True. However, let us remember that the Uprising lasted not just one day. It lasted two long months.
We often engage in heated discussions and polemics, wielding various arguments of dubious value. We ascend to the heights of absurdity, hatred, online abuse and fratricidal conflict. All to commemorate one single day. Forgetting about the other, equally painful and bloody days.
The discussion concerning the Warsaw Uprising has been going on for several decades. It reached its peak in free Poland. Scholars, politicians, insurgents, old and young. Everyone takes part in another war, this time a war of misguided arguments. But has anyone really considered the origins of this insurgent uprising? Was there a deeper idea behind it? And what does patriotism really mean today?
The Warsaw Uprising has already become a legend. A beautiful, sad myth about heroism and the will to fight the occupier. To better understand my intention in presenting the facts and theses, however, we must go back to the nineteenth century. In 1863, the January Uprising broke out. This independence uprising should be compared indirectly with the ’44 Uprising. Many people will probably shout: “But how? You cannot do that! These are two different matters!”
Indeed, they are, yet I can say with full responsibility that the January Uprising, so greatly revered and turned into a myth in the Second Polish Republic, is the same for the Second Polish Republic as the Warsaw Uprising is for the Third Polish Republic. The cult of the January Uprising and its veterans in the interwar period was enormous. It should be added, however, that the January Uprising was a total failure, and not only in terms of its unsuccessful struggle for independence. The 1863 Uprising, like the Warsaw one, was poorly prepared. The insurgents were inadequately armed. Too poorly to have any chance against the well-trained tsarist army. The Uprising was even artificially prolonged by the Russians...
During one of the first skirmishes with the insurgents, the Russian command ordered the army to be equipped with weapons without ammunition. Russian soldiers were sent to certain death, and the “Polish rebels” beat them with whatever they could find. In the eyes of European nations, the insurgents became rebels, and every Polish freedom fighter was identified with an anarchist and terrorist. European governments did support the insurgents, but only some of them. And only diplomatically. Swedish authorities interned a ship carrying an attempt to deliver cannons, rifles and volunteers of various nationalities to the Kingdom of Poland. Sweden took this step under pressure from Russia.
The reaction of Pope Pius IX was the most interesting. It was not unambiguous. No official papal documents have survived. The contemporary press interpreted his words about the outbreak of the January Uprising in different ways. The interpretation depended on the “political color of the press in which they were printed.”
Although the Uprising was the greatest national liberation uprising, it did not rally the entire Polish population of the Russian partition. It thus bypassed, for example, Volhynia—the peasants did not support the Uprising. Perhaps the Ruthenian (Ukrainian) peasants felt closer to Russia than to noble Poland. Perhaps if it had been possible to involve the people living in the Borderlands more fully, the struggle would have made more sense. Perhaps…
The analogy with the Warsaw Uprising is very similar. The equally poorly armed insurgents were, in reality, sent to certain death. Yet in both cases the partisans were aware of this. In both events, the reprisals after the uprisings’ defeat were terrible. During the Warsaw Uprising, weapons and other necessary supplies were also delivered to the fighters. This transport reached its destination and was not thwarted in any way, although unfortunately it was the only one, and most of the packages dropped ended up in German hands. Stalin pressured the Allies not to help fighting Warsaw.
Both Uprisings ended in defeat. As did most Polish independence uprisings—with the exception of the Greater Poland Uprising. In total, we have won nothing for more than 300 years. The victory at Vienna was Poland’s last great success. The remaining campaigns, battles and skirmishes brought us no lasting results. During the partitions, all the uprisings fell. It is difficult to call the Polish-Bolshevik War a victory. Certainly, we stopped the communist offensive and saved Europe from a flood of communist ideology, yet the Treaty of Riga became a squandered opportunity to recover all the lands from before the First Partition. Our compatriots remained in those lands.
Let us also remember that the discussion about the Warsaw Uprising was begun by the insurgents themselves. As historian Mariusz Olczak states:
The first serious monograph on the Uprising was written by Adam Borkiewicz, an officer of the AK High Command. The subject is difficult; one has to work through thousands of pages of documents, but I regret that no scholarly monograph based on documents has been written in contemporary free Poland. I think that only when we have a scholarly description of the Uprising, in accordance with the current state of knowledge, will we be able to begin discussing it. Today, things seem to happen somewhat in reverse: discussions are taking place, while the scholarly perspective has been left aside.
[więcej na https://bobrzanie.pl/2015/08/02/mariusz-olczak-dyskusje-o-zasadnosci-powstania-rozpoczeli-powstancy/]
Many myths have arisen around the Warsaw Uprising, myths that we often repeat to this day even though they have nothing to do with historical truth. One of them is the “W” Hour. In reality, the first clashes with the Germans took place after 1 p.m., while the scheduled hour of 5 p.m. is actually a symbol of the beginning of the unequal struggle.
Prime Minister Stanisław Mikołajczyk was primarily responsible for the outbreak of the Uprising, not, as is commonly believed, General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski. Both the general and the commander-in-chief, General Kazimierz Sosnkowski, considered the uprising justified only if the German forces collapsed. Choosing the moment to begin the struggle for the free capital was extremely important. Unfortunately, Mikołajczyk decided to use the Uprising as a bargaining chip in negotiations with Stalin. Naturally, this refers to the Allies’ talks with the Soviets. The Uprising had no negotiating value, however. Worse: it was a major problem for Stalin. He had no intention of helping the people of Warsaw in any way, not even to the slightest degree.
The tragic fate of the insurgents affected infants above all. Many children were born during the Uprising or just before it, in extremely harsh conditions. The only goal of the mothers of newborn children was to survive at any cost. Scouts took care of children who had been orphaned.
These were the conditions in which the capital’s residents lived and fought bravely. It was not easy, yet no one complained.
Soon there will be another anniversary, this time of the outbreak of World War II. Once again, we will witness numerous appeals and ceremonies. Unfortunately, political speculation will take precedence over the quiet and dignified remembrance of the Heroes of the defensive war. Above all, we must remember one important fact. Much is currently being written and said about September 1. Here too, historians and commentators argue over whether the outbreak of the war could really have been avoided. It is difficult to judge. The matter is too ambiguous. What is not a secret, however, is that Józef Beck, the prewar foreign minister, conducted Polish foreign policy very ineptly. He blindly trusted the British and French. He considered it a great success to secure Britain’s promise that it would come to our aid in the event of a conflict with Germany. The British promised us one hundred bombers, which they intended to transfer to Poland. The only question is, how did they intend to do it? The sea route was impossible. The transport would have been destroyed. The air route was also highly uncertain. It would not have been possible over Germany. Nor over the Scandinavian countries. They would not have given permission. Józef Beck was so proud of security guarantees that were not worth even the paper on which they were written.
In the first days of the war, there was terrible chaos. The Polish army was neither prepared nor even mobilized. Mobilization was announced and then called off. The greatest absurdity is that French intelligence informed the Polish government about a secret annex to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. Even then, the Poles did not believe that war could break out. The war that we lost. Not only the September Campaign, but the entire Second World War. Why? Because after the lost campaign, the Polish army no longer acted independently, but under the direction of the Big Three. As Omar Bradley said: “There is no prize for second place in war.”
And did the Polish flag proudly fly over Berlin? No, only briefly. The Russians treated it like an insignificant rag.
Despite these defeats, both in September ’39 and in the summer and autumn of ’44, the Poles showed immense heroism. True courage and devotion. All discussions should have ceased long ago so that we could honorably remember those who gave what was most important—their lives. They gave them for a just cause, for the peace and freedom of future generations. Unfortunately, for many people the end of the war was merely the beginning of another struggle, this time fratricidal. Today, the truth about the Cursed Soldiers divides us just as much as the issue of the ’44 Uprising. The Warsaw Uprising, though tragic in its consequences, should unite rather than divide us. We forget that the insurgents wanted to fight. No one forced them into battle, because no one had to. The people of Warsaw, and not only they, were able to pay the highest price.
And are we, today, ready to make such a sacrifice? Today, patriotism often amounts to wearing a “patriotic T-shirt.” Such shirts have recently become very fashionable. I do not deny that some are impressive. They are graphically striking. There is nothing wrong with wearing them, but patriotism should not end there. Great sacrifices are not necessary. It is enough to act together, even on a small local matter. To paraphrase the words of a song by Tomek Wachnowski, “We Are All Made of the Same Clay”: We are (not) made of the same clay, and we (do not) differ beautifully.
That is how it has always been, is and will be. That is why we lost our independence for 123 years. That is also why we were so poorly prepared for the defensive war in 1939. Too many differences and conflicts, which continue to this day. It is time to change this, if not for ourselves, then for future generations.
The Warsaw Uprising Museum website contains a virtual memorial wall. There we can search for the names and military ranks of the insurgents who fought. Perhaps some of us will find relatives or acquaintances. It is worth checking.
Paweł Skiersinis
The author is a blogger and history enthusiast, particularly interested in the history of Lower Silesia and Poland. Why Lower Silesia? As he says: “Why not? The most interesting history is the history around us, concerning us and our ancestors.”
He adds: “I try to present history from a different perspective, in an interesting way—not in the typical textbook style, full of dry dates and facts. My articles concern facts that we will not find in textbooks and well-known publications. The history of Lower Silesia is undoubtedly interesting and fascinating, so it is worth devoting at least a brief moment to it from time to time.”