Blue sky white clouds view east across Krasinski Square to memorial columns and pink building, Warsaw Uprising Monument, Poland
The Warsaw Uprising Monument was unveiled 1 August 1989, the 45th Anniversary of the Uprising. The bronze monument is 10m (33ft) tall and consists of two parts. The larger part shows insurgents actively engaged in combat and running from a collapsing building. The smaller part of the monument shows insurgents descending into a manhole, a reference to the insurgents using Warsaw's sewer canals to move across German-held territory. The smaller part of the monument is also a specific reference to the evacuation of 5300 insurgents from Warsaw's Old Town to the city centre, at the beginning of September, 1944. The five hour journey started at Krasinski Square, where small plaque, at the intersection of Dluga and Miodowa Streets, stands above the two manholes actually used for the evacuation. The uprising, 1 August to 2 October 1944, was organised by the Polish Resistance Movement Home Army, which fought for Polish independence during Word War 2. The Russians, arriving at the east bank of the Vistula, after the Uprising had started, held back from helping the insurgents, at the same time refusing planes from the Western Allies to land and refuel on Soviet-held territory. After the Uprising was crushed, the Germans expelled the city's population and spent October, November and December 1944 destroying Warsaw. The Soviets entered the city in January 1945, after the Germans had left. The post-war Communist authorities played down the Uprising, because of its associations with Polish independence. My guide told me that some Poles, today, although not doubting the bravery of the insurgents, consider the Uprising was ill-advised because of the proximity of the Russians and the destruction that befell Warsaw (90 per cent of the city being destroyed) both during and after the event. View across the square to memorial columns with Uprising Battalion names and building with information boards entitled 'Exhibition of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944'.
Size: 5472px × 3648px
Location: Warsaw Uprising Monument, Krasinski Square at Dluga Street, Warsaw, Poland
Photo credit: © robert harrison / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: blue, building, clouds, columns, courtyard, green, grey, krasinski, krasinskich, memorial, monument, mounument, paving-stones, pavings, people, pillars, pink, plac, plasterwork, poland, public, sky, square, tourists, uprising, urban, view, wall, warsaw, white
