30 June 2004

The 60th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, one of the most tragic developments of World War II, falls on Aug. 1. It involved a heavy death toll-nearly 300,000 soldiers and civilians-and resulted in the total destruction of the city.

The Uprising lasted until Oct. 2, 1944. Its objective was to liberate Poland's capital from the Germans so that Polish people could meet the approaching Red Army in a free capital city, the beginning of a restored and independent state. Unfortunately, the city remained isolated and for 63 days waged a battle of honor. Some 50,000 soldiers, chiefly young people, took part in the fighting. Nearly half of them were killed, including many artists, such as Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński. His poems depicting the horror of those days still move readers. The civilian population suffered enormous losses. Thousands of people died not only during the fighting itself but also after the failure of the Uprising. Some 500,000 people were forced to evacuate.

Hitler decided to raze Warsaw to the ground. He sent military and SS units composed of the worst criminals released from prisons-Germans, Ukrainians and Russians-to exterminate the city. Almost 90 percent of the urban structure in West-bank Warsaw and the property of city residents was destroyed. Not a single family in Warsaw managed to avoid heavy losses as a result of the Uprising. Splendid historic buildings were turned into rubble and only parts of them were later rebuilt. Priceless collections of Warsaw museums and Polish historical records were also destroyed. Residential houses were no longer usable and streets were covered by heaps of rubble.

In many of his poems, for example the famous Pokolenie (Generation), Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński expressed concern that future generations would not remember and appreciate the sacrifices made by the Warsaw Uprising soldiers. His worries were not groundless. This year, 60 years have passed since those developments. Over this period, former communist authorities made many efforts to erase or falsify the memory of the Uprising and its participants. However, there were also attempts to establish a Warsaw uprising Museum. Twenty three years ago such an institution commemorating the uprising was established, although not as a separate museum but as a department of the Warsaw History Museum.

The present mayor of Warsaw, Lech Kaczyński, the son of a Warsaw Uprising insurgent, identified the establishment of the Museum as one of his most important objectives. For the Museum's premises, he selected a building which previously housed a plant that supplied Warsaw trams with electricity, located on Przyokopowa Street. Warsaw authorities have already set aside over zl.30 million to convert the building into a museum. Wojciech Obtułowicz, a Cracow architect, won the contest for the museum design.

The interiors are to be austere and finished in concrete. A Freedom Park will be constructed outside, complete with a Remembrance Alley nearby. A 156-meter-long wall featuring the names of the fallen will extend alongside the Alley. A bell named after Warsaw Uprising commander Antoni Chruściel, dubbed Monter, will be placed in the center of the wall. The Alley and Freedom Park will surround a square where assemblies will be held. A monument, chipped, scored with bullets and bearing the most important dates of the Uprising, will be built on the square.

The Museum will incorporate the latest technologies, for example multi-media techniques, in order to attract young visitors. One of the best Polish film composers, Wojciech Kilar, is writing music for the Museum. Polish actors Janusz Gajos and Teresa Budzisz-Krzyżanowska will record commentary for individual exhibitions. Sewers under the building will be adapted for the needs of the exposition as a reference to Warsaw Uprising realities: Home Army (AK) soldiers used sewers to move from one point of fighting to another. For the time being, only part of the Museum, located in the building standing close to Przyokopowa Street, will be opened to the public. The remaining part, with the largest exposition, will open by the end of 2005.

The collections of the Warsaw Uprising Museum are composed of under 20,000 exhibits including rings, identity cards, armbands used by Warsaw Uprising soldiers, weapons, uniforms and German hardware, and so on. Among the collected exhibits are objects of such symbolic significance as a slice of bread taken from the destroyed city by one of the fighting Poles. Thousands of documents and testimonies offered by participants in the fighting as well as negatives depicting the tragedy of the city will also be on display. A majority of the exhibits were donated by former insurgents and their descendants. The collection of Warsaw uprising mementos was held in the Museum on Nov. 9-11, 2003.

The Museum's opening on July 31 will be part of very solemn commemorations of the 60th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising to be held from July 30 to Aug. 1. A group of 4,500 veterans who took part in the fighting will be the guests of honor. Government representatives, including German chancellor Gerhard Schröder, cultural and academic representatives, including Prof. Norman Davies, the author of a book on the Warsaw Uprising, will also attend. The book's Polish edition will be presented to the public for the first time during the ceremonies. Concerts, a military parade and a presentation of films related to the Warsaw Uprising will accompany the event.

The objective of the Museum is to show that the Uprising, which started on Aug. 1, 1944, was a result of the consistent implementation of plans by the Polish clandestine state in pursuit of a single goal-an independent Poland.

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