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August 1, 1944 Polish uprising remembered (Read 492 times)
Aug 2nd, 2009 at 11:27pm

Webb   Ex Member
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Sirens wailed across the Polish capital Saturday as elderly veterans and thousands of ordinary people held emotional commemorations of an ill-fated World War II revolt against the Nazi German occupiers.

At 5:00 pm (1500 GMT) -- the exact time the Warsaw uprising was launched on August 1, 1944 -- traffic drew to a halt and pedestrians stopped to observe a minute's silence.

A huge crowd also flocked to Warsaw's main military cemetery to lay flowers on the graves of those who died in the 63 days of bitter street fighting, which sparked brutal Nazi reprisals ...

The 1944 uprising was led by the Home Army -- commanded by Poland's London-based government-in-exile -- which secretly deployed around 50,000 fighters in Warsaw.

It was part of a series of Polish revolts behind German lines as a Soviet offensive drove back the Nazis.

Against overwhelming odds, the poorly-armed Home Army began preparing as early as 1940. It hoped to take the entire city in 1944 but could only seize pockets.

Around 18,000 Polish fighters died in the revolt, and some 17,000 Nazi troops. Around 200,000 civilians were massacred, or killed by crossfire and bombing, as the Nazis took Warsaw back street by street.

The Home Army capitulated on October 2 when Germany agreed to treat its members as prisoners of war rather than execute them as "bandits".

The Nazis expelled Warsaw's remaining 500,000 inhabitants and razed the city ...


The Allies didn't treat them much better, handing them over to the Soviet Union for another 40 years of subjugation.
 
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Reply #1 - Aug 4th, 2009 at 5:39am

EJW   Offline
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Yes, Yalta was a waste of time. The Western allies (UK, USA) both believed that the the Baltic States, Poland, Czech and Hungary should have been given the opertunity to become democratic. Sadly, this didn't happen for some time.
 
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Reply #2 - Aug 9th, 2009 at 10:06am

The-Black-Sheep   Offline
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R.I.P Kyle - Will never
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WebbPA wrote on Aug 2nd, 2009 at 11:27pm:
The Allies didn't treat them much better, handing them over to the Soviet Union for another 40 years of subjugation.


I wouldn't say the Allies simply handed them over. It's difficult to explain from memory how politically sensitive the situation was.

I recommend the book 'Berlin' by Antony Beever. It gives a great insight into the final months of the Eastern Front, followed by the climatic battle for Berlin itself. Also illustrates how it all started between the USSR and the Western countries. I think the best way I can describe it is paranoia of epic proportions  Shocked

Alec
 

FAC: "It sounds pretty bad"&&&&Jerry Shriver: "No, no. I've got 'em right where I want 'em - surrounded from the inside."&&&&Jerry M Shriver - M.I.A 24th Arpil 1969, Cambodia
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Reply #3 - Aug 10th, 2009 at 5:30am

Webb   Ex Member
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I'll look for the book.

If you were there (in 1945) you remember it a lot better than I do but I'm only a student of history looking back in perfect 360° vision.

I remember Americans being terrified by the Soviet Union until Ronald Reagan stood up and called their bluff.
 
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Reply #4 - Aug 10th, 2009 at 8:42am

The-Black-Sheep   Offline
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R.I.P Kyle - Will never
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You definitely won't be disappointed by it Webb Smiley

Alec
 

FAC: "It sounds pretty bad"&&&&Jerry Shriver: "No, no. I've got 'em right where I want 'em - surrounded from the inside."&&&&Jerry M Shriver - M.I.A 24th Arpil 1969, Cambodia
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