Warsaw World War 2 – Warsaw Before and After WW2

f you want to understand what happened during World War 2 in Warsaw, this post is for you. Moreover, you should join our Warsaw World War 2 Tour to see changes between Warsaw before and After World War 2. 

Warsaw hosted many crucial events in Poland’s history. Nowadays it has become a major commercial as well as cultural centre of Central Europe.

 

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Warsaw Before World War 2

More than hundred years ago, Poland as a country did not exist as Russia, Austria, and Germany divided the country amongst themselves. But in 1918, Poland regained its independence and Warsaw was reinstated as its capital.

However, the first few years of Poland’s independence were riddled with hardships. The country as a whole was still recovering from the havoc caused by WWI and also the Polish-Bolshevik War.

The Poles got together and started rebuilding their country and in 1925 around 1,000,000 people lived in Warsaw. The capital bloomed and within the next 5 years the wealth of the city doubled due to the good economic situation around the world. 

By the 1930s, Warsaw was home to over 20 theatres, 70 cinemas and tens of thousands of university students. Automobile and aircraft manufacturing companies started springing up and the city went on an expansion drive. During this time Warsaw also emerged as Europe’s cultural centre which was symbolized by the beginning of international competitions as the International Chopin Competition for Pianists (1927) and the Henryk Wieniawski International Violin Competition (1935).

Another aspect of Warsaw, Before World War 2 is the city was a major centre of Jewish life and culture in Poland. The prosperous Jewish community constituted about 30 percent of the city’s total population. which was the largest in both Poland and Europe.

As Warsaw began to prosper, people from all over Europe started settling in and by 1939, it was already home to over 1,300,000 people, making it the 7th biggest city in Europe. Although Warsaw was a very industrialized city, it was beautiful, diverse and truly European, and was often referred to as ‘The Paris of the North’.

In fact, the then President of Warsaw, Stefan Starzyński, had many ideas and plans for future development of the city. These ideas included construction of radio stations, subway system, bus and train stations, an airport and even host international trade fairs. But most of these amazing projects were abandoned, as the Second World War began and the city was completely destroyed.

 

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Warsaw During World War 2

On 1st September 1939 the first bombs fell on Warsaw. The most important representatives of military and civil administration escaped to Romania. They took along a lot of equipment as well as ammunition which could have been useful in defending the country.

On 9th September the German tanks attacked Warsaw from the south-west. The defenders were able to stop them in Ochota district, but not for long. They were totally out-numbered and the Germans with so many divisions had decided they would conquer the city anyway. Moreover, a few days later, on 17 September, Soviets invaded east Poland.

After four weeks of heroic defence, On 27th September, Warsaw surrendered and on 1st October the Germans were able to enter the city. During this time 31,000 people died and 46,000 people were injured. Moreover, Germans had already destroyed 10% of the buildings in the city. This began the occupation period that would last for the next five years.

Earlier, in the same year, On June 20th, 1939, Adolf Hitler approved the Pabst Plan. The Germans had planned to destroy Warsaw even before the start of WW2. While visiting an architectural bureau in Würzburg am Main (Germany), Adolf Hitler noticed a project of a future German town – Neue deutsche Stadt Warschau (New German city of Warsaw). According to the Pabst Plan, Warsaw was to be turned into a provincial German city.  The planners drafted precise drawings outlining a historic ‘Germanic’ core where a select few landmarks would be saved such as the Royal Castle which would serve as Hitler’s state residence. 

From the early days of the occupation, the German Nazis imposed ruthless terror aimed at the annihilation of the Polish population. The occupying forces immediately took control of the administration and police department. Frequent arrests and executions quickly became a common place in the streets of Warsaw. These brutal tactics were employed to deter any resistance, cultural and economic activity. Even the president of Warsaw, Stefan Starzyński, was among those arrested. For organising the defence of Warsaw under the siege in September 1939, he was murdered by the Gestapo in December 1939. 

Every day, passers-by were arrested in large numbers during street round-ups and were sent off to do forced labour or were transported to concentration camps. Slowly, advertising boards and pillars were plastered with execution announcements. The Nazi German terror did not discriminate against anyone and it was certain that everyone could become a victim.

Warsaw began to be annihilated in stages, after nearly one-month-long siege of Warsaw, over 10% of the city structures were destroyed. Warsaw’s city centre was heavily bombed and suffered the most. Even the suburban areas of the city sustained heavy damage, where fierce battles were fought. Warsaw’s iconic buildings were damaged by bombs as well, this included the Royal Castle, numerous palaces, the National Theatre, Warsaw philharmonics and the stock exchange. Further, special groups of German engineers were sent throughout the city to burn and demolish the remaining buildings. Having taken control over the city, the German Nazis immediately began looting valuable artwork, industrial machinery, luxury homes and estates of residents considered to be of Jewish origin.

 

Recommended : Majdanek Concentration Camp Private Guided Tour from Warsaw

 

By the autumn of 1940, the German authorities established an all-Jewish district, isolated from the city, thus creating the largest ghetto in occupied Europe. Approximately 400,000 people were concentrated within an area of less than 2.5 km. In 1941, the population within the ghetto rose to an alarming 4,60,000 people. The Jews chosen for extermination were used as cheap labour. And within one and a half years of the ghetto’s existence, over 100,000 people died of hunger or diseases. 

In 1942, the Nazis sent over 3,00,000 Jews to the extermination camp in Treblinka. Soon, the following deportation attempts were met with resistance. In April 1943, the first Jewish uprising began in the ghetto. As a result, 60,000 Jews were either killed or sent to concentration camps. After the Uprising failed, the German Nazis systematically razed the ghetto down to the ground. As a result, another 15% of Warsaw’s architecture was destroyed and a major part of Warsaw’s city centre was turned into a wasteland.

 

Warsaw Uprising

Between August to October 1944, saw another uprising in Warsaw. During this time, the Poles were unsuccessful in ousting the German army and seizing control of the city before it was occupied by the advancing Soviet army. This allowed the pro-Soviet Polish administration to take charge, rather than the Polish government-in-exile.

On 29th July 1944, the Red Army approached Warsaw and the Soviet authorities encouraged the Polish underground army to stage an uprising against the Germans. Hoping to gain control of Warsaw before the Red Army could liberate it, the underground army decided to revolt. Under the command of General Bór-Komorowski, the Warsaw corps of 50,000 troops attacked the weak German force on 1st August and within three days gained control of most parts of the city. But soon, the German army sent reinforcements and forced the Poles into a defensive position, bombarding them with air and artillery attacks for the next 63 days.

Meanwhile, the Red Army occupied a position at Praga, a suburb in Warsaw, and intentionally remained idle. They also did not allow the western Allies to use Soviet air bases to airlift supplies to the troubled Poles. With no support in sight, the Home Army split into smaller units and were forced to surrender as their supplies came to an end. Bór-Komorowski and his troops were taken prisoner, and the German Nazis systematically deported the remainder of the city’s population and destroyed the city itself.

In January 1945, Soviet troops entered the ruins in Warsaw. They liberated the suburbs from German occupation. Later, they took the city and went towards Lodz. Soviets arrested Home Army soldiers who survived the war and executed them or deported them to Siberia.

The Soviets played a dual game and by allowing the Germans to suppress the Warsaw Uprising they ensured elimination of the military organization that supported the Polish government-in-exile in London. As a result, when the Soviet army occupied all of Poland, there was little resistance and the Soviets soon established their domination all over the country and imposed the communist-led Provisional Government of Poland on January 1st, 1945.

By February 1945, between 85% to 90% of the buildings in Warsaw had been completely destroyed. The material losses were estimated at 10,500 buildings, 925 historical buildings, 25 churches, 14 libraries, 80 primary schools, 65 high schools, the University of Warsaw and the Warsaw University of Technology. Nearly one million residents of Warsaw lost all of their possessions. The exact losses of private and public property are still unknown, but it must be substantial since the inhabitants of Warsaw were the richest and wealthiest Poles in pre-war Poland.  

In 2005, a historical commission estimated around 700,000 people died in Warsaw and losses inflicted to public property by the German Nazis to be $ 54.6 billion. 

 

Warsaw After World War 2

After the Soviet troops entered Warsaw, they decided to renew the city in modern style, with large free areas. The city was rebuilt by the Polish people between the 1950s and 1970s with support from the Soviet Union. Though the Soviets demolished many buildings which could have been rebuilt. However, in 1953, the Old Town, the Royal Route as well as Royal Castle were reconstructed. The Old Town rebuilding was an achievement on a global scale. Due to that, in 1980, UNESCO inscribed the Old Town onto its World Heritage list.

The Palace of Culture and Science (completed in 1955) was a gift from Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. But for the people of Warsaw, the building became a symbol of autocratic oppression. Stalinism lasted in Poland till 1956. Yet the Palace has become a symbol of the city of Warsaw, and of the age of so-called Socialist realism in Poland. It currently houses cinemas, theatres, museums and offices. 

With the end of the communist rule in Poland in 1989, Poland’s capital blossomed and underwent a rapid transition from command to a market economy. Closed since the Second World War, the Warsaw Stock Exchange reopened and became an important market in central Europe. The economic and construction boom rapidly reduced unemployment and transformed the city’s skyline with new office towers and hotels.

With the start of the 21st century, in 2004, Poland entered the European Union. Since the last two decades, Warsaw has experienced the biggest economic boom in its whole history. The European football championships in Poland and Ukraine in 2012 was another important stimulator of the economy. Today, Warsaw is home to nearly 2 million people and the city has gradually built its position as an important financial centre, luring both national and foreign investors. 

Finally, to understand modern Warsaw, one must first know its history. There are countless memorials and monuments scattered around the city that are a constant reminder of its difficult and tumultuous past. There are a few buildings which still carry shelling marks but they gradually disappear from the cityscape. It’s painful, yet its glorious experiences make it a truly special place.

 

Warsaw Tours Connected with World War 2

As you surmise, there are many tours connected with World War 2. If you don’t like to organize everything on your own and you want to hear more about those tragic times, join our tour. Your private guide will answer all of your questions. 

 

Warsaw Private WW2 Walking Tour & Powazki Cemetery

During this tour you will visit places and see monuments in Warsaw connected to World War 2. Moreover, your guide will tell you the history of the war in Poland as well as stories of some Polish army heroes.

This tour has two options for you to choose from:

– 2 hours option

During the 2 hours option you will see the most important places as well as monuments related to World War 2 such as Monument to the Heroes of the Ghetto and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

– 3 hours option

During the 3 hours option you will learn even more essential information about World War 2. Moreover, you will visit the Powaski Cemetery.

Both of the options are available at 9.00 am, 10.30 am as well as 1.30 pm. Pick the best time for you and join our tour! 

You can book the tour here!