The Museum of the Uprising in Warsaw is one of the best museums in Poland. Located in the growing financial district in the vast industrial architectural hulk of a former power station, it was opened on the 60th anniversary of Warsaw Uprising of 1944.
It is an evocative and eerie museum which explains how the Polish resistance bravely fought to protect their city and people from the Nazis at the end of the war, only to be betrayed by the communists under Stalin. “It is a fascinating and disturbing story, partly because of the gall and guile of the Polish Home Army, which, despite being small and woefully ill-equipped, resisted the Germans for 63 days; and partly because of the complicated issues surrounding the event: the Rising’s ultimate futility, the severe consequences of its failure, the inaction of the Russians, and what many Poles still perceive as the betrayal of Poland by its Western Allies, Great Britain and America.” (Local Life)
The museum is located away from the centre of Warsaw but is well worth a visit. It highlights the strength of spirit of the Polish people and the level of destruction that they have had to suffer as the Nazis sought to destroy all vestiges of the Polish nation by killing and removing the population and destroying the buildings, libraries and archives. It is hard for the younger generation to imagine such atrocities; this museum keeps the story alive in a factual and non-political way.
Outside is a wall of the name of those who perished and an alter for services plus remnants of one of the many statues which the Nazis blew up as they sought to destroy any and all history of Poland.
[…] World War galleries make use of a variety of media similar to the exhibitions in the successful Museum of the Uprising in Warsaw. New galleries have been created to show artwork related to the First World War and, at last, […]