Today was a day spent learning about Warsaw. We started off at the Warsaw Rising Museum, a museum dedicated to telling the story of the Polish attempt to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany in World War II. The museum is extremely interesting to walk through, with interactive exhibits, like the beating Listening Wall--lean in toward one of the "bullet holes" in the wall to hear some of the different sounds from the war. The heartbeat can be heard from almost every area of the museum.
It was eye-opening as well. I do not recall learning about the Warsaw Uprising in history class back in school--and I also do not believe I had ever heard of "Black Saturday" before...when thousands of civilians, regardless of age or sex, were brutally murdered, even set on fire while alive, by the Nazis. Perhaps it was taught to me, but it shall definitely never escape my memory ever again.
It was eye-opening as well. I do not recall learning about the Warsaw Uprising in history class back in school--and I also do not believe I had ever heard of "Black Saturday" before...when thousands of civilians, regardless of age or sex, were brutally murdered, even set on fire while alive, by the Nazis. Perhaps it was taught to me, but it shall definitely never escape my memory ever again.
There was also an excellent and moving film we watched called (in English) City of Ruins. It's the a digital 3D reconstruction of a bombed Warsaw in 1945. Warsaw had 900.000 inhabitants in 1944-- in 1945 only 1,000 were left. One thousand people among the ruins...
After the museum we went to Old Town, which is essentially a reconstruction of what the buildings and streets looked like before they were all destroyed. Walking around, I tried to imagine what it was like originally, and the stories of the people who lived and breathed in that time...before the war took all of that away.
It's amazing to walk through this city today and see and feel the vibrancy of the people: Strong hearts, strong spirits.
-contributed by Mary
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