The Warsaw Uprising (Polish: Powstanie Warszawskie) was a major WW2 World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army (Polish: Armia Krajowa), to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union´s Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces.
Controversially, the Soviet advance stopped short, enabling the Germans to regroup and take the city back from the Polish resistance, which fought for 63 days with little outside support.
The uprising began on 1 August 1944, as part of a nationwide plan, Operation Tempest, when the Soviet Army approached Warsaw. The main Polish objectives were to drive the German occupiers from the city and help with the larger fight against Germany and the Axis powers. Secondary political objectives were to liberate Warsaw before the Soviets, to underscore Polish sovereignty by empowering the Polish Underground State before the Soviet-backed Polish Committee of National Liberation could assume control. Also, short-term causes included the threat of a German round-up of able-bodied Poles, and Moscow radio calling for the Uprising to begin.
Initially, the Poles established control over most of central Warsaw, but the Soviets ignored Polish attempts to establish radio contact and did not advance beyond the city limits. Intense street fighting between the Germans and Poles continued. By 14 September, Polish forces under Soviet high command occupied the east bank of the Vistula River opposite the insurgents´ positions; but only 1,200 men made it across to the west bank, and they were not reinforced by the rump of the Red Army. This, and the lack of Soviet air support from a base 5 minutes flying time away, led to allegations that Joseph Stalin tactically halted his forces to make the operation fail.
Winston Churchill pleaded with Stalin and Franklin D. Roosevelt to help Britain´s Polish allies, to no avail. Then, without Soviet air clearance, Churchill sent over 200 low-level supply drops by the Royal Air Force, the South African Air Force and the Polish Air Force under British High Command. Later, after gaining Soviet air clearance, the US Army Air Force sent one high-level mass airdrop as part of Operation Frantic.
Although the exact number of casualties remains unknown, it is estimated that about 16,000 members of the Polish resistance were killed and about 6,000 badly wounded. In addition, between 150,000 and 200,000 Polish civilians died, mostly from mass murders. Jews being harboured by Poles were exposed by German house-to-house clearances and mass evictions of entire neighbourhoods. German casualties totalled over 8,000 soldiers killed and missing, and 9,000 wounded. During the urban combat approximately 25% of Warsaw´s buildings were destroyed. Following the surrender of Polish forces, German troops systematically leveled 35% of the city block by block. Together with earlier damage suffered in the 1939 invasion of Poland and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943, over 85% of the city was destroyed by January 1945, when the Soviets entered the city.
THE WARSAW UPRISING MUSEUM
The Warsaw Rising Museum is one of the most visited places in Warsaw. Opened on the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of fighting in the city, it is a tribute to those who fought and died for a free Poland and its capital. The exhibition shows the struggle of everyday life before and during the Warsaw Uprising and the horror of occupation – which was a complex international situation – to the post-war communist terror and the fate of insurgents in the PRL. Images and sounds present the days prior to the outbreak of the Uprising, its subsequent phases, as well as the insurgents' exit and their subsequent fate. With an area of over 3,000 meters, there are nearly 1,000 exhibits and 1,500 photographs and films.
The heart of the Museum is a steel monument, passing through all the floors of the building. On its walls is engraved the Uprising's calendar of events, and the sound of a heartbeat which can be heard from inside symbolizes the life of Warsaw in 1944. A special attraction is the Museum tower (shown on the card), with a beautiful view of Warsaw and Freedom Park with the Memorial Wall, on which are engraved the names of more than 10,000 insurgents who died during battle. In the central part of the wall the ‘Monter' bell (shown on card No. 1 in a different auction) is hung: weighing 230 kg, it is dedicated to General Antoni Chrusciel.
