Warsaw: You Exceeded My Expectations
We went directly from Auschwitz, via Krakow, by train to Warsaw. Warsaw and Krakow could not be more different; compared to Krakow’s Old Europe charm, Warsaw is a lively, modern, buzzing metropolis. Our first night there, immediately after arriving, we broke into two groups and went to the homes of two European Marshall alumnus, who provided us with wine, cheese, and conversation.
My hosts were with the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and they were wonderful. We discussed politics and the state of the world over a spread of olives, poached pears and gorgonzola, Polish cheeses, and wine; needless to say, I was in my element.
The next two days flew by in a whirlwind of meetings and tours. I met with a senior urban planning consultant, with newspaper editors, and with the founders of Poland’s version of the Huffington Post. The food was amazing, with visits to local restaurants proving that Poland is every bit the culinary destination. We also got a tour of the old town, as well as the Warsaw Uprising museum (opened last year), which were fascinating. I’ll do my best to summarize my learnings below.
Poland was the first country invaded by the Nazis in WWII, with Germany rolling in on 1 Sep 1939. 16 days later, the Soviets, too, declared war on Poland. The country was sandwiched, with enemy troops rolling in from both sides. The Nazis got to Warsaw and began cutting it up, bombing the historic downtown and moving Jews to the newly-created Jewish Ghetto. The citizens of Warsaw undertook the Warsaw Uprising, determined to fight the Germans. It was amazing – they lasted 63 days, and scored some impressive victories, given that they were regular citizens with few provisions and weapons fighting a legitimate army. In the end, of course, they lost. Warsaw is divided east/west by the Wisla River, and at the end of the fighting, the Soviets controlled the east side and the Germans the west.
Hitler decided to make an example of Warsaw, to demonstrate to other European cities that resistance was futile and would be met with aggressive destruction. As such, Nazi troops continued the destruction of Warsaw long after the Uprising had been beaten, bombing the historic Old Town endlessly to the point that, at the end of the war, it was approximately 85% destroyed. The Soviets were, of course, allied with the US. Nonetheless, they sat patiently on the east side of the river as the Germans destroyed the historic capital.
Amazingly, post-war, a decimated Warsaw population returned and began to rebuild. Warsaw’s pre-war population had stood at ~1.1M; post-war, it was at 450k. However, the citizens began to re-build the old town from its very ashes, literally using bricks from fallen buildings to rebuild them. They eschewed more modern construction methods and technologies in favor of recreating an authentic version of the old city – and were so successful that Old Town Warsaw is now a Unesco World Heritage Site. It’s a beautiful place, and all the more incredible when one considers it was literally razed 70 years ago.
Jumping back to modern Warsaw, our last dinner was in the company of a true legend, Janus Onyszkiewicz. A leader, with Lech Walesa, of the Solidarity movement that led to the downfall of Communist rule, Janus went on to become a Member of European Parliament, a member of the Polish Parliament, and the Polish Minister of Defense. An accomplished mountaineer, he also summitted K2 and Annapurna. Needless to say, it was incredible to be in the company of such a historic person, and I was again blown away by the caliber of people with whom this program enables us to engage. Oh – and the dinner was fantastic.
Below are photos of the Old Town (entirely rebuilt), a beautiful park, a Chopin statue, and of our last dinner, where we were served by a number of people. The gentlemen with white hair, in between my colleagues Brandon and Katya, is Janus.
