The Anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising Is a Stark Reminder to Be Brave in the Face of Tyranny
Article by Kevin Downey Jr. In PJMedia
I was lucky enough to visit Poland in 2005. I was taken aback by the number of WWII historical markers scattered across the country and their grim significance. The entire nation is a former battlefield. Whereas here in the States, we may see a sign that reads, “George Washington slept here, 1776,” Poland is littered with plaques that read “Oct. 14, 1939, on this spot, 44 Polish women were murdered by Hitlerites.”
I visited Auschwitz and even Plaszow, the concentration camp associated with the not-as-friendly-as-you-think Oskar Schindler. Somewhere there is a picture of me sitting in his former office.
Reminders of savage tyranny are everywhere. Every elderly Pole has a story.
Warsaw, the Paris of the East
Seventy-nine years ago today, the Warsaw Uprising was five days old. The Polish Home Army began their revolt against their Nazi oppressors on Aug. 1, 1944, as the Soviet Army chased the German forces westward into Poland.
The insurgency was going well. The Germans had lost over 500 soldiers in just the first day, but the Home Army lost four times as many.
Vastly outgunned, the Poles fought valiantly. In three days, most of the city was liberated, albeit briefly. Soon the atrocities began.
SS leader Himmler sealed the city’s fate early on by declaring, “Every inhabitant must be killed, no prisoners are allowed, Warsaw is to be razed to the ground, and in this way, an intimidating example for the whole of Europe is to be created.”
Germans, Ukrainians, and other Axis soldiers massacred between 40,000 and 50,000 civilians in the Wola section of Warsaw just between Aug. 5-7, 1944.
Germans used civilians as human shields. They raped and murdered girls, women, and even nuns. The Germans had every advantage over the insurgents, but the Poles continued to fight.
FACT-O-RAMA! The Warsaw Uprising and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising are two different attacks by Poles against German forces. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising took place in April 1943 and involved Jewish people fighting against deportation to a concentration camp. The Warsaw Uprising took place all over Warsaw and attempted to liberate the entire city from Nazi occupation.
The Soviets, who encouraged the Uprising and offered to help, sat on their hands. Stalin preferred to let the Germans deal with the freedom-starved Poles before his forces crossed the Vistula River and entered Warsaw.
One hundred and seven Allied B-17 bombers would eventually drop much-needed supplies to the Home Army, but only 20% were recovered by the Poles. The Germans got the rest.
Before it was over on Oct. 2, 1944, 18,000 out of 30,000 Home Army soldiers were killed, and roughly 150,000 civilians were dead. Many had been tortured and/or raped before being murdered.
The “Paris of the East” had been reduced to rubble.
Girls and boys as young as 14 years old served as scouts and messengers, but even they were tortured by enraged German soldiers. Doctors and nurses, usually spared from death in battle, were killed. Some were burned to death.
FAKT-O-RAMA! Historian Alina Nowobilska has dedicated a Twitter page to Poland’s struggles during WWII. Her posts are haunting. She includes pictures of people who perished, many very young, and sometimes the addresses where they died, leaving you with the impression she was somehow there. She also includes then-and-now photos of buildings where Nazi atrocities took place.
The grimmest reminder of the Warsaw Uprising was the ages of some of those who served. As mentioned, many were as young as 14 years old. In today’s America, 14-year-old kids worry about their “true gender” and how many “likes” their latest attention-craving video received on TikTok.
Except for people who have fled tyranny from places like Cuba, China, and WWII-era Europe, most Americans have no idea what true evil looks like.
Fortunately for us, we aren’t at a point (yet) where we have to defend ourselves with guns against the army of a despot. But we make a fatal mistake when we remain silent as fascism seeps into every one of our institutions.
Today is a great time to stand up. Get noisy before it gets uglier. And don’t forget the Poles, who stood up to vicious tyranny 79 years ago today. If they can fight Nazis in the sewers, you can send a “sternly worded” email to your reps in Congress. Run for your local school board. Do what the fascists have done here in America and take back our institutions. All of them. Start now.
