Events to mark the 71st anniversary of the Warsaw Rising against the Nazis continue on Friday.
The Polish capital will remember the uneven struggle of Warsaw's population against the overwhelming might of the Nazi forces with an extraordinary session of the city council, a mass service in a square, and a concert, among others.
At noon on Friday, a special meeting of the City Council will meet at the Royal castle in Warsaw.
On this solemn session, a number of prizes will be issued by the City. Historian and author Henryk Samsonowicz and film director Andrzej Wajda will be made honorary citizens of Warsaw.
A mass will be celebrated by Bishop Józef Guzdek at 6:00 pm, and will be held on the Krasiński Square in front of the monument to the Warsaw Rising.
“Just over a year before the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising, life in the occupied capital was full of fear and terror,” Bishop Gudzek told the IAR news agency.
“Warsaw residents did not want to die, but to live with dignity. However, their necks were bent so low that they had to try to stand up, even paying the highest price.”
Saturday will mark 71 years since the outbreak of the Rising, which saw the deaths of over 150,000 Polish citizens.
The Warsaw Rising is considered to be the single largest military effort undertaken by a resistance group in Europe. The Polish resistance Home Army decided to start the rising to free the capital from under the Nazi occupation at a time when the Soviet Red Army was approaching Warsaw from the east on its way to Berlin. However, on Stalin's orders the Soviet offensive was stopped and Warsaw was left to bleed to death. Before the Soviets finally captured the city in January 1945, the Nazis had demolished most of the buildings and infrastructure. (rg/rk)
Source: IAR, PAP
Ewa Malcher
