Punctually at 5.00 pm, in the “W” hour, the capital pays tribute to the heroes of the Warsaw Uprising. Passers-by, cars, trams and buses stopped in the streets. There were sirens, church bells, and car horns.
They are held in various places in Warsaw celebrations related to the 77th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. As every year – their culmination is paying tribute to the insurgents during the “W” hour. Then the sound of sirens is heard all over the city. Exactly at 5.00 p.m., 77 years ago, the Uprising broke out.
This year, in the “W” hour, cars, buses and trams stopped on the usually busy streets. Varsovians gathered, among others, at the Dmowski roundabout, Piłsudski Square or in front of the Warsaw Uprising Monument on Krasińskich Square. The anniversary of the insurgent uprising was also commemorated on ships and barges standing in the Vistula river.
– This is a special moment. It is very interesting that so many people can, with this minute of detention, with this reflection, show that they remember about the insurgents of Warsaw – he said in the morning in an interview with TVN24 Jan Ołdakowski, director of the Warsaw Uprising Museum.
The biggest armed action of the underground
The Warsaw Uprising was the largest underground military operation in German-occupied Europe. On August 1, 1944, about 40,000-50,000 insurgents joined the fight in the capital. Planned for several days, it lasted over two months.
During the fighting in Warsaw, about 18,000 insurgents died and 25,000 were wounded. Losses among the civilians were enormous and amounted to approximately 180,000 killed. The surviving inhabitants of Warsaw (about half a million) were expelled from the city, which after the Uprising was almost completely burned down and destroyed.
Main photo source: Artur Węgrzynowicz / tvnwarszawa.pl