the first monuments were able to be openly erected. Here are just a few examples:
Building decorated with the symbols of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. Photo © Kelly Hignett.
Commemorative plaque, with floral tributes. Photo © Kelly Hignett.
Memorial for 40 members of the Polish underground who were shot by the Nazis. Photo © Kelly Hignett.
Wall plaques in commemoration of the Polish Home Army. Photo © Kelly Hignett.
Wall plaque denoting barracks errectd during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. Photo credit © Kelly Hignett.
Wall plaque on ul. Mysia, in commemoration of a scoutmaster involved in the 1944 Uprising. Photo © Kelly Hignett.
Commemorative plaque on the corner of ul. Krolewska. Photo © Kelly Hignett.
I also visited the Warsaw Uprising Museum (Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego) which opened in 2004. The museum, housed in a former power station, has done much to raise the historical profile of the uprising:
The Warsaw Uprising Museum (Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego). Photo © Kelly Hignett.
Armband worn by a member of the Polish Home Army during the 1944 rising – on display in the Warsaw Uprising Museum.Photo © Kelly Hignett.
Memorial Wall, outside the museum. Photo © Kelly Hignett.
Finally, last summer the area around Rynek Nowego Miasta (New Town Market Square) was abuzz, as filming was underway for ‘Miasto ‘44’ (City ‘44), a new film about the uprising by acclaimed Polish director Jan Komasa, which has just premiered in Warsaw to mark the 70th anniversary of the Uprising. Last summer, one of the streets was cordoned off for the film crew, with barricades erected. I also noticed several actors and film extras, dressed in 1940s fashion and military uniforms, who were wandering around and enjoying the sunshine whilst taking a break from filming!
Barricade, constructed on the film set of ‘Miasto ’44’. Photo © Kelly Hignett.
Actors filming ‘Miasto 44′ in Warsaw happily pose for photos. Photo © Kelly Hignett.
Filming Miasto ’44. Photo © Kelly Hignett.
Actors enjoying the sunshine, during a break from filimg. Photo © Kelly Hignett.
Filming ‘Miasto ’44’. Photo © Kelly Hignett.
You can watch the official trailer for the film Miasto 44 Here.
* This is a shorter version of a longer article that was originally posted on my blog The View East, in August 2013.
Kelly and Kamera 