Reflections on Warsaw
Poland: August 18 - August 20, 2006
Warsaw appeared to me as many other European cities; it has a new and modern part, and an Old Town area. And, as with too many other cities we've visited, the Old Town is only about 60 years old as Warsaw was completely destroyed during WWII. To me, what made Warsaw interesting wasn't the churches or architecture but the history I learned about and the new experiences I had.
On the first day, we visited Church of the Sacred Heart in the morning which was just as beautiful and imposing as many cathedrals I've seen. But, more importantly, that is where I learned about the massacre at Katyn as there was a monument to the victims. The story is that thousands of Polish officers, the best and the brightest of the Polish military and the intellectual elite, were shot and killed by Soviet officers. This occurred in 1940, but the Soviets denied it was them for 50 years, saying it was the Nazis although they did not occupy the area where the bodies were found until 1941. The Russian government finally admitted in 1990 the Soviets were responsible for the murders of more than 22,000 people, although they continue to deny it was a war crime which would force them by international law to prosecute surviving perpetrators.
Next, we went and heard a presentation by a Mr. Koslowski, a former Polish ambassdor to the US and Israel (I once again marveled at Professor Lazda's connections). Everything he told us about Polish foreign relations and their history in international organizations was very interesting. He is very knowledgable and an articulate speaker. However, the thing he said that stuck out most in my mind was his description of how America is viewed (or used to be viewed) by other countries. He said that America is like the most popular guy in high school who is smart, a jock, good-looking, and rich but whom everyone secretly hates. I think this is an accurate description of how other countries view and treat America, and also how America sometimes treats other countries.
Afterwards, we visited the presidential palace (I don't really remember this but I think something interesting was that the walls were painted in very strong colors, like dark blue, or deep pinkish-red) and also we went inside St. John's Church (I don't remember anything about this either; forgive me, this was our 18th day of travel).
We ate dinner at a little restaurant in the Old Town called the Barbakan. This would not be worth mentioning if not for the incident that occurred there. Two of our group ordered a meal that was described as having "an assortment" on top of it. Thinking this was an assortment of vegetables, they ordered, and were shocked to be served a meal covered in fish eyes, fish tentacles with suckers still visible, and other interesting fish parts. It was quite a scene. When the two went to tell our professors and mentioned the name of the dish, our professors immediately said, before the story was finished "Oh, no; you don't want to order that." It was pretty funny.
On the next day, we went to the Warsaw Uprising Museum which was phenomenal. If you don't know the story of the Warsaw Uprising, here's a quick overview (I hope I do it justice): Towards the end of WWII, the people of Warsaw were given to believe that the Soviets were coming to Warsaw and would help the inhabitants take back Warsaw from the Nazis. A revolt started in the city that lasted over 2 months. The Soviets, however, decided not to intervene in the battle and let the Nazis finish the city off. Well over 200,000 Poles were killed during the fight. Towards the end of the struggle, the last fighters took to the sewers to continue the resistance. There are monuments around the city depicting people emerging from sewer covers as well brick lines following the underground sewers where the fighters were. Parts of the museum were "decorated" as sewers to help people imagine what that must have been like. There was footage of the city and of survivors telling their stories. There were also huge blown-up pictures of people of the city. Its so much more powerful when you can put a face to a situation; its that much more real.
Afterwards, we also saw a monument to the youngest fighter in the Uprising. He was about 12 or 13, wearing his oversized helmet and uniform, clasping a gun in his arms. He died with the rest. The city was of course lost in the end.
We also saw the changing of the guard in front of the tomb of the unknown soldiers. I'm not sure why, but I always find this so fascinating. They have this in Riga as well. Every hour, on the hour, for most of the day, three soldiers approach the tomb in the military style, marching and what not, and two of the soldiers take the place of the two soldiers standing guard, and then the three soldiers turn around and leave. That sounds confusing. Anyway, when we were there to watch, a little girl was standing in the place where one of the soldiers needed to be as the guard was changing. As he came towards her, she kind of frantically scrambled out of the way. The soldier, young and good-looking, kind of smiled at her, and the crowd chuckled. The guards are not supposed to show any emotion or react to anything, so its always really fun when you get them to smile, like we did once to the guards in Riga.
Next, we visited the site of the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw, where the only ghetto uprising took place. There is nothing there now, just a park and a large monument, with stones showing the dimensions of the ghetto. In one section, there is a special monument as that is the place where one of the last holdouts from the uprising was, and where many people were killed.
On our last day in Warsaw, we went to Lazienki Park (spelling?) and saw the Palace on the Water, which was a rather small palace but still fabulously ornate. Afterwards, we heard a Chopin concert live in the park which was pretty sophisticated, even though we were sitting on the ground.
Warsaw is a beautiful city but the real draw for me was the amazing history. I'd love to learn more about it.
Warsaw appeared to me as many other European cities; it has a new and modern part, and an Old Town area. And, as with too many other cities we've visited, the Old Town is only about 60 years old as Warsaw was completely destroyed during WWII. To me, what made Warsaw interesting wasn't the churches or architecture but the history I learned about and the new experiences I had.
On the first day, we visited Church of the Sacred Heart in the morning which was just as beautiful and imposing as many cathedrals I've seen. But, more importantly, that is where I learned about the massacre at Katyn as there was a monument to the victims. The story is that thousands of Polish officers, the best and the brightest of the Polish military and the intellectual elite, were shot and killed by Soviet officers. This occurred in 1940, but the Soviets denied it was them for 50 years, saying it was the Nazis although they did not occupy the area where the bodies were found until 1941. The Russian government finally admitted in 1990 the Soviets were responsible for the murders of more than 22,000 people, although they continue to deny it was a war crime which would force them by international law to prosecute surviving perpetrators.
Next, we went and heard a presentation by a Mr. Koslowski, a former Polish ambassdor to the US and Israel (I once again marveled at Professor Lazda's connections). Everything he told us about Polish foreign relations and their history in international organizations was very interesting. He is very knowledgable and an articulate speaker. However, the thing he said that stuck out most in my mind was his description of how America is viewed (or used to be viewed) by other countries. He said that America is like the most popular guy in high school who is smart, a jock, good-looking, and rich but whom everyone secretly hates. I think this is an accurate description of how other countries view and treat America, and also how America sometimes treats other countries.
Afterwards, we visited the presidential palace (I don't really remember this but I think something interesting was that the walls were painted in very strong colors, like dark blue, or deep pinkish-red) and also we went inside St. John's Church (I don't remember anything about this either; forgive me, this was our 18th day of travel).
We ate dinner at a little restaurant in the Old Town called the Barbakan. This would not be worth mentioning if not for the incident that occurred there. Two of our group ordered a meal that was described as having "an assortment" on top of it. Thinking this was an assortment of vegetables, they ordered, and were shocked to be served a meal covered in fish eyes, fish tentacles with suckers still visible, and other interesting fish parts. It was quite a scene. When the two went to tell our professors and mentioned the name of the dish, our professors immediately said, before the story was finished "Oh, no; you don't want to order that." It was pretty funny.
On the next day, we went to the Warsaw Uprising Museum which was phenomenal. If you don't know the story of the Warsaw Uprising, here's a quick overview (I hope I do it justice): Towards the end of WWII, the people of Warsaw were given to believe that the Soviets were coming to Warsaw and would help the inhabitants take back Warsaw from the Nazis. A revolt started in the city that lasted over 2 months. The Soviets, however, decided not to intervene in the battle and let the Nazis finish the city off. Well over 200,000 Poles were killed during the fight. Towards the end of the struggle, the last fighters took to the sewers to continue the resistance. There are monuments around the city depicting people emerging from sewer covers as well brick lines following the underground sewers where the fighters were. Parts of the museum were "decorated" as sewers to help people imagine what that must have been like. There was footage of the city and of survivors telling their stories. There were also huge blown-up pictures of people of the city. Its so much more powerful when you can put a face to a situation; its that much more real.
Afterwards, we also saw a monument to the youngest fighter in the Uprising. He was about 12 or 13, wearing his oversized helmet and uniform, clasping a gun in his arms. He died with the rest. The city was of course lost in the end.
We also saw the changing of the guard in front of the tomb of the unknown soldiers. I'm not sure why, but I always find this so fascinating. They have this in Riga as well. Every hour, on the hour, for most of the day, three soldiers approach the tomb in the military style, marching and what not, and two of the soldiers take the place of the two soldiers standing guard, and then the three soldiers turn around and leave. That sounds confusing. Anyway, when we were there to watch, a little girl was standing in the place where one of the soldiers needed to be as the guard was changing. As he came towards her, she kind of frantically scrambled out of the way. The soldier, young and good-looking, kind of smiled at her, and the crowd chuckled. The guards are not supposed to show any emotion or react to anything, so its always really fun when you get them to smile, like we did once to the guards in Riga.
Next, we visited the site of the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw, where the only ghetto uprising took place. There is nothing there now, just a park and a large monument, with stones showing the dimensions of the ghetto. In one section, there is a special monument as that is the place where one of the last holdouts from the uprising was, and where many people were killed.
On our last day in Warsaw, we went to Lazienki Park (spelling?) and saw the Palace on the Water, which was a rather small palace but still fabulously ornate. Afterwards, we heard a Chopin concert live in the park which was pretty sophisticated, even though we were sitting on the ground.
Warsaw is a beautiful city but the real draw for me was the amazing history. I'd love to learn more about it.
posted by Megan Humphreys @ 12/04/2006 08:16:00 AM
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