Warsaw Uprising 1944

Featured image © 2014 Marcin Dziedzic, Teraz44

Go, passer-by, and tell the world
That we perished in the cause,
Faithful to our orders.

© Copyright 2016 Project InPosterum. All rights reserved.

Less than a lifetime ago, the whole city centre was razed to the ground by Hitler’s troops after the heroic, doomed Warsaw rising of 1944.

Timothy Garton Ash from www.theguardian.com

August 1st commemorates the start of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. Years after the 63-day struggle, this day marks a historical national event which has been the source of mixed feelings: heroic national pride and tragic remembrance. Warsaw, subject to five years of fascist hegemony, rose up in popular rebellion in what would go on to be recorded as the largest ever uprising in the German occupied territories. With German morale in ribbons, a retreat from Warsaw in full swing, and the Red Army already on the east bank of the Wisła, no time seemed better than the present. Following close contact with the Polish government-in-exile, and assurances of Allied aid, the Home Army (Poland’s wartime military movement a.k.a the Armii Krajowy or AK) launched a military strike with the aim of liberating Warsaw and installing an independent government.

Uprising monument
Monument to the Warsaw Uprising

There is not much about the Warsaw Uprising that hasn’t been written or discussed by historians, journalists or politicians; or emotions (dignity, valour, heroism, respect, pride…) that haven’t been exalted (for better or worse) by survivors, citizens, producers of cultural goods and heritage institutions, such as the Warsaw Uprising Museum; or attempts been made to free-ride its civic and political fervour.

At Poland In Your Pocket we recognise the impact that this historical event continues to have in our contemporary society, its complexity, prevalence and important place in Polish memory and heritage.

We leave you with a series of photos from Teraz44 (© 2014 Marcin Dziedzic), which through the blending of historical footage and modern-day photos from Warsaw, bridge past and present in a collage of images of those who fought for liberty and those who enjoy it today.

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