JUNE 24 - DAILY CHRONICLES OF HISTORY

JUNE 24

1648

Cossacks slaughtered Jews and Poles in the Ukraine:  In the summer of 1648 the detachment of Colonel Maksym Kryvonis engaged in several bloody battles with the Polish nobility's force, led by Prince Jeremi Wiśniowiecki. During this fighting the population suffered terrible losses. The Polish troops systematically killed all Cossacks and peasants, including women, children, and the old people who fell into their hands, while the rebels treated the nobles, Catholic clergy, and Jews, many of whom took the side of the Polish nobles, with similar ferocity.

1812

Napoleon Invaded Russia:   Napoleon ordered his Grande Armee (the largest European military force ever assembled) and numbering over 600,000 troops, to invade Russia.  Napoleon wanted to defeat the Russian army and force Tsar Alexander I of Russia to cease trading with British merchants through proxies, thus pressuring the UK to sue for peace.  Armies from many other European countries participated, including Polish troops.  A year after the Third Partition and total obliteration of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Jan Henryk Dąbrowski, a former high-ranking officer of the Commonwealth army, traveled to Paris to obtain support from Napoleon for the liberation of Poland.  Napoleon saw the Poles as a promising source of new recruits, and authorized Dąbrowski to create the Polish Legions, which would be part of the army of the newly created Republic of Lombardy.  Napoleon sought to gain favor with the Poles, thus his official political campaign, named the Second Polish War, included the liberation of Poland from the threat of Russia. (see January 9, 1797 and  June 22, 1941)

1914

Jan "Karski" Kozielewski (dob) was a Polish World War II resistance movement fighter and later professor at Georgetown University. In 1942 and 1943 Karski reported to the Polish Government in Exile in London and  the Western Allies, on the situation in German-occupied Poland, in particular  the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto, and the extermination of the Jews. After the joint invasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union in September 1939.  Karski was arrested by the Soviet NKVD, and managed to escape the Katyn Massacre (he identified himself as a private, instead of revealing his true military rank, that is, 2nd Lieutenant (of 5th Regiment was a unit of the Kraków Cavalry Brigade). Subsequently, he was handed over to the Germans, and in November 1939 escaped from a POW camp in the General Government and went to Warsaw where he joined the SZP (Służba żwycięstwu Polski) – the first resistance movement in occupied Europe organized by General Michał Karaszewicz-Tokarzewski and a predecessor of ZWZ. Later he would join Armia Krajowa, the Home Army (AK). Beginning in 1942, Karski reported to the Polish Government in Exile, and British and U.S. governments on the situation in Poland, in particular the destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto and the extermination of Polish Jews by the Nazi Germans. Karski also carried out of Poland a microfilm with further information from the underground movement on the extermination of European Jews in German-occupied Poland.  Karski traveled to the US and met with President Franklin D. Roosevelt on July 28, 1943 telling him of his eye-witness account of the atrocities in the German camps. Roosevelt did not ask one question about the Jews. He also met with  Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, Cordell Hull, William Joseph Donovan, and Rabbi Stephen Wise.

1940

Secret Intelligence Bureau PC Bruno evacuated France:  As the Germans were advancing closer to Paris, the PC Bruno unit, and the Bruno staff commenced evacuation procedures and on the 24th of June,  15 Poles, 50 Frenchmen, and 7 Spaniards boarded in three planes to escape to Algeria, where they continued to work clandestinely to decipher German Enigma messages. PC Bruno was a French-Polish signals intelligence station near Paris and operated from October 1939 until June 1940.  They worked closely with their British counterpart,  Bletchley Park.  Among the cryptologists there were three brilliant Polish mathematicians, Marian Rejewski,  Jerzy Różycki, and Henryk Zygalski, who had broken the Enigma Code before the start of World War II. (see August 16, 1905)

1945

Moscow Victory Parade of 1945: A victory parade was held in Moscow led by Marshal Georgy Zhukov riding a white horse, the traditional Russian mount of a conquering hero. Two hundred captured Nazi banners were ceremonially dragged through Red Square and thrown on the ground before Lenin's Tomb.

1948

Soviets Blockaded West Berlin:  The Berlin Blockade (June 24, 1948 - May 12, 1949) was one of the first major international crises during the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control.  In response the West launched a counter-blockade, halting all rail traffic into East Germany from the British and US zones, which had damaging results on East Germany over the next few months.  On June 25, the Soviets stopped supplying food to the civilian population in the non-Soviet sectors of Berlin and cut off electricity.  Motor traffic from Berlin to the western zones was permitted, however it required an extended detour of 23 km (14.3-mile) to a ferry crossing.  The Soviets offered to drop the blockade if the Western Allies withdrew the newly introduced Deutsche mark from West Berlin.

WARSAW GHETTO 1943: THE JEWISH UPRISING - 28 DAYS OF RESISTANCE

Warsaw Ghetto Burning

On April 19 sixty-nine years ago, hundreds of Jewish men, women and even children of the Warsaw Ghetto launched an Uprising against the Nazi Germans. For twenty-seven days, the Jews fought with all their might bearing what few weapons and arms they had against the overwhelming Aktion of the German Wehrmacht. It was the largest Jewish resistance movement of World War Two.

On April 20, 1943, the SS Police Leader of Warsaw Ghetto sent a telegram to the High SS and Police Leader East, Cracow. It read as follows:

GERMAN TANK USED AGAINST WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING

Progress of the Ghetto Aktion on April 19, 1943. Closing of ghetto commenced at 03.00 hrs.

At 06.00 hrs. the Waffen-SS was ordered to comb out the remainder of the ghetto at a strength of 16/850.(referring to officers and men)

As soon as the units had entered, strong concerted fire was directed at them by the Jews and bandits.  The tank employed in this operation and the two SPW [heavy armored cars] were attacked with Molotov cocktails. The tank was twice set on fire. This attack with fire by the enemy caused the units employed to withdraw in the first stage. Losses in the first attack were 12 men (6 SS men, 6 Trawnicki men**).

About 08.00 hrs. the units were sent in again under the command of the undersigned. Although there was again a counterattack, in lesser strength, this operation made it possible to comb out the blocks of buildings according to plan. We succeeded in causing the enemy to withdraw from the roofs and prepared elevated positions into the cellars, bunkers and sewers. Only about 200 Jews were caught during the combing-out operation. Immediately afterwards shock-troop units were directed to known bunkers with orders to pull out the occupants and destroy the bunkers.

NAZIS WAIT AS JEWISH FIGHTER EMERGES FROM BUNKER

About 380 Jews were caught in this operation. It was discovered that the Jews were in the sewers. The sewers were completely flooded, to make it impossible to remain there. About 17.30 hrs. very strong resistance was met with from one block of buildings, including machine-gun fire. A special battle unit overcame the enemy, and penetrated into the buildings, but without capturing the enemy himself. The Jews and criminals resisted from base to base, and escaped at the last moment through garrets or subterranean passages. About 20.30 hrs. the external closure of the ghetto was reinforced...

NAZI GERMANS SMOKE OUT JEWISH RESISTANCE - WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING

The Warsaw Ghetto was established on October 2, 1940 by Dr. Fischer, Governor and Head of the Warsaw District. All Jews in the surrounding area were ordered to move to residences within the designated areas by the end of the month. For the next year and a half thousands of Jews were deported from nearby cities and towns and herded into the ghetto until eventually there were from 300,000 to 400,000 Jews crowded into an area of only 1.3 square miles. (3.4 squared km).

MAP OF WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING 1943

On November 16,1940, the Germans sealed the Ghetto by building a high wall around it, topped by barbed wire and guarded by armed sentries. Any Jew caught leaving the ghetto compound was shot on sight. Living conditions were deplorable; typhus was rampant, and food limited to barely 184 calories per day per person. The Jews were being starved to death. Over 100,000 ghetto prisoners died.

NAZI POSTER - DEATH PENALTY TO JEWS OUTSIDE GHETTO AND TO POLES WHO HELPED THEM

HEAVILY ARMED NAZIS GUARDING ENTRANCE TO WARSAW GHETTO

CONSTRUCTION OF WALL - WARSAW GHETTO

JEWISH CHILD DIES IN THE STREET - WARSAW GHETTO

JEWISH BABY DIED OF STARVATION - WARSAW GHETTO

The first deportations began on July 23, 1942 and lasted until September of that year. It was carried out on the pretext of "relocating" the Jews to work camps, but instead they were being sent to their deaths at Treblinka. From 254,000 to 300,000 Jews were exterminated. In the beginning there was no resistance to the deportation. By the end of the year it became apparent to the Jews that the so-called deportations were a ruse. By then, the remaining Jews were determined to fight to the death.

WARSAW GHETTO - UMSCHLAGPLATZ - DEPORTATION OF JEWS TO TREBLINKA

Among several Jewish resistance groups, the largest ones were the ZZW (Jewish Military Union), the PKB (National Security Corps) and the ZOB (Jewish Combat Organization). Each rallied for support of the Polish resistance movements of the Armia Krajowa (Polish Home Army, or AK) and the Gwardia Ludowa (Polish Communist army, or People's Guard). Elements from each group joined the Jewish fighters and attacked German sectors posted near ghetto walls, and smuggled arms, ammunition and supplies into the ghetto. Despite Polish efforts the quantity of weapons supplied was woefully insufficient. (Unbeknownst to the Jewish Fighters, the Poles were planning to launch another Uprising which began on August 1st, 1944.)

JEWISH FIGHTERS CAPTURED BY THE NAZIS - WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING

NAZI GERMANS INTERROGATE CAPTURED JEWISH FIGHTER - WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING

The PKB supplied the Jewish fighters with 2 heavy machine guns, 4 light machine guns, 21 submachine guns, 30 rifles, 50 pistols, and over 400 grenades.  Agents of the Jewish resistance were smuggled outside to the Aryan side of Warsaw to purchase weapons on the black market. Stefan Korbonski was Head of the Polish Directorate of Civil Action (and one of the founders of the Polish Underground). In his book, "Polish Secret State", among the weapons that the Armia Krajowa donated to the Jewish Resistance, was 1 light machine gun, 2 submachine guns, 50 handguns (including magazines and ammunition), 10 rifles, 600 hand grenades with detonators, 30 kilograms of explosives (plastics received from the air drops), 120 kilograms of explosives of its own production, 400 detonators for bombs and grenades, 30 kilograms of potassium to make the incendiary "Molotov cocktails" and finally large quantities of saltpeter that were ingredients necessary to manufacture gun powder. They also provided the ZOB with invaluable assistance and instructions on how to manufacture bombs, hand grenades and incendiary bottles; how to build strong-holds; and where to get rails and cement for their construction.

POSTER DISTRIBUTED BY THE ZOB IN WARSAW WW2

 (English translation)

All people are equal brothers;
Brown, White, Black, and Yellow.
To separate peoples, colors, races -

Is but an act of cheating!

  
 

WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING - JEWISH FIGHTERS CAPTURED BY NAZIS

On April 19th the Germans began to liquidate 35,000 Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto and were surprised by fierce resistance from Jewish Fighters. The next day the Germans brought in tanks and armoured cars in an effort to quash the revolt but the Jews continued to fight back. For the days and weeks which followed there were gunshots, explosions and grenades. By the 28th of April the Germans began to set fires to the houses in the Ghetto, systematically, one by one, block by block until the Warsaw Ghetto was engulfed in flames.

SS NAZI STROOP WATCHES GHETTO IN FLAMES- WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING

GERMAN TROOPS BURN DOWN WARSAW GHETTO - WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING

On May 6, 1943, the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita published a statement of the Polish Government Delegatura, which vehemently denounced the German crimes against the Warsaw Ghetto.The Delegatura paid homage to the Jewish fighters and made an urgent appeal to all Polish citizens to help the Jews escape from the Ghetto. It was a heroic appeal but few had the courage to respond.  But to have helped the Jews would have meant certain death. (In 1941, the Nazis issued an edict that any Poles who helped the Jews would be condemned to death.)
 

The Jews suffered heavy casualties, but continued to

fight heroically, weapons in hand. They managed to kill

over 300 Germans and wounding 1,000 more.

Throughout the Uprising the secret Polish radio station SWIT, under the direction of Stefan Korbonski made numerous radio transmissions to the allies, giving daily reports on the course of the fighting in the Ghetto, and pleading for allied intervention. But their appeals feel on deaf ears. The Uprising ended in catastrophe and enormous loss of life. Tens of thousands of Jews were captured and deported, murdered or burned alive by the Germans.

JEWISH FIGHTERS CAPTURED AND LINED UP AGAINST THE WALL - WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING

According to the underground newspaper Economic Bulletin, by May 15th, about 100,000 Jews had been killed during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, 2,000 industrial locations and 3,000 commercial establishments and factories were completely burned or blown up. As the Germans were liquidating the Ghetto, several Jewish commanders and fighters of the ZOB were able to escape the Warsaw Ghetto with the help of their Polish compatriots, guided through the maze of underground sewers. Many Jewish fighters joined the Polish Underground and went on to fight in the Warsaw Uprising.

WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING - JEWISH WOMEN AND CHILDREN SURRENDER

JEWISH FIGHTERS CAPTURED BY NAZIS - WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ended tragically, and like that of the Warsaw Uprising which followed in 1944, became symbolic of the unquenchable determination and courage of the Poles and of the Jews to fight against impossible odds - even to the death. They held fast to the conviction that is was far better to die fighting, than to die on one's knees. This blog post is in tribute to the heroic Jewish fighters, and the Polish compatriots who risked their lives to help them.

ZOB FLAG - WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING

MONUMENT TO JEWISH FIGHTERS OF WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING

Warsaw Uprising 1944: August 24 - Roosevelt Turns His Back On Poland

Child Praying at Grave

The Old Town Sector of Warsaw has been the target of numerous German attacks especially around the barricades of its southern perimeter. Insurgents are battling the Germans ferociously and have managed to dislodge them from Radziwillow Palace on Bielanska Street. In City Centre, the grouping Belt has succeded in recapturing the area between Marszalkowska and Poznanska Streets.  However the Germans managed to seize a part of the ruins of Jan Bozy Hospital.

The Germans have seized a part of the ruined buildings of Jan Bozy Hospital on Bonifraterska Street, a school on Rybaki Street, and an apartment house on the premises of the State Securities Plant. After heavy fighting, the insurgents succeeded in keeping control of the ruins of the Simonsa passage on Dluga Street. They have set up defensive positionts in the ruins at 27/29 Dluga Street, calling it the “Heavenly Mother’s Redoubt”. Polish units are defending the Old Town and are fighting back enemy attacks from the south while retaining outposts on Miodowa, Podwale and Piwna Streets. Polish forces from the east maintain control of Brzozowa Street.

In Srodmiescie German forces have launched methodical attacks on insurgent outposts on Kredytowa, Krolewska, Towarowa, Chmielna and Zelazna Streets. Insurgents on Krucza, Wspolna, Hoza, Wilcza and Koszykowa Streets are under constant heavy enemy fire. The Germans have attempted to take over some houses on Króoewska Street near the Saski Gardens and on Grzybowska Street and have launched fierce attacks at the Railway Hostel and the Postal Railway Station, as well as insurgent positions along Towarowa Street. Meanwhile in southern Srodmiescie, after a fierce struggle, insurgent troops managed to seize a German outpost on Zulinskiego Street and take over the quarter between Poznanska, Żulinskiego, Marszalkowska and Nowogrodzka Streets.

AK Machine Gunner

Polish Sniper

The AK has issued another radio broadcast pleading for help from Warsaw citizens for infants and children who are hit the hardest in the Uprising. The battles have taken a heaavy toll on the morale on Varsavians,– constant bombardment from German bombers and artillery fire, overwhelming casualties, the wounded,  dwindling food and water supplies. The devastation to the city and its people is unimaginable. The citizens of Warsaw are desperately struggling to survive and are beginning to blame the AK for their misery.

Polish children orphans

Wounded Polish Insurgents in Hospital (location unknown)

Throughout the German occupation, the residents of Warsaw have turned to their faith. Polish tradition adheres strongly to the Roman Catholic Church, and identifies it with the freedom and independence of their homeland. Holy Mary is deeply revered as the “Queen of Poland”. Everywhere there are pictures of Holy Mary and Jesus Christ. Churches are full of worshipers, and where churches no longer exist, Mass is celebrated in its ruins. There are also makeshift altars in bombed out apartment buildings where people gather to pray together in the evening. Throughout the Uprising, Holy Mass has had a special meaning to the Poles. It has drawn the community together and strengthened their faith, hope and the search for inner strength to overcome the enormity of human suffering in this place that the world forgot.


President Roosevelt sent a radio message to Churchill today stating that there is nothing that he or Churchill could do to convince the Soviet government to allow Allied planes access to Soviet airfields in order to conduct airdrops to Poland. By all intents and purposes, America has given up on Poland. He stated “I do not see that we can take any additional steps at the present time that promise results....Stalin’s reply...to our joint message...is far from encouraging to our wishes to assist.”  


A unique radio message was transmitted to the Polish Government in Exile in London from Warsaw “Lightning” Station, in which a poem was recited, and one that had become widely known during the Uprising. Here is a translation:

 

Why do you sing a mourning chorale in London,

While here we have long awaited a time to rejoice?

At the sides of their lovers, girls are fighting here,

And small children join them, and their blood flows proudly.

Hello....Here is the heart of Poland!...Hear Warsaw speaking!

Throw the dirges out of your broadcasts;

Our spirit is so strong it will support even you!

We don`t need your applause!

We demand ammunition!!! 

Churchill and Stalin

Warsaws secret radio station "Lightning" has been broadcasting since the early days of the Uprising.  Here is a special segment of yesterdays report. (in English)  To listen, please click on the following link. The audio is often inaudible due to static, morse code, and gun shots in the background but parts of the message can still be heard clearly. 

 "This is Warsaw Calling. This is Warsaw Calling. This is Warsaw Calling All the Free Nations...."   The voice of the announcer is that of Lt. John Ward broadcasting messages from the secret AK radio station, Blystawicka. He is the only British soldier who is a member of the Armia Krajowa. He has been dispatching messages to London since the first week of the Uprising demanding allied assistance and reporting on the details of daily events.

Amid great fanfare, Polish underground radio broadcast an ecstatic and joyful message to the French Resistance (FFI - Forces francaises de l'interieur) for their great victory against German occupaton. The Uprising began just five days ago on August 19, 1944 by the French Resistance, quickly followed by military backup from the Free French Army of Liberation and the U.S. 4th Infantry Division. The French Resistance has put up a formidable fight attacking and have captured enemy fuel trucks, destroyed road signs, sabotaged German vehicles, cut communication lines, bombed gasoline depots, attacked isolated pockets of Germans, and liberated a Nazi prison (on the outskirts of Paris). By the end of the Uprising the FFI had control of most of Paris while German units held most of the main monuments and strong points. Skirmishes reached its peak two days ago when some German units tried to leave their strongposts. 

 

FFI uprising on 19 August, one insurgent wearing an Adrian helmet

Yesterday at 09:00 hours Choltitz ordered that the Grand Palais, an FFI stronghold be burned to the ground and German tanks launched a barrage of fire against the barricades. Hitler had given an order to inflict the maximum amount of damage on the city. In this battle lasting mere days, about 1,000 French Resistance fighters were killed and another 1,500 wounded This morning huge crowds of Parisians are in the streets in joyous celebration and are welcoming the 2nd French Armoured Division which had swept the western area of Paris including the Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysee. The Americans cleared the eastern part.  Warsaw citizens are elated of the news of Paris' liberation; their spirits are lifted that at any moment their much needed help will arrive.  They continue to fight with renewed strength.

 

LIBERATION OF PARIS

Warsaw Uprising 1944: August 6 - Warsaw Postal Service Continues Amid Bloodshed

Hans Frank, governor of the German-occupied central Poland, the General Gouvernement stated, "Almost all Warsaw is a sea of flames. To set houses afire is the surest way to deprive the insurgents of their hiding places. When we crush the uprising, Warsaw will get what it deserves - complete annihilation." Since his appointment as governor in 1939 he has ordered the execution of Polish civilian life and the destruction of every aspect of Polish culture.Throughout the Nazi occupation of Poland, the Polish language, culture, music and arts have been strictly forbidden on pain of death. Over 30,000 Polish civilians had been arrested, many of them intelligentsia. Frank has segregated Jews into ghettos and has stated that he intends to eliminate them as well as the Poles, reserving only a small segment of the Polish population as slave labour for the Nazi German Reich. In his speech to his Cabinet he declared, “Gentlemen, I must ask you to rid yourself of pity. We must annihilate the Jews.”

The General Government is the location of six Nazi German extermination camps. While Jews comprise the largest segment of prisoners there are also thousands of Polish Christians and other nationalities imprisoned there.  Besides the Nazi death camps there are virtually thousands of concentration camps established throughout Poland. Throughout the Nazi occupation, Poles have been systematically arrested and executed -either shot or hung from public makeshift gallows. The recent outbreak of the Uprising has intensified the Nazi crackdown on Polish resistance fighters as well as Polish civilians and prison inmates.

Polish Civilians Hanged by Germans at Radom (date unknown)

Germans Hanged Polish inmates of Pawiak prison February 11, 1944

governor of Occupied Poland Hans Frank

The Polish Secret State in January 29 to 30, 1944 had planned to assassinate Frank just one night before the 11th anniversary of the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany. The train upon which Frank was travelling en route to Lwow was derailed after a massive explosive device went off. Frank escaped unharmed. After Poland was invaded in Septemer 1939, the Polish Secret State was established by the Polish Underground in an effort to maintain and continue Poland's pre-war legal and governmental institutions and prepare for the eventual liberation of Poland. The Secret State is officially recognized by the Polish-government-exile in London as representing Occupied Poland and had been granted status as the Government Delegation for Poland. The AK is just one part of the military branch of the Polish Secret State.

Polish Home Army Command has consolidated the three parts of Warsaw: the North Group encompasses the area of the cemeteries, the Old Town, Żoliborz and Kampinos; Srodmiescie is linked with Powisle and Czerniakow; and the South Group includes Mokotow together with Sadyba as well as the Kabacki and Chojnowski forests.

After very heavy fighting Polish units under the command of Captain Waclaw Stykowski "Hal" retreated from Wola to Srodmiescie but they were successful in the taking contro of several positions including the recapture of Haberbusch i Schiele brewery at Ceglana Street. Thousands of civilians have organized themselves into teams to gather bags of barley and distribute them to the city center.  The barley is made into a type of soup called pluj-zupa (spit-soup). After having grounded the barley with coffee grinders, it is boiled with water. The availability of huge quantities of barley stock is a great relief for the Varsovians who are quickly running out of food.

Polish Insurgents carrying bags of Barley around Zelazna Street and Aleje Jerozolimskie

General Bor sent another radio wire to officials of the Polish government in exile in London today. In this sixth day of the Uprising, supplies are running out very quickly.  He stressed the urgency for military assistance and supplies. He stated, “We do not ask for material assistance, we demand that it be sent to us immediately!”

Meanwhile, in Pruszkow, the Germans have set up a transit camp on the site of the Train Repair Shops (Zaklady Naprawcze Taboru Kolejowego) and have interned about 60,000 Varsavians who have evacuated the city.(By the end the Uprising there will have been about 650,000 imprisoned from Warsaw and outlaying areas. Approximately 55,000 were transported to concentration camps, and 13,000 to Auschwitz.) They come from a broad cross-section of Polish society and represent many occupations: government officials, scholars, professors, artists, physicians, merchants, blue-collar workers. Many are suffering injuries or illness. Among them are invalids, pregnant women, as well as young infants and the elderly aged 86 or more. Many Jews who had been "living on Aryan papers" have been caught and arrested.

Polish civilians and insurgents at Pruszkow Camp Warsaw Uprising 1944

Since dawn there has been heavy fighting in the Wola district. Polish insurgents are fighting aggressively though they are outgunned and outnumbered by the German war machine. Although the German units have sustained considerable losses in this battle, the Poles have still not been able to to break through German lines in the direction of City Centre. Meanwhile, German troops have stormed the Karola i Mari Hospital and have massacred over 100 patients. At 2:00 pm yesterday, the Germans broke into Wola Hospital on Plocka Street, robbing the staff and wounded of their personal valuables, money and watches. An hour later shots were fired and they had killed Dr. Marian Piasecki, Professor Zeyland, and the Chaplin of the hospital, Reverend Father Kazimierz Ciecierski. The Germans then ordered the evacuation of the hospital. Whoever was able to walk even with assistance were taken out of the hospital and were assembled with several hundred Poles who had been rounded up  and then German soldiers systematically executed them.
 

During the night Mokotow finally reestablished communications with Srodmiescie. The commanding officer of the report depot in Aleje Jerozolimskie Street, Elzbieta Ostrowska “Ela” was able to force her way from Srodmiescie to Mokotow through the sewers. Amid this beleaguered city Polish civilians have volunteered to serve in any way they can, including the postal service. Makeshift boxes have been set up in territories held by the insurgents and are usually found near the vicinity of barricades and hospitals. Collection points are identifiable by labels of “Field Postal Service” or the designation of a lily, which is the symbol of Polish scouting. Delivering the mail are Girl and Boy Scouts, some no older than thirteen years of age. These courageous youngsters empty the boxes twice a day, unless tragically they are killed by stray bullets. Like the AK they also wear the red and white armbands. There are also countless number of men and women serving as underground couriers delivering messages between Polish insurgent units. Their courage and sacrifice is indeed awesome and they are as highly respected as any soldier of the Armia Krajowa.   
 

Young Polish Boy Scout Warsaw Uprising

Mailbox with symbol of Polish Eagle - Warsaw Uprising

Warsaw Uprising 1944: August 1 - POLISH HOME ARMY ATTACKS!

At 1:50pm today in Warsaw, Polish insurgents launched an Uprising in Zoliborz in a desperate attempt to liberate the capital city from German hands. Skirmishes broke out simultaneously in various boroughs including City Centre Sector and Wola. Within moments after the first shots were fired, the Poles had broadcast their first radio telegraph message to London stating emphatically “We Are Fighting!”

Plans for the Uprising had been in the works since German and Soviet troops had invaded and partitioned Poland in September 1939. These heroic Polish soldiers have come from every level of society, representing all political ideologies. They are men, women, and even children as young as 8 years old. They share one common goal: to oust the hated Nazi Germans out of Poland. In addition to the Armia Krajowa (the Polish Home Army) there is massive civilian mobilization among Polish engineers, draughtsmen, technicians, scientists, university professors, students, former government officials, artists, priests, manual labourers, and even known criminals. The youngest and the oldest are actively serving as well, albeit doing voluntary guard duty. There are reports of 16 year old insurgents doing guard duty in front buildings. One was bearing only a scythe for a weapon while another young guard was carrying a blunderbuss.

Warsaw 1944: Warsaw Uprising Part I (00:05:28m)

Polish insurgents have been able to destroy one building that was being held by the Germans.  Working in cooperation with the fire-brigade, the insurgents used the motor pumps of the fire-engine to spray flammable liquids on the building, quickly envelopping it in flames. There are no reports on the number of German casualties. Morale among the civilian population and the soldiers of the Armia Krajowa (AK) is at an all-time high. The Polish people of Warsaw have rallied together to assist the AK in building barricades, and anticipate Soviet intervention in a very few short days from now. 

There is every reason to believe that with Soviet assistance, Warsaw will be liberated from the Nazi scourge. Polish fighters launch aggressive attacks against the Germans. Of the major objectives, the insurgents manage to capture the food and uniforms warehouse on Stawki Street, the barracks located in the building of St. Kinga School on Okopowa treet, the Military Geographic Institute on Aleje Jerozolimskie Street, the building of the Municipal Transport Company on the corner of Swietokrzyska and Marszalkowska Streets, the city's highest building, the Prudential, in Napoleon Square, and the Railway Head Office building at Targowa and Wilenska Streets in Praga.  The largest area cleared of enemy forces is the Old Town.  

Unidentified Polish Fighter (Red and White AK armband)

Just days earlier, Radio Moscow had broadcast to Warsaw, calling for a general Uprising. The following is a translation:  
 

Appeal to Warsaw: Fight The Germans!  
 

No doubt Warsaw already hears the guns of the battle which is soon to bring her liberation. Those who have never bowed their heads to the Hitlerite power will again, as in 1939, join battle with the Germans, this time for decisive action. The Polish Army now entering Polish territory, trained in the Soviet Union, is now joined to the People's Army to form the Corps of the Polish Armed Forces, the armed arm of our nation in its struggle for independence. Its ranks will be joined tomorrow by the sons of Warsaw. They will all together, with the Allied Army pursue the enemy westwards, wipe out the Hitlerite vermin from Polish land and strike a mortal blow at the beast of Prussian Imperialism. For Warsaw, which did not yield but fought on, the hour of action has already arrived. The Germans will no doubt try to defend themselves in Warsaw and add new destruction and thousands of victims. Our houses and our parks, our bridges and our railway stations, our factories and public buildings will be turned into defence positions. They will expose the city to ruin and its inhabitants to death. They will try to take away all the most precious possessions and turn into dust all that they have to leave behind. It is, therefore, a hundred times more necessary than ever to remember that in the flood of Hitlerite destruction all is lost that is not saved by active effort; that by direct, active struggle in the streets of Warsaw, in its houses, factories and stores, we not only hasten the moment of final liberation, but also save a Nation's property and the lives of our brothers.  


And at precisely 4:10 this morning the Soviet commander of the Second Armoured Army ordered that by noon today, troops were to take defensive positions outside Praga (a suburb of Warsaw. This occurred an hour before the Poles even fired the first shots.

Polish patriots in Praga District

Soviet plans began as early as July 7, 1944, when the Supreme Headquarters of the Soviet Army had issued an order to Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, commander of the First Byelorussian Front. to begin the advance towards Poland from the north and south and to then surround German forces at Brzesc. From there, they were to continue toward Warsaw. However, a new order was issued by the Soviet Supreme HQ on July 28 calling for an attack in the "general direction" of Warsaw, to be followed by occupation of Praga on August 8 at the very latest. Other orders have been dispatched to the other fronts stationed around Polish territories. Nine Soviet armies including the Soviet-backed 1st Polish army are ready to cooperate in the liberation of Poland. The 1st Polish Army, under the command of Major-General Zygmunt Berling, is now just 11 miles south-east of Warsaw in the area between Deblin and Palawy, and has already established two bridgeheads on the western shore of the Vistula, near Magnuszew. The Soviet forces possess 3 times more soldiers and 5 times more artillery and tanks than the Germans. 

Sources indicate that the 6th Soviet Air Army has about 1,465 combat planes in its fleet. Moreover, just the left wing of the Byelorussian Front has 1,750 tanks as well as self-propelled artillery, 7,600 artillery and mortars and 416,000 soldiers. The total strength of the First Byelorussian Front is estimated to be at 1.5 million soldiers. General Tadeusz Komorowski pseudonym “Bor”, Commander-in-Chief of the Armia Krajowa. has issued the order for the Uprising to begin at 5pm today however because of miscommunication among field units, the Uprising started too early. The Commander of the District of Warsaw, General Antoni Chrusciel, pseudonym Monter, while subordinate to General Bor, has complete command over the activities of the AK, including its logistics and intelligence. The Polish forces are confident that with Allied help, victory is within reach.  

 

General Tadeusz Komorowski

The Germans anticipated just such an Uprising, and made plans to link the 9th and 2nd armies in an effort to quash the Polish resistance. The Armia Krajowa is estimated to have between 36,000 to 40,000 soldiers, however only 2,500 of them are properly armed. By contrast, German troops are under-manned but heavily armed: regular German troops number just 5,000, with an additional 2,000 from the Sentry Regiment Warsaw, and 350 men of the SS reconnaissance regiment. There is an additional 4,000 of Luftwaffe personnel, consisting of 1,000 at Okecie airport, 700 at Bielany, 1,000 in Boemerowo, 300 at Sluzewiec, and 1,000 in anti-air artillery stationed throughout Warsaw.     

The Polish Underground has been stockpiling massive quantities of weapons and ammunition long before the Uprising began, and rely on 4 main storage areas. Two in Warsaw and 2 in Praga. But just a couple of weeks ago German soldiers came across two enormous secret caches of weapons hidden in basements, one stockpile containing over 70,000 hand-grenades, and the other had 450 flame-throwers. According to AK Command, this was only a small portion of their supplies, there being an additional 320,000 grenades hidden in numerous other locations throughout Warsaw. German soldiers immediately flooded the basements destroying all weapons and drowning any Polish insurgents that may have been hiding there at the time.    
 

Polish Resistance - Production of Grenades

Five months ago, during a secret meeting of the Polish Council of National Unity, General Bor, when asked about the military preparedness of the Armia Krajowa, replied tentatively, “Ten percent of the membership.” The AK Commanders are faced not only with lack of sufficient number of soldiers, but a severe shortage of weapons and ammunition. Despite these enormous setbacks, the Poles still hope to defeat the Germans in a few days – a week at the most. At the root of this optimism is the knowledge that the allies will be intervening with military support and armaments. Until then, the AK is confident that it can hold out. An estimation of current reserves reveals that there may be only enough to last for two or three days of fighting. While the Polish insurgents are waiting for military assistance from Great Britain and the Soviet Union, they are making due with the following supplies:: 1,000 guns, 1,750 pistols, 300 submachine guns, 60 assault rifles, 7 heavy machine guns, 20 anti-tank guns, 25,000 hand grenades, 35 bullets per pistol, 300 bullets per machine pistol, 190 pieces of ammunition per carbine, 500 rounds of ammunition for light machine gun, 2,300 rounds of ammunition for heavy machine guns and 50 shells for anti-armour cannon - but there is no cannon.  
 

Polish soldiers from Kolegium A - Kedyw on Stawki Street Wola District

Warsaw Uprising - unexploded shell

Despite the overwhelming support by Poles of the Uprising, there is discontent among insurgents about the shortage of ammunition and weapons. In response General Monter has threatened court-martial to any soldier who merely expresses dissatisfaction. Monter has made every effort to encourage insurgents that weapons can be captured in battles won against the enemy, and to resort to any means necessary, sticks and bricks if need be. In order to compensate for the drastic shortfall, the Polish Underground has been producing makeshift weapons: petrol-filled bottles, for launching at German tanks; improvised flame-throwers, and the most common weapon – home made grenades that are being produced by the thousands in secret workshops. The Poles salvaged unexploded German artillery shells and bombs to produce their hand grenades. In one shop alone, the Polish underground manufactured over 20,000 hand grenades.