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Location Date Fri, 28 June 2013
1372433280 Thu, 27 June 2013 1372314180 Wed, 26 June 2013 1372273020
Day 69
28 June 2013
Warsaw
In years gone by, if anyone would have asked me which country or people suffered the most during world war two my answer would have been Poland. I knew this from the many many documentaries I saw about the second world war during the time when I grew up. During the war, Warsaw saw a large section blocked off and turned into a Jewish ghetto. This was the largest ghetto in Nazi occupied Europe with around 400.000 Jews being put in a area of just 3.4 km2. Of these people around 250.000 where deported to Treblinka extermination camp where they were brutally murdered. When the Jews found out what was happing to them they staged an uprising in which they barricaded the streets and fought the Germans with whatever means they had. The standoff lasted several months and cost another 40.000 lives. All in all of the 400.000 people, 300.000 died in the camps and during the uprising. Near the end of the war the whole nabourhood was destroyed by the Germans and only a tiny bit of the wall remains.
Today I visited the "Uprising Museum". Very interesting but also very confronting. I believe these stories need to be told as it would too easy for those responsible to deny them in the future. Also what needs to be told is that, although the Russians occupied Poland before the war; during the time of the uprising when people ran out of food, water and materials to fight, and were literally dying in the street because hunger, the Russians did…absolutely nothing. I bet they don't teach that in the Russian schools or tell that to history students.
I have included some pictures to day although yesterday I decided against that.
Stalin
During the USSR that the Communist dominated eastern Europe, Stalin handed out some buildings which are very similar. Right in the middle of Warsaw is such building which looks very similar to the one in Riga (in Latvia).
In Riga they call this building Stalin’s birthday cake. I don’t know what they call it here. Today I went to the Warsaw building and showed the people at the ticket office the picture of the building I had taken in Riga; they were very surprised as they thought this was a unique building- sorry not so.
Well, it is goodbye Poland and hello to Germany tomorrow
28 June 2013
Warsaw
In years gone by, if anyone would have asked me which country or people suffered the most during world war two my answer would have been Poland. I knew this from the many many documentaries I saw about the second world war during the time when I grew up. During the war, Warsaw saw a large section blocked off and turned into a Jewish ghetto. This was the largest ghetto in Nazi occupied Europe with around 400.000 Jews being put in a area of just 3.4 km2. Of these people around 250.000 where deported to Treblinka extermination camp where they were brutally murdered. When the Jews found out what was happing to them they staged an uprising in which they barricaded the streets and fought the Germans with whatever means they had. The standoff lasted several months and cost another 40.000 lives. All in all of the 400.000 people, 300.000 died in the camps and during the uprising. Near the end of the war the whole nabourhood was destroyed by the Germans and only a tiny bit of the wall remains.
Today I visited the "Uprising Museum". Very interesting but also very confronting. I believe these stories need to be told as it would too easy for those responsible to deny them in the future. Also what needs to be told is that, although the Russians occupied Poland before the war; during the time of the uprising when people ran out of food, water and materials to fight, and were literally dying in the street because hunger, the Russians did…absolutely nothing. I bet they don't teach that in the Russian schools or tell that to history students.
I have included some pictures to day although yesterday I decided against that.
Stalin
During the USSR that the Communist dominated eastern Europe, Stalin handed out some buildings which are very similar. Right in the middle of Warsaw is such building which looks very similar to the one in Riga (in Latvia).
In Riga they call this building Stalin’s birthday cake. I don’t know what they call it here. Today I went to the Warsaw building and showed the people at the ticket office the picture of the building I had taken in Riga; they were very surprised as they thought this was a unique building- sorry not so.
Well, it is goodbye Poland and hello to Germany tomorrow
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