Where are they Now?: Warsaw, Day 2-3

June 2-3, 2011

Warsaw

Visiting Warsaw is a challenge to the emotions. Words can not truly comprehend what the city and its inhabitants have experienced. Throughout the ages, Warsaw has had its low moments, but none like the half century beginning in 1939.

Poland’s neighbor to the east was the Soviet Union, ruled by xenophobic Josef Stalin. On Poland’s western boundary was the ultimate psychopath, Adolf Hitler With no natural defensive borders, the Poles never had a chance.

It is easy to confuse advances in technology with advances in humankind. Nazi Germany proved that disconnect. Their use of technology to industrialize mass murder and destruction made such other historic figures such as Genghis Khan and Vlad the Impaler appear as rank amateurs. The Nazis were efficient, systematic and brutal. When they were finally forced out of Warsaw in 1944 by the advancing Red Army, they deliberately and systematically reduced the entire city to rubble. The occupying Communists were no more generous

We witnessed the destruction and rebirth during our trip to Warsaw. The Jewish community of over 350,000 was shipped off to the gas chambers, even as they resisted with crude weapons until the last man and woman was standing.

In the 45 years following the war, under the hand of communist dictatorship, Warsaw was rebuilt. The Old Town that we see today has barely a brick from the original. Similarly, the other parts of the city have been rebuilt. Since its independence in 1989, Warsaw has been prospering, with only a few remnants of old-style communist mentality visible. Poland is on the rise.

We were amazed by what we saw… the wonderful parks the City of Chopin has maintained, the resilience of the Polish people. Again, we shed many tears at the many tragedies; the monument to the futile Ghetto Uprising of 1943 and Polish uprising of 1944 as well as the execution of the 22,000 Polish army officers in 1940. Through all this, Poland triumphs in the long run.

On a lighter note, we are still perplexed by the Polish language. It reminds of a Scrabble player who has way too many continents and can’t figure out how to use them. It is only surpassed in its complexity by Hungarian.

We are anxious to get back to Anderson Island. Our flight to Chicago on LOT airlines (flight #1) will take us seven time zones to the west, both over the Pole and over the Poles. A short American flight to Sea-Tac should get us back late Saturday night.

We will give a complete wrap-up in our next few blog entries.

J & D

12 countries, 11 languages - 5 weeks