The origin of Warsaw dates back to the end of the 13th century or possibly the beginning of the 14th. After only one century, Warsaw became the most important city of the independent Duchy of Mazovia, which was annexed to the Kingdom of Poland in 1526. King Sigismund III Vasa decided to move the capital of Poland from Krakow to Warsaw in 1596, after a fire destroyed the Wawel Castle.
He and his court finally moved to Warsaw in 1611, where today stands a 22-meter column topped by his statue, which serves as a reminder of him in the center of Castle Square.
castle square in Warsaw with a statue in honor of King Sigismund III
The Gothic was destroyed by fire in 1607 and later rebuilt in the spirit of the Renaissance and Baroque, only to fall into ruins again during the Swedish invasion between 1655 and 1657. At the Royal Castle, the residence of the Polish monarchs, the May 3rd constitution was adopted - the first document of its kind and the second in the world after the American constitution (1791).
Fight for independence in Warsaw
Partition followed soon after, when Warsaw, together with Muscovy, was annexed to Russia. During the Napoleonic Wars, the city received hope for liberation from invaders when the Duchy of Warsaw was founded in 1807. Following the fall of Napoleon, the kingdom of Poland was formed in the region of Muscovy, almost completely subordinate to Tsarist Russia.
The city of Warsaw and Poland regained their independence only at the end of the First World War. In 1920, Poland was attacked again, this time by the Bolsheviks, and the city had to defend itself in a battle known as the Miracle on the Vistula. After almost 20 years of Polish independence, Warsaw was occupied by the Nazis after the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939.
In 1940, the Germans established a Jewish ghetto camp in the center of the city. In 1943, an uprising broke out in the ghetto, but the captives had practically no chance of victory; the inhabitants of the camp were defeated a month after the start of their resistance. After that, the ghetto was destroyed. In 1944, as a result of the approach of the Soviet Army, a second uprising broke out, only this time involving the entire city. The citizens of Warsaw were unable to liberate their city, and the retreating Nazi troops destroyed it by 90%.
After the war, Warsaw became the capital of one of the satellite countries (republic) of the Soviet Union. From 1946 and in the following years, great efforts were made to reconstruct the Old Town in its pre-war form. In addition to the restoration of the historical districts of Warsaw, new socially realistic architecture appeared in the city. The population of Warsaw and its environs grew rapidly as new residential areas appeared in the 1970s.
Warsaw Old Town
The communist regime fell in 1989 after an agreement round table between the Communist Party and the opposition, held at the Radziwiłł Palace on Krakow Suburbs Street. Since then, Warsaw has experienced an incredible economic, cultural and architectural boom that is rapidly changing the face of the entire city.
Certainly, will not leave you indifferent. It has many attractions that distinguish it from other European capitals. In this city, history is closely intertwined with modern reality.
Warsaw - large modern city- a metropolis, but at the same time, the small streets of the old city make you plunge into the atmosphere of the early 19th century. Beautifully restored old buildings. Over the 700 years of its history, the city and its inhabitants have experienced many blows. Before the war, Warsaw was called the "Paris of the North" for its magnificent architecture and street atmosphere.
Warsaw is located in the Masovian region in central Poland. Almost all city attractions are on the left bank, while most of the right bank is occupied by a trendy area called Prague.
Although settlements on the site of today's Warsaw already existed in the 10th century, the first fortified city arose here in the second half of the 13th century. At the beginning of the 14th century Warsaw was one of the most important centers of Mazovia. When the last Duke of Mazovia died without issue in 1526, this specific principality became part of the Kingdom of Poland. Warsaw was equated in rights with his other cities.
At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, Warsaw became the capital of Poland. It didn't happen right away. King Sigismund III Vasa in 1596, after a grandiose fire of the Krakow Wawel Castle, moved to the Warsaw castle, but firmly settled here together with the court only in 1611. The main reasons for moving the capital to Warsaw were the convenient location of the city (closer to Lithuania and the Baltic Sea) and political considerations.
opened new chapter in the history of the city. Artists, scientists, merchants and artisans arrived in Warsaw. Palaces of nobles, churches and monasteries were built here.
The second half of the 17th and early 18th centuries were not favorable for the capital of Poland. The Swedish invasions, and then the worldwide craze, caused enormous damage to the city. Only during the Saxon Wettin dynasty was Warsaw able to develop again. Second half of the 18th century.
However, the best times came for the capital under King Stanisław August Poniatowski. It was then that many banks and manufactories appeared, crafts and fine arts flourished, and the number of inhabitants grew.
In 1788-1792, the Four-Year (Great) Sejm sat in Warsaw. The most important act of which was the constitution adopted on May 3, 1791. But it soon lost its meaning. And there was no point in fulfilling all the laws prescribed in the constitution. Because at the end of the 18th century, Prussia, Austria and Russia partitioned Poland. This was done in stages, in 1772, 1793 and 1795. Warsaw came under Prussian rule. New borders, new rules and laws.
After the defeat of the Prussian army by Napoleon, in 1807, the Duchy of Warsaw was formed. It did not last long. Already in 1813, after the defeat of the French, Russian troops occupied Warsaw.
Another change brought Congress of Vienna 1815. By his decision, the Kingdom (Kingdom) of Poland was formed with its capital in Warsaw, subordinate to the Russian Empire. However, the increasing expansion of the power of the tsar's governor, the violation of the constitution, the restriction of political freedoms, the persecution of the opposition led to the formation of secret patriotic societies and, ultimately, an uprising that broke out in November 1830. After his defeat, the Kingdom lost the remnants of autonomy, and the construction of the Citadel, the place of execution of many Poles, became a symbol of the enslavement of the capital.
Romuald Traugutt, the dictator of the January uprising of 1863-1864, and members of the National Government formed at that time died here in 1864. At the end of the First World War, in 1918, Poland regained its independence. Warsaw again became the capital of a free country.
But already on September 1, 1939, the first german bombs. For four weeks Warsaw waged an unequal struggle. And again the capital became the center of underground activity. Throughout the years of occupation, newspapers and leaflets were printed here, secret training was conducted, the Union of Armed Struggle was created, later transformed into the Home Army. The Resistance Movement organized sabotage, handed down and carried out executions of death sentences against the Nazis, who distinguished themselves with particular cruelty.
The Warsaw Uprising is one of the most difficult topics V recent history Poland. On August 1, 1944, the population of the city rose to fight against the German invaders. The initiator of the uprising was the bourgeois government in exile in London. The goal of this government was to win legitimacy just before the city was entered. Soviet troops. The heroic struggle of the rebels ended in defeat. The population was expelled from Warsaw, which the Germans decided to wipe out.
Systematically, blowing up house after house, they demolished entire neighborhoods, especially violently destroying the most valuable monuments of Polish culture. Only ruins remained of the city. After the end of the war, among the ruins in Warsaw, life quickly revived. Old residents returned and new ones arrived. The city was gradually rebuilt.
Now it is hard to believe that there were once ruins on the flourishing metropolis, which Warsaw appears to the eyes of the guests. Construction was carried out extensively and not always reasonably. Therefore, the current layout of the city may seem chaotic: next to the surviving or restored architectural monuments, there are large-panel buildings of the seventies.
And yet, it was possible to achieve what seemed impossible: in a few years the city was restored from ruins. Such historical ensembles as the Old Town, the streets of the Krakow suburb and many others have been carefully restored. New residential areas, streets and highways appeared. The city is constantly expanding: growing high-rise buildings, Modern Office Buildings. In Warsaw, numerous monuments and memorials to the fallen people remind of the past war. For example, a monument to the small defender of the city. And now flowers are placed at its foot.
Warsaw - a revived city
The name Warsaw includes two names: Warsh and Sawa. Varsh is a young fisherman who once met the beautiful mermaid Sava on the Vistula River.
As usual in all legends, they fell in love with each other, but could not be together, as they belonged to different worlds so they were together after death.
In honor of this couple, the city was named, and the mermaid is depicted on the coat of arms of Warsaw and is one of the symbols of the city.
"Legends of Warsaw"
Part one - Capital without a country
Quite a bit of time has passed and again I am walking along the wide streets of modern Warsaw.
"A little" is forty years. I haven't been in this city for so long.
An anniversary of sorts.
I still remember our restless guide, Pan Vladek, and his words, which he repeated more than once during a tour of Warsaw - thirty years ago there was nothing at this place.
Nothing like a city. Only broken bricks, fragments of concrete structures and other construction debris.
At the end of World War II, one of the most beautiful capitals in Europe turned into a pile of ruins. Remained memories, photographs, films.
The destruction was so severe that it was even proposed to move the capital of Poland to a new location. And the city on the Vistula should be mothballed in order to use it as a museum in the future.
But Warsaw has revived and today it is a dynamic, developing city that has restored old buildings almost from scratch, built the "Warsaw Manhattan", metro, wide spacious avenues with monumental buildings.
The city is developing steadily, being an important economic and political center of the country, a major transport hub in Europe.
Warsaw retains its own unique atmosphere, attracting many visitors from all over the world.
Excursion into history
Another version of the story about the emergence of the capital of Poland.
A certain Prince Casimir once got lost in a dense forest while hunting. After wandering a little, he came to the banks of the Vistula River, where there was a fishing hut. When he got there, he saw happy family a fisherman who had just given birth to two beautiful babies.
The parents decided to name them Varsh and Sava.
Prince Casimir became their godfather and, as a sign of gratitude for the hospitality and the honor of the godfather, he awarded the fisherman's family.
With this money, the fisherman built a new strong house, and over time, other fishermen began to build around it.
Thus, a small town called Warsaw was founded.
"Legends of Warsaw"
The history of Warsaw is an extraordinary mixture of will to survive, courage and positive energy of its inhabitants.
For almost a thousand years, life in this city on the banks of the Vistula River has been in full swing.
Warsaw is the largest in terms of the number of inhabitants (1,810,594 people in 2012) and the largest city in the Republic of Poland, located in the eastern part of the country.
It was founded by the princes of Mazovia at the beginning of the 14th century, who built a fortress on the site of today's Royal Castle.
In 1526, Warsaw, as part of the Duchy of Mazovia, became part of the Kingdom of Poland, and in 1610 became its capital.
In 1655-1658 the city was besieged three times by the Swedes and was completely plundered, but by the end of the 17th century Warsaw again became an important cultural center of Europe.
The city underwent a period of decline as a result of the three partitions of Poland in 1772, 1793, 1795 between Germany, the Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empires.
Located in the eastern part of the divided country, Warsaw "got" tsarist Russia. As well as Lodz - the largest industrial center of this region.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, during the industrial "boom" in Russia, thanks to large investments, these cities become the largest textile centers.
Warsaw traditionally continues to serve as the capital of a non-existent state.
The pompous name - "The Grand Duchy of Poland" actually hid an ordinary outlying province of the Russian Empire, and far from rich.
Here is such a capital without a country - an independent Polish state did not exist for almost a century and a half.
With the outbreak of the First World War, both the tsarist government and the Germans and the Austrians officially promised the Poles after the victory to recreate an independent monarchy.
As a result, thousands of Poles in 1914-1918 fought on both sides of the front.
Warsaw and the "notorious" Jewish question
Being part of the Russian Empire, Warsaw was territorially located in the zone of the "Jewish Pale of Settlement", which began in Central Ukraine and stretched through Galicia and Western Belarus, almost throughout Poland.
The earliest documentary mention of the Jewish population in Warsaw dates back to 1414. In 1483 Jews were forbidden to live in the city.
In 1795 Warsaw was ceded to Prussia. During this period, a significant immigration of Jews to Warsaw began. Mainly from Prussia and Silesia.
In 1807, under the auspices of Napoleon I, the Duchy of Warsaw was created. Jews were recognized as full citizens, but already in 1808 their rights were limited.
In 1809, a special quarter was created in which Jews were allowed to live - owners of real estate, wholesalers, manufacturers, bankers, army suppliers and doctors.
Under Russian rule, Warsaw became the largest Jewish center in Europe.
By 1914, 337 thousand Jews lived here, which accounted for about 38% of the city's population.
The growth of the Jewish population in Warsaw was mainly the result of an influx from other parts of the Russian Empire, especially intensified after the pogroms of 1881.
Jews played an important role in banking, in various branches of trade and in industry. So, in 1847, out of 20 bankers in Warsaw, 17 were Jews.
At the same time, among the Jews of Warsaw, there was a significant aggravation of social contradictions.
The assimilation of the Jews of Warsaw was initially due to the influence of German culture, and later - Polish.
In the second half of the 19th century, assimilation was especially widespread among young people. The percentage of Jews converting to other religions was higher in Warsaw than in any other city in Eastern Europe.
The role and influence of Jews in such cities as Lublin, Vilnius, which at that time was not at all Lithuanian, but Polish - more precisely Jewish and, of course, Warsaw, cannot be separated from the political processes taking place in the country.
Part two - A country without a capital
Poland "from sea to sea"
After the end of the First World War, a new state appeared on the map of Europe - the Polish Republic.
This is a fact known to many. But few people know that the country gained independence during the full-scale Soviet-Polish war, which is perceived as part of the Civil War.
It is believed that the Poles took advantage of the circumstances, seceded from Russia and proclaimed Independence.
In fact, everything was much more complicated. So, there is still no unequivocal version of these events.
Here is one of them.
In 1915, the Russian army, under pressure from the enemy, was forced to retreat from the Vistula River to the east. The entire Polish territory was under the control of the Germans, and in November 1918, after the surrender of Germany, power over Poland automatically passed to Jozef Pilsudski.
This Polish nationalist has been engaged in anti-Russian struggle for a quarter of a century. With the outbreak of the First World War, he formed volunteer detachments as part of the Austro-Hungarian troops. After the surrender of Germany and Austria, they became the basis of the new Polish government, and Pilsudski officially received the title of dictator.
New Poland, led by Jozef Pilsudski, was supported by the winners in the First World War, primarily France and the United States.
Taking advantage of such support and the general turmoil that engulfed central countries Europe at the end of the First World War, a revived Poland immediately came into conflict with all its neighbors over borders and territories.
For the new, nationalist authorities in Warsaw, Time of Troubles 1918-1919, when there were no stable authorities and states in the center of Europe, it seemed very convenient to restore the borders of the ancient "Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth" - the Polish empire of the 16th-17th centuries, stretching "from sea to sea", that is, from the Baltic to Black Sea coast.
In February 1919, in Minsk, the Bolsheviks proclaimed the creation of the "Lithuanian-Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic", and on the same days the first battles of Soviet and Polish troops began on these lands.
Both sides tried to quickly correct the chaotically folding borders in their favor.
The Poles were more fortunate then - by the summer of 1919, all the forces of the Soviet government were diverted to the war with the White armies of Denikin, who launched a decisive offensive on the Don and in the Donbass.
By that time, the Poles had captured Vilnius, the western half of Belarus and all of Galicia, that is, western Ukraine, where Polish nationalists fiercely suppressed the uprising of Ukrainian nationalists for six months.
In August 1919, the advancing White armies occupied the ancient Russian capital of Kyiv, while the advancing Poles captured Minsk.
Soviet Moscow found itself between two fires, and at that time it seemed to many that the days of Bolshevik power were numbered. Indeed, in the case of joint actions of Whites and Poles, defeat Soviet armies would be inevitable.
In September 1919, the Polish embassy arrived in Taganrog at the headquarters of General Denikin, met with great solemnity.
The mission from Warsaw was led by General Alexander Karnitsky, Knight of St. George and former Major General of the Imperial Russian Army.
While negotiations were underway with the Whites, the Polish troops stopped the offensive against the Reds. After all, the victory of the Whites threatened the appetites of the Polish nationalists in relation to the Russian lands.
Pilsudski decided to wait until the Red Russians pushed the White Russians back to the outskirts, and then start a war against the Bolsheviks with the full support of the leading Western states.
This option promised the Polish nationalists the maximum bonuses in case of victory - the capture of vast Russian territories, up to the restoration of the Commonwealth from the Baltic to the Black Sea.
Polish troops continued local battles and skirmishes with the Bolsheviks, but Pilsudski's main forces remained motionless..
It was the position of Poland that predetermined the strategic defeat of the Whites in the Russian civil war. This was directly recognized by one of the best red commanders of those years, Tukhachevsky.
Having waited for the final defeat of Denikin and, thus becoming the main ally of the Entente in Eastern Europe, Piłsudski decided to continue the Soviet-Polish war. Relying on weapons generously supplied by the West, he hoped to quickly defeat the main forces of the Red Army, weakened by long battles with the Whites, and force Moscow to cede all the lands of Ukraine and Belarus to Poland.
The head of the Whites in the Crimea, General Wrangel, bluntly stated that Poland now has the most powerful army in Eastern Europe. fighting fought on a huge front from the Baltic to Romania. The main forces of the Red Army were still in the North Caucasus and Siberia, where they finished off the remnants of the White armies.
On May 7, 1920, the Poles occupied Kyiv - this was the seventeenth change of power in the city in the last three years.
The broad sections of the Russian population perceived the invasion of the Poles and the capture of Kyiv as an external aggression.
Soviet authority managed to quickly transfer reserves to Ukraine and Belarus.
Piłsudski's headquarters did not expect that the Bolsheviks would be able to concentrate their troops so quickly. Therefore, despite the superiority of the enemy in technology, the Red Army in June 1920 again occupied Kyiv, and in July - Minsk and Vilnius.
The uprisings of Belarusians in the Polish rear contributed to the Soviet offensive.
Piłsudski's troops were on the verge of defeat, which worried the Western patrons of Warsaw.
But here the sense of proportion betrayed the Bolshevik leaders.
The success of the counter-offensive against Polish aggression gave rise among them to hope for proletarian uprisings in Europe and the victory of the world revolution.
Soviet troops, despite losses and devastation in the rear, from last strength continued a decisive offensive, trying to take Lvov and Warsaw in August 1920.
Meanwhile, the West stepped up its military support for Poland.
The Soviet troops that made their way to Warsaw and Lvov, despite the successful offensive, found themselves in an extremely difficult situation. They were hundreds of kilometers away from the supply bases, due to the devastation in the rear, they were not able to deliver replenishment and supplies on time.
Soviet command also underestimated not only purely military problems, but also the national mood of the Poles.
Just as in Russia during the Polish invasion there was a reciprocal surge of Russian patriotism, so in Poland, when the Red troops reached Warsaw, a national upsurge began. This was facilitated by active Russophobic propaganda, which represented the advancing Red troops in the form of Asian barbarians.
The result of all these reasons was the successful counteroffensive of the Poles, launched in the second half of August 1920.
The Soviet troops defeated near Warsaw were partially captured, and partially retreated to the German territory of East Prussia.
The Bolsheviks could still gather new forces against the Poles, but they chose not to risk it - they were increasingly distracted by the peasant uprisings that flared up throughout the country.
As a result of the war, the plans of neither Moscow nor Warsaw were realized. The Bolsheviks failed to create Soviet Poland, and Piłsudski's nationalists failed to recreate the ancient borders of the Commonwealth, which included all Belarusian and Ukrainian lands.
Warsaw and the "notorious" Jewish question - continued
After Poland gained independence, the number of Jews in Warsaw increased markedly.
In 1918, 320,000 citizens who identified themselves as Jews lived in Warsaw, which made up about 42 percent of the city's population.
As a result of the anti-Jewish economic policy of the government of the dictator Piłsudski and anti-Semitic tendencies in ruling circles and among the Polish population the economic situation of the Jews deteriorated extremely.
But despite this, in 1918-39 Warsaw was the main center of the vibrant social and cultural life of Polish Jewry.
Many community institutions functioned, a large number of Jewish periodicals were published in Hebrew, Yiddish and Polish; active work was carried out by various Jewish political parties.
There was an extensive network of Jewish educational institutions with teaching in Hebrew and Yiddish. However, most Jewish children attended public public schools.
The Jews of Warsaw also received Active participation in the internal political activity of Poland.
Why "a country without a capital"?
With the formation of the independent Polish Republic in 1918, Warsaw officially became its capital.
This fact has been recognized by all the people and most countries of the world.
The new state united three parts - German, Austro-Hungarian and Russian.
Level economic development the first two was much higher than in the eastern regions. In the West were the most important industrial and cultural centers of the country - Wroclaw, Poznan, Gdansk, Katowice.
All these areas have identified themselves with the West - Germany, Austria, France.
Warsaw is located in the eastern part of the country, a zone mainly of a peasant, poor, gravitating towards the same poor, to put it mildly, regions like Galicia, Belarus, Ukraine.
Despite the official recognition of Warsaw as the capital of a united Poland, all instructions coming from there were considered in the West of the country as beneficial to the economic elite of these regions or not.
That is, the Polish bureaucratic machine worked, as it were, in reverse - from the provinces to the capital.
The second reason for what I call "a country without a capital" is the composition of Warsaw's population.
Let's face it - 42 percent of the Jewish population, according to official figures, is a blow to Polish nationalists.
This meant that a deeply religious, Christian country was ruled by a Jewish city.
The death of Warsaw
On September 29, 1939, Nazi German troops entered Warsaw.
The independent Polish state lasted only twenty years.
Today, both in Poland and in other countries, there are many versions about the reasons for the German invasion.
Nationalists, neo-fascists and others, both ultra-right and ultra-left elements and parties, give absolutely wild explanations. Here is one version.
"The Second World War began because of the Danzig corridor, former part Germany before transferring it to Poland Treaty of Versailles.
The Treaty of Versailles bankrupted Germany, causing a depression that allowed the Jewish oligarchs to buy up much of German industry.
International Jewry, represented by 80% of the Versailles negotiators, forced Germany to give up part of its eastern territories(Danzig Corridor) Poland.
Year 1937. Hitler asks Poland to grant Germany a 1-mile corridor to access East Prussia. The parties almost come to an agreement when, in 1939, Poland suddenly stops negotiations.
March 31, 1939. Britain and France give a guarantee of the defense of Poland - the Anglo-French Guarantee Pact.
They conclude a secret pact with Poland to protect her in the event of a German attack.
Encouraged by the guarantees of Roosevelt, Churchill and Deladier, Reedz Smigli - commander-in-chief of the Polish army with Ignacy Moscicki - the country's president, sabotaged the process of German-Polish negotiations on the Danzig corridor in every possible way.
On August 30, a German consul is assassinated in Krakow.
On August 31, Poland announced mobilization against Germany, and in order to reduce the number of casualties among the German minority in Poland (who were killed and brutally treated there before the war), Hitler had to launch BLitzkrieg against her.
Some analysts argue that in order to "save face" he should have waited for a Polish attack and even provoked it.
But then the war would have turned out to be protracted, and he could not save hundreds of thousands of lives of his fellow tribesmen. And if more than fifty thousand lives of German civilians living in Poland were killed and went missing in a two-week Blitzkrieg, how many would have been killed even in two months of the war if Hitler had given Poland to prepare properly?
From the spring of 1939, terror against the German minority in Poland intensified - in Tomaszew, Konstantinov, Pabinich, Lodz, Poznań province and Eastern Upper Silesia.
Bromberg. Peaceful German town, transferred to Poland by the Treaty of Versailles.
IN " Bloody Sunday"5,000 Germans were killed.
The Polish lumpen, confident of victory over Germany, went berserk at the possibility of quenching their Bloodlust.
Groups of Bolsheviks from Poznań, Łódź and Warsaw approached the city and began killing farmers in the suburbs.
Children were nailed to buildings, women were raped and killed with hoes, men were killed on the spot.
Such is the German version of the beginning of World War II.
Everything is clear with Germany and its neo-fascists. Of course, in their opinion, the initiative came from the Jewish capital of Poland - Warsaw.
What is the "Danzig Corridor"?
This term was used between the two world wars to refer to the Polish territory that separated the German ankh lava East Prussia from the main territory of Germany, including the province of Pomerania closest to it.
The territory of the "corridor" was transferred to Poland after the First World War, according to the Treaty of Versailles.
The "corridor" provided access from Polish Pomerania to the Baltic Sea.
It included the new Pomeranian Voivodeship, but did not include the independent German-speaking Free City of Danzig (Gdańsk).
Now let's turn to the eastern borders of the country.
Everything was much calmer here.
"At the request of the working people" of Galicia, Western Belarus, Lithuania and a number of other regions, the Red Army occupied these territories, thereby fulfilling the request of the local population to join the Soviet Union.
In this case, Stalin repeated Pilsudski's actions during the Soviet - Polish War.
The Red Army met with its then ally, the German Wehrmacht, on the new frontier of the Soviet Union.
Thus, according to the Molotov-Ribbentropp Pact and its secret appendices, another, fourth, division of Poland took place.
"Final decision Jewish question"in one single city
By the beginning of the German occupation of Warsaw, there were about 400,000 Jews in the city, making up about a third of the population.
During the first months, the German authorities carried out a significant number of anti-Jewish measures, publishing orders for forced labor, the obligatory wearing of distinctive signs on clothing, and the confiscation of Jewish property.
On October 2, 1940, the German military authorities set aside part of the city for a ghetto and imprisoned all the Jewish residents of Warsaw and refugees from the provinces. .
Until July 1940, 400,000 to 500,000 people lived in the ghetto. An average of 13 people lived in each room, but many thousands were homeless.
In the ghetto, surrounded by a high wall and isolated from the whole world, unemployment, hunger and disease reigned.
Adam Chernyakov - head of the Jewish police of the ghetto - "Judenrat" and many Jewish public figures did everything in their power to make life easier for the population.
Secret craft enterprises were organized, the products of which were sold illegally in the "Aryan" part of Warsaw.
Social and charitable institutions and mutual aid societies worked successfully. The network of religious and secular schools continued to operate.
In July 1942, mass deportations to the Treblinka extermination camp began.
Adam Chernyakov, from whom the authorities demanded cooperation in deportation actions, took his wife as a pledge and thereby blackmailing the head of the Judenrat, committed suicide.
Until September 13, 1942, 300,000 Jews were deported or died in the ghetto.
About 35,000 Jews, mostly factory workers and their families, were allowed to remain in the ghetto.
Some members of the underground organizations managed to escape from Treblinka.
They informed the leaders of the Jewish underground about the fate that awaited the deported Jews. Then the Jewish militant organization was created.
A small number of weapons were purchased, and clandestine workshops began to make homemade hand grenades and bombs.
On January 18, 1943, the second action for the deportation of Jews began.
This time, the underground, despite the meager armament and lack of appropriate military training, offered open armed resistance to the Germans.
Street fighting continued for 4 days. The Germans managed to send only six thousand people to Treblinka.
Life in the ghetto was virtually paralyzed. However, the Jewish Fighting Organization was preparing for armed resistance in the event of a new attempt by the German authorities to liquidate the ghetto.
April 19, 1943 German troops with the support of tanks and artillery, they launched an attack on the ghetto, where a mass uprising began.
The Germans were driven back and suffered heavy losses, after which they began to systematically burn the houses of the ghetto, carefully avoiding street fighting.
The Jewish fighting groups were actively fighting until May 8, 1943, when the Germans managed to capture the headquarters of the Jewish Fighting Organization.
Several rebel groups continued their armed resistance until June 1943.
Over the next few months, the Germans hunted down the last Jews hiding in the ruins.
The Warsaw ghetto uprising was the largest armed uprising against German troops in occupied Europe.
To completely extinguish the flames of the uprising, the Germans used the tactics of total destruction.
Today, within the former boundaries of the Warsaw Ghetto, only three buildings from that time have survived.
The Jewish uprising was crushed and the ghetto was razed to the ground.
In the "Aryan" part of Warsaw, life went on. Of course, not in the usual mode, but pretty close to it.
The fact that half of the city's population was burned in the crematorium ovens was no longer of interest to the "correct" Varsovians. Whoever managed to appropriate the real estate and belongings of those killed, and individual Jews who miraculously managed to escape from the hell of the destroyed ghetto were immediately handed over to the authorities.
Such "vigilant" behavior was welcomed not only by the occupation authorities, but also by the local authorities.
And it doesn’t matter that you, with your denunciation, sent a doctor who treated your family for many years or the world-famous writer and teacher Janusz Korczak, on whose books you and your children grew up, to the crematorium oven.
Well, there was no question of supporting the uprising in the ghetto.
Later, explaining their behavior, mainly to themselves or at confession in the church, the Polish "Aryans" said that they were afraid for their lives and for their families, since they could be next.
This version suited everyone, including the clergy.
But there were other people as well.
The Warsaw uprising against the Nazi occupiers, organized by the command of the Home Army and the representative office of the Polish government in London, began on August 1, 1944.
The uprising was militarily directed against the Germans, politically against the USSR, since the initiative came from a hostile Soviet Union, governments in exile.
Political manipulations in this, as in many other cases, led to heavy losses among the rebels and, in the end, to the death of the city ..
The immediate reason for the decision to start the uprising was unverified rumors that on the left, east coast The Vistula river appeared Soviet tanks.
Pursuing goals objectively directed against the Red Army, the leadership of the Home Army believed that it was the Soviet troops who should support the uprising.
According to the Poles today, on the left bank of the Vistula there were not a few tanks, but large forces of the Red Army. Almost the entire area has already been liberated from the Nazis.
But the Red Army did not come to the aid of the rebels. For political reasons.
To suppress the "unrest" the Germans used the same tactics as in the ghetto - the total destruction of everything that could hide the rebels.
During street fighting, about 25 percent of Warsaw's housing stock was destroyed, and after the surrender of the Polish forces, German troops purposefully, block by block, leveled another 34 percent. Add to this the destroyed ghetto.
By the end of World War II, only ruins remained on the site of one of the most beautiful capitals in Europe.
The city is a phantom, the city is a ghost.
It will be easy. For PLN 4 you can take buses No. 148 (to the Ursunov and Prague districts), No. 175 (to the central railway station) and No. 188 (to the metro station near the station). And at night, bus number 32 runs, which also goes to the station.
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Every 15 minutes, a train departs from the airport and stops at Central railway station. If you are in a hurry, you can also take a taxi, but it will cost 40 PLN (€9.50).
It is better to buy tickets for tickets at newsstands or vending machines, the list and location of which can be viewed. You can also pay for the fare with the driver, but the ticket in this case will cost more.
There are a lot of varieties of transport tickets in Warsaw - from valid for 20 minutes to a monthly pass. You can familiarize yourself with all their types and prices. If you come to the Polish capital for a weekend, we recommend using special weekend passes for one person (PLN 24) or for a group of up to 5 people (PLN 40 in total).
Tourist card
The tourist map of Warsaw is slightly different from those offered by most European capitals. It applies only to visits to the main attractions, but does not give the right to travel in public transport.
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But along with the Warsaw Sightseeing Pass, you get a detailed guide and the opportunity to ride the Hop on Hop off sightseeing bus. You can buy a card in one of or online. The cost for 1 day is PLN 119, 2 days - PLN 159, 3 days - PLN 189. Tourists under 26 and over 65 receive a discount.
Free tours
To explore the city, you can use. But, judging by the reviews, he is boring. Where better to go on a tour of Warsaw with a local guide. Moreover, there is an opportunity to visit such a walking tour for free.
On this site you can view a list of the nearest similar events, and each of the proposed excursions is unique. There is also a standard sightseeing of the Old Town, and a route dedicated to the communist past of Warsaw, food and alcohol tours, as well as a non-standard Warsaw tour with visits to newfangled places.
The city was badly damaged during the Second World War, and many believe that because of this there is nothing to see in the city. Indeed, the Old Town in Warsaw is buildings recreated after the war, but the Prague area, which was not affected during the bombing, still retains the spirit of antiquity.
Of the must-see places, it is worth highlighting the Royal Palace (entrance - PLN 23), the Lazienko Palace and the beautiful park near it (entrance to the palace - 18 zlotys), the Chopin Museum (entrance - 22 zlotys) and the observation deck in the Palace of Culture. You can explore the old town by riding an old horse-drawn carriage - such a romantic walk will surely be remembered better than a boring sightseeing with a guidebook.
Keep in mind that many museums in Warsaw are closed on Mondays, so it's best to check their schedule in advance on official sites of attractions.
Experienced travelers are advised to avoid banks and exchange offices at hotels in Warsaw. The course and the commission in these institutions are extremely disadvantageous. We recommend looking for the so-called "cantors" (on the sign in Polish it will be indicated - Kantor) - this is where the most honest course without overpayments happens. The easiest way is to enter "kantor Warszawa" directly in the search engine - and the nearest cantors will be indicated on the map.
