Poland - Eastern Europe - page 402

Socialist-Realist wedding cake was originally a gift from former Soviet leader Josef
Stalin, but the symbolic intention was clear from the start. Stalin was marking his turf,
and Poland was part of the Eastern bloc. Today, with Poland firmly within the Euro-
pean Union and the Soviet Union a distant nightmare, public attitudes toward the
“palace” have softened somewhat. What used to look tragic, now looks undeniably
comic, and it seems the building will continue in its role as a cultural venue for some
time to come. You can ride to the top—30 stories—for a fine view over the city (but
let's be honest here, 30 stories is not really that dramatic). The humdrum interior is
also a bit of a disappointment. Save yourself the admission and, instead, admire the
amazing exterior for free. You won't be able to take your eyes off of it.
Pl Defilad. & 022/656-76-00. www.pkin.pl. Daily 9am-8pm. Admission 20 zl ($6.65/£3.50), reduced for groups of
10 or more.
The Museum of the Warsaw Uprising (Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego)
This relatively new museum, with its hands-on exhibits and high-tech imagery, has
emerged as one of Warsaw's main tourist attractions. The museum, housed in a for-
mer transformer station for the trams, is a large and confusing space to navigate once
inside. Try to follow the arrows on the suggested route, but don't despair if you find
yourself ambling from one display case to another. Everyone else is doing the same.
A little history will help you to get your bearings. On August 1, 1944, at precisely
5pm, the commanders of the Polish insurgent Home Army, loyal to Poland's govern-
ment-in-exile in London, called for a general uprising throughout the Nazi-occupied
city. The Germans, at the time, were in retreat on all sides, having suffered reversals on
the Western front, in France and Italy, and in the East, at the hands of the Soviet Red
Army. By the end of July that year, the Red Army had moved to within the city limits
of Warsaw and were camped on the eastern bank of the Vistula in the suburb of Praga.
With the combined forces of the Home Army and the Red Army, it seemed the right
moment to drive the Germans out and liberate Warsaw. Alas, it was not to be. The first
few happy days of the uprising saw the Polish insurgents capture pockets of the city,
including the Old Town and adjacent suburbs. But the Germans resisted fiercely, and
the Red Army, for reasons that are not entirely clear to this day, never stepped in to
help. The resistance lasted several weeks before Polish commanders were forced to
capitulate in the face of rapidly escalating civilian casualties. Thousands of Warsaw res-
idents died in the fighting and the subsequent reprisal attacks by German forces. The
uprising so infuriated Hitler that he ordered the complete annihilation of the city. In
the weeks following the uprising, Warsaw's buildings were listed in terms of their cul-
tural significance and dynamited one by one. Some 85% of the city was eventually
destroyed. As for the Russians, the accepted theory is that they viewed the Polish Home
Army as a potential enemy and preferred simply to watch the Germans and Poles kill
each other. To this day, many Poles have never forgiven the Russians this decision.
The museum charts the full course of the uprising starting from the German inva-
sion in 1939, through life in occupied Warsaw, and the events of 1944 and their after-
math. Don't miss the harrowing documentary films shown on the upper floors, with
English subtitles, that tell the story from the inside. They were made by Polish jour-
nalists during the occupation and were shown in Warsaw cinemas while the fighting
was going on.
Grzybowska 79. & 022/626-95-06. Mon, Wed, Fri 8am-6pm, Thurs 8am-8pm, Sat-Sun 10am-6pm; Closed Tues.
Admission 4 zl ($1.30/70p). Free Sun.