2020 The Warsaw Rising Remembrance
Honoring the Heroes
of Warsaw Uprising
on August 1 at “W” hour
(5 pm of Warsaw time, 10 am of CST)
In line with many years of tradition, thousands of Poles gathered at major intersections, squares and places of remembrance in Warsaw to honor the heroes of the Warsaw Uprising (8/1/1944 – 10/2/1944) with a minute of solemn silence held to the sounds of alarm sirens and dramatic illumination of handheld flares.
The uprising was the largest military effort undertaken by any resistance movement in the entire German-occupied Europe. About 40,000-50,000 insurgents gave their all to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. Help from the approaching Soviet Army never came and after 63 days of heroic effort, the revolt was brutally crushed. The death tool and destruction of the city was immense. Nearly 200,000 insurgents and civilians lost their lives, about 500,000 people were driven out of Warsaw and 85% of the city was razed to the ground in the course of systematic annihilation carried out in the months following the uprising.
The central observance took place at the Gloria Victis (“Glory to the Vanquished”) monument at the Powązki Military Cemetery in Warsaw. Much attention went this year to the Warsaw’s district of Wola, where Polish President Andrzej Duda paid tribute to the victims of the Wola Massacre. In this largest of the kind crime committed during the entire WWII, German soldiers slaughtered in just three days (August 3-5,1944) about 40,000-65,000 mostly civilians, including patients and staff of the Wola Hospital.
The memory of Warsaw Uprising was honored also by the ambassadors of the United States, Israel and Germany. Georgette Mosbacher, the U.S. ambassador to Poland, twitted: “On August 1, 1944, Poles embarked upon a heroic fight for their beloved city and homeland. Freedom is not free. Our Marines pay tribute to the fallen Heroes of the Warsaw Uprising.” and “As @POTUS said in Krasińscy Square in his speech to the veterans of the Warsaw Uprising: “We salute your noble sacrifice and we pledge to always remember your fight for Poland and for freedom.” 01.08.1944 – We remember!” In the article entitled “Heroes of Western Civilization: 76 Years After the Warsaw Uprising,” the White House recalls the main points of this speech while acknowledging it as “one of the most important speeches of his presidency.”
On the other hand, the German Embassy placed this somber message on social media: “As a sign of deep pain and shame caused by the crimes of the German occupier during the fighting with the population of Warsaw during the Warsaw Rising, the German embassy lowered the flags to half of the masts’ height. The Chargé d’affaires of the embassy has laid a wreath at the monument of Warsaw Rising.”
Selected media with information about the Warsaw Uprising in 1944
and its commemoration at the “W” hour each year.
Archived Posts
- 2023 Wianki Festival
- 2023 May 3rd Constitution Day Celebration
- 2023 Lecture on Polish Borders by Prof. Don Pienkos
- 2023 REMEMBER THIS: Jan Karski movie premieres on PBS Wisconsin
- 2023 Upcoming lectures in the Polish Center of Wisconsin
- 2022 Polish National Independence Day
- 2022 Independence and Veteran Day Luncheon (invitation)
- 2022 Wianki, Polish Celebration of Noc Świętojańska (St. John’s Night)
- Celebrating Constitution of May 3, 1791 in Polish Center of Wisconsin
- 2022 Polish Constitution Day, Polish Flag Day and the Day of Polonia
- 2022 March Bulletin
- 2022 Polonia For Ukraine Donations
- 2022 Polish American Congress Condemns Russian Invasion of Ukraine
- 2022 PAC-WI State Division Letters to WI Senators and Representatives
- 2021 Polish Christmas Carols
- 2021 Panel Discussion: Martial Law in Poland 1981-1983 (REPORT)
- 2021 Panel Discussion: Martial Law. Poland 1981-1983 (invitation)
- 2021 Solidarity: Underground Publishing and Martial Law 1981-1983
- 2021 Polish Independence Day and Veterans Day
- 2021 Polish Independence Day and Veterans Day Luncheon
- 2021 Prof. Pienkos lecture: Polish Vote in US Presidential Elections
- 2021 POLISH HERITAGE MONTH EVENTS
- 2021 “Freedom” Monument Unveiled in Stevens Point, Wisconsin
- 2021 PCW Picnic and Fair
- 2021 Remembering Września Children Strikes (1901-1903)
- 2021 May 3 Constitution Day
- 2021 DYKP Contest Winners and Answers
- 2021 DYKP CONTEST EXTENDED and CASIMIR PULASKI DAY
- 2021 February announcements
- 2021 Polish Ministry of Education and Science oficials visit Wisconsin
- 2021 DYKP Contest, KF Gallery and Dr. Pease lectures
- 2020 Help Enact Resolution commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Katyn Massacre
- 2020 Independence And Veterans Day
- 2020 Remembering Paderewski
- 2020 POLISH HERITAGE MONTH
- 2020 Solidarity born 40 years ago
- 2020 Battle of Warsaw Centenary
- 2020 The Warsaw Rising Remembrance
- 2020 June/July News: Polish Elections, Polish Films Online and more
- 2020 Poland: Virtual Tours
- Centennial of John Paul II’s Birth
- 2020 Celebrating Polish Flag, Polonia and Constitution of May 3rd
- 2020 Polish Easter Traditions
- 2020 Census and Annual Election
- Flavor of Poland (Update 3)
- 2020 Copernicus, Banach & Enigma talk
- 2020 Do You Know Poland and other announcements
- 2020 Flavor of Poland (Update 2)
- 2020 People and Events of the Year
- 2019 Holidays
- 2019 December Medley
- 2019 Independence Celebration
- 2019 Independence Invitation
- 2019 WI Study in Poland Reports
- Lecture: Poland’s Entry Into the NATO
- August 2019 anniversaries
- 2019 Polish Fest
- Celebrating Polish Constitution and Ignacy Paderewski
- WSIP 2018 Reports (Wisconsin Study in Poland)
- 2018 Christmas Carols
- 2018 Polish Independence and Veterans Day
- November 2018 events
- October 2018 Events
- 2018 Kashube Lecture Notes
- September 2018 events
- 2018 Polish Fest Report
- Upcoming 2018 Polish Fest
- Celebrating Polish Constitution Day
- Poland 1979-1989 (panel discussion)
- Protest the Passage of S.447 in the U.S. House of Representatives
- STOP H.R.1226
- 2018 People and Events
- 2017 Polish Christmas Carols