During World War II there was no city in Europe hit harder than Warsaw, Poland. It all started in September 1, 1939 when Nazi Germany invaded Poland so to have more land and resources. Under the rule of Fascist leader Adolf Hitler, a new system of totalitarianism and conquest was put into order so that Germans could be the superior race. This meant squashing those whom they considered inferior, most notably the Jews. The invasion itself was very fast moving and the Polish could hardly put up much resistance against both the Nazis and the Soviets. By October 6, 1939 Germany had annexed Poland. It wasn't long after until the terrible persecution of Jews began.
Following the invasion of Poland, the Jews were first branded so that the soldiers could tell them apart from others. They were then sent to ghettos, a tightly condensed area that was walled off from the rest of the city. Here they were forced to live with one another, secluded from the rest of society. It was only a matter of time before they begun to die of starvation and disease. The Warsaw Ghetto was by far the biggest in all of Poland, with over 400,000 Jews living in this tight area. To put things into perspective the area took up 2% of Warsaw, while it had over 30% of Warsaw's population. So basically what you had here was Jews living on top of one another.
By 1942 Hitler came up with his Final Solution, which was to totally exterminate all the Jews. Trains began loading Jews by the thousands, and sending them off to these far off secluded camps away from civilization. Most of the Warsaw Jews were sent to Treblinka, the largest of extermination camps, where over 850,000 were killed. There were many other camps throughout Poland, such as Auschwitz, Belzec, Sobibor, and Sajmiste that either forced the Jews to labor or sent them to total genocide. It was by far the darkest period of the Holocaust, and perhaps the darkest time of humanity.
Of course it was only natural that the Jews would revolt and uprise against their oppressors, the most famous of these being the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943. I saw this battle recently portrayed in the Polanski film, The Pianist and was inspired by the Jew's courage. First was the actual coordinating of the uprising, which surely was no easy task for these harshly treated Jews. The Jewish workers managed to smuggle weapons into the ghetto, and create an underground resistance. On April 19th of 1943 they began their attack from the rooftops and windows of buildings firing handguns and gasoline bottles. These first few days of insurgency proved to be most damaging to the Nazis, who eventually had commander Jurgen Stroop take over the situation. Stroop neutralized the fighting by burning buildings down, and by May 16, 1943 the uprising was terminated. The conspirators were all executed, and in the end the total numbers were estimated at about 17 dead Nazis and 13,000 dead Jewish insurgents. And to top things off, Hitler had the entire ghetto razed to the ground following this uprising.
About a year later, with Germany beginning to lose their advantage in the war, the Polish Underground also decided to coordinate an uprising. They knew the Russians were closing in on the Nazis from the east, and felt that they had to win back their government before the Russians took over it. And so on the 1st of August 1944, a scattered uprising took place all throughout Warsaw where the Polish insurgents caught the Nazis by surprise. They fought in the streets, dugouts, and trenches using a wide variety of weapons. The uprising was intended to only last a few days, so to coincide with the arrival of the Russians. However it is believed that Soviet leader, Josef Stalin, did not want to enter Warsaw during this conflict and instead preferred to defeat the Nazis himself. And so after a month of fighting the Polish resistance was defeated by the Nazis, and once again much of the city was razed to the ground. Following the end of the uprising nearly 85% of Warsaw was in shambles.
By late September of 1944 the Soviets had defeated the Nazis on the eastern borders of Warsaw, and had control of the city of Warsaw. It is clear in my opinion that the Soviets chose not to aid the Polish resistance, so that they themselves could take over the country. Following the end of the war, Warsaw began its reconstruction as a Communist regime. Although much of its historical buildings had been destroyed it once again became the center of political and economic life in Poland. By 1979 Pope John Paul II helped liberate his native country to a democratic society. And so to this day Warsaw has moved forward from this terrible destruction brought upon them, and are now experiencing it's greatest economic boom. Yet it will always remain a significant historical sight. After reading up on the role Warsaw played in WWII, I myself am very interested in visiting the city.
Following the invasion of Poland, the Jews were first branded so that the soldiers could tell them apart from others. They were then sent to ghettos, a tightly condensed area that was walled off from the rest of the city. Here they were forced to live with one another, secluded from the rest of society. It was only a matter of time before they begun to die of starvation and disease. The Warsaw Ghetto was by far the biggest in all of Poland, with over 400,000 Jews living in this tight area. To put things into perspective the area took up 2% of Warsaw, while it had over 30% of Warsaw's population. So basically what you had here was Jews living on top of one another.By 1942 Hitler came up with his Final Solution, which was to totally exterminate all the Jews. Trains began loading Jews by the thousands, and sending them off to these far off secluded camps away from civilization. Most of the Warsaw Jews were sent to Treblinka, the largest of extermination camps, where over 850,000 were killed. There were many other camps throughout Poland, such as Auschwitz, Belzec, Sobibor, and Sajmiste that either forced the Jews to labor or sent them to total genocide. It was by far the darkest period of the Holocaust, and perhaps the darkest time of humanity.
Of course it was only natural that the Jews would revolt and uprise against their oppressors, the most famous of these being the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943. I saw this battle recently portrayed in the Polanski film, The Pianist and was inspired by the Jew's courage. First was the actual coordinating of the uprising, which surely was no easy task for these harshly treated Jews. The Jewish workers managed to smuggle weapons into the ghetto, and create an underground resistance. On April 19th of 1943 they began their attack from the rooftops and windows of buildings firing handguns and gasoline bottles. These first few days of insurgency proved to be most damaging to the Nazis, who eventually had commander Jurgen Stroop take over the situation. Stroop neutralized the fighting by burning buildings down, and by May 16, 1943 the uprising was terminated. The conspirators were all executed, and in the end the total numbers were estimated at about 17 dead Nazis and 13,000 dead Jewish insurgents. And to top things off, Hitler had the entire ghetto razed to the ground following this uprising.
About a year later, with Germany beginning to lose their advantage in the war, the Polish Underground also decided to coordinate an uprising. They knew the Russians were closing in on the Nazis from the east, and felt that they had to win back their government before the Russians took over it. And so on the 1st of August 1944, a scattered uprising took place all throughout Warsaw where the Polish insurgents caught the Nazis by surprise. They fought in the streets, dugouts, and trenches using a wide variety of weapons. The uprising was intended to only last a few days, so to coincide with the arrival of the Russians. However it is believed that Soviet leader, Josef Stalin, did not want to enter Warsaw during this conflict and instead preferred to defeat the Nazis himself. And so after a month of fighting the Polish resistance was defeated by the Nazis, and once again much of the city was razed to the ground. Following the end of the uprising nearly 85% of Warsaw was in shambles.By late September of 1944 the Soviets had defeated the Nazis on the eastern borders of Warsaw, and had control of the city of Warsaw. It is clear in my opinion that the Soviets chose not to aid the Polish resistance, so that they themselves could take over the country. Following the end of the war, Warsaw began its reconstruction as a Communist regime. Although much of its historical buildings had been destroyed it once again became the center of political and economic life in Poland. By 1979 Pope John Paul II helped liberate his native country to a democratic society. And so to this day Warsaw has moved forward from this terrible destruction brought upon them, and are now experiencing it's greatest economic boom. Yet it will always remain a significant historical sight. After reading up on the role Warsaw played in WWII, I myself am very interested in visiting the city.
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