The Polish Masters...

Poland is extremely proud of its citizens who went on to make a global impact and does its best to honour them around the city.

A few of the notables:

Frederic Chopin – Polish composer Chopin’s presence can be felt all around the city – from the Chopin Museum, Chopin House and the Chopin Family Parlor to the Chopin Institute, to the renaming of the Warsaw airport in his honour in 2001…the city has even built muiscal benches playing his masterpieces to make your rest-stop a little more lyrical!  

Although Chopin was buried in France where he had moved as an adult to pursue music on a larger global stage, legend has it that his sister cut out his heart and brought it back to Poland to ensure that part of him was buried in the country he saw as his home. 

In his honour, Warsaw’s Lazienki Park (comparable to Hyde Park in London) hosts an outdoor Chopin concert every weekend during the summer, in which different performers play his masterpieces.

Lucky to be there on a weekend, we organized an incredible vegan-burger picnic (perhaps the best burger Beth has ever had!)  and headed over to watch the show.   The locals were easy to spot, having clearly arrived early to take advantage of the benches and bringing shade parasols and other comforts to better enjoy the show.

Undeterred, we laid our towel on an empty soil patch slightly behind the stage and enjoyed, with our ears, the gorgeous performance.

Despite the overwhelming number of people, the crowd was incredibly respectful and engaged, with barely a word uttered during the performances of Chopin’s works.  How lucky for all of us to be able to share in such a special concert.

Marie Curie - The Maria Sklodowska-Curie Museum honours the life of Polish native, Marie Curie (1867-1934), a two-time Nobel Laureate and the first person to win a nobel prize in two different areas of science – physics and chemistry.

Beyond her revolutionary work on radiation, Marie Curie broke many other barriers for women, being one of the first women to attend university (in France), teaching as a professor, and, incredibly, one of the first women ever to go on a cycling trip for her honeymoon! Her husband also won a nobel prize, as did all but one of her children (talk about feeling like a black sheep!)

Pope John Paul II  - As the first Pope from Poland, Pope John Paul II is celebrated across the nation.

Having made many visits to the region, the Pope can be seen in photographs and commemorations all across the country – whether in the window where he addressed adoring crowds, to photo montages in numerous parks, to multiple statues in prime locations.

Poland's people saw the Pope as their beacon of hope during the Communist era.    In fact, many believe that his visit to the region in the late 1970s inspired Poles to fight for a return to independence and democracy.  His visit was instrumental in the organizing and efforts that followed and led Poland to be the first country to separate from communist rule under the USSR.

The Zookeeper's Wife

On the flight to Poland, we serendipitously watched the movie, The Zookeeper’s Wife.  It recounted the quietly heroic efforts of the Warsaw Zookeeper, his wife and many of their zoo staff, to hide and save 300 Jews during WWII.

Focusing heavily on those that could easily disguise into normal Warsaw life, this brave couple helped Jews escape from the Ghetto, and sheltered them in their home’s basement while they could arrange for new documentation/papers and then a way for them to safely resettle in the local community. 

The Zookeeper’s wife would use the piano as a communication tool, playing fast-paced tunes to warn people when to hide and calmer tunes in the evening when it was safe from them to come out of hiding. 

Although we are not fond of zoos, we of course felt compelled to visit this safe-haven.  

Located just across the river (self-reputed to be Europe's most beautiful) from the historic part of town, we were able to walk to the zoo easily from our hotel.   Although it didn't get off to the best start (requiring a quick change of plans and a short delay) - at least we made it unsoiled -  the walk across the bridge and through the parks to get there was a memorable one in and of itself.

Visiting the zoo itself was uncomfortable, with the conditions for some of the animals (particularly the polar bears) seeming quite inappropriate.  We hope that the renovations they are undertaking will remedy this soon.    

But its compelling history intensified the feelings where you can see aspects of the movie in real life.  

At the zoo, for example, one can see the tunnel that was used for escape and the house where they lived.  

It turned out that you could make appointments to view the inside of the house but this was not mentioned anywhere except by the person we happened to meet that was sitting in the house.  

Unfortunately, she was not willing to make an appointment for us that morning and so we instead sat outside of it, reading more about the remarkable story and looking online at photographs of the home's inside.

How many more stories of these quiet heroes there must be that have not yet (and may never) surface.

Eradication and Devastation

Although there are not many traces of the Jewish district or way of life left in Poland, the Jewish community played an integral role in the history and development of Warsaw and Poland and its influence lives on in other ways. 

Before WWII, there were 500,000 Jews living in Poland, the largest Jewish community in all of Europe.

Poland – from "Po Lin" meaning “Rest Here” in Hebrew – had developed over hundreds of years to become one of the most tolerant and accepting countries towards the Jewish faith and community.

In the 13^th – 17^th centuries, many of the Dukes recognized strong benefits, financial and otherwise, of supporting the Jewish community and, as a result, created royal protections and special taxation rules (where the taxes were paid directly to the Crown), that enabled Jews to practice their way of life.

In the 19^th century, when Russia took over parts of Poland, the unified and tolerant community began to change, with many Polish starting to blame Jews for some of the bad developments and incidents that were happening in the country.

This began the exodus of Jews from Poland with large numbers leaving before WWI.

Those that stayed, however, saw an independent Poland emerge after WWI where Jews began to again play a meaningful role in politics and other city life.

Their role in politics, however, often angered other Poles.  This, paired with other global developments, led to a strong rise of anti-semitism and caused many more Jews to leave the country in the mid-1930s.

And then WWII began.

When the Germans conquered Poland in 1939 and took control of Warsaw, one of their first acts was to undertake a city census to learn exactly who was living in the city and where.

Having implemented rules that Jews must identify themselves by wearing a Star of David – a form of segregation and humiliation - the Germans quickly ramped up their persecution with information gained from the census.

Upon review of the rolls, they determined that the majority of the Jews lived close to each other near the heart of the Old Town.  As a result, they cordoned off the area to create the Jewish Ghetto where all Jews would be required to live.  Those that were not Jewish were removed from the area and any Jews not yet living in the Ghetto were forced to move into it.  In the middle of the Ghetto was a carve-out for an existing Church and Government Administrative building which allowed for unfettered access by non-Jews.

The Ghetto – 3 square km in total – was far too small for the number of inhabitants, which at one point accommodated 450,000 people.  This resulted in not just overcrowding but the sickness and disease that naturally followed from such cramped quarters and poor living conditions.

Jews in the Ghetto were provided official meals totalling just 300 calories per day while undertaking often gruelling slave labour for their captors. This lead them to survive on handouts and scraps.

In the end, almost 100,000 Jewish deaths were as a result of the horrid conditions of the Warsaw Ghetto itself.

Natural death through squalid conditions was not enough for the Germans and, in 1941, the Germans began to implement the Final Solution, erecting Extermination Camps and Concentration Camps all around Europe, particularly in Poland.

So many of the Camps were built in Poland (and close to the rail stations) for a variety of reasons.  First, much of the Jewish population lived in or near Poland which made the trip more efficient.  Second, Poland was in Northern Europe and not often on the awareness radar of the Allies, making it easier to undertake these murderous activities without as much attention.

Nalewki Street (before and after)

In 1941, the Germans worked to get rid of the Ghetto by sending Jews to these labour and extermination camps.  Those that were deemed capable of work were sent to Auschwitz, while women/children and men that weren’t “fit” for work were sent to Treblinka, an extermination camp, just outside of Warsaw.  After arriving by train in Treblinka, Jews were made to undress, sort their things and then walk naked to the Chamber where they were met with death supplied by carbon monoxide asphyxiation produced by a large internal combustion engine.

Like clockwork, the physical size of the Warsaw Ghetto was reduced as people were sent off to camps and the Ghetto was emptied.  

As the remaining Jews in the Ghetto began to understand their likely fate, they organized the Ghetto Uprising.  They knew they had no chance of success but decided it was better to die with dignity.  

The Ghetto Uprising lasted only a few days and was expectedly unsuccessful. 

After the Ghetto Uprising, the entire Ghetto was burned, leaving only the Church and Administrative building standing.  It is said that the Warsaw residents outside the Ghetto could smell the burning flesh and see the ashes rising.  Nothing is left.

A monument in honour of those brave Jewish soldiers has been erected in front of Polin, a remarkable museum that explores the influence of the Jewish Community in Poland.

The Warsaw Ghetto (before and after)

The Ghetto wasn't the only thing annihilated.  So successful was the eradication of the Jews in the Ghetto and the surrounding camps that by 1943 Treblinka was no longer needed and was also destroyed.  It is estimated that between 700,000-900,000 victims were murdered in Treblinka.

In the memorials around the city, there are photographs of Nalewki Street, which was a key trading and community street at the heart of Jewish life.  So crowded with houses, people and activity, accounts say it was often difficult for people to move around.

At the end of the War, there was nothing left of that street and visitors can see the change with their own eyes.  The street has not been rebuilt and lays empty, with just the streetcar track running through it (photo above).  The name has been changed to Ghetto Heroes Way.

 Although no physical buildings in the Ghetto remain, a brass memory line and plaques runs around the outer perimeters of the Ghetto.  Of course, it could never be enough.  What could be?

After the War, the Jewish Historical Institute was created and is a repository of documentary materials relating to the Jewish historical presence in Poland.  It is also a centre for academic research and the dissemination of knowledge about the history and culture of Polish Jewry.  One of the important services they offer is helping people to trace their family roots and connections, which was made almost impossible because of the destruction of records during the War.  Nonetheless, their creative and skilled searching has helped thousands of families to reconnect piece together important pieces of their history and emerge from the ashes of the terrifying destruction.

Dining in the Park...

Lazienki Park is the largest park in Warsaw, occupying 76 hectares in the city centre.

Housed in the Park is a Palace complex, which is part of the Royal route and links the Royal Castle with the main Palace in the south of the city. 

The park is well used by locals and tourists, with many museums and sites to visit and explore as well as many places to relax and play.

On the weekend, we were fortunate to watch a Chopin concert at the grandstand in the park.

In addition to walking around and enjoying the beautifully manicured gardens, we were also lucky to secure a reservation to dine at the Belvedere Restaurant, a gorgeous and inviting restaurant housed in the old Orangerie, which feels like a solarium/greenhouse in the middle of the park.  Slow service couldn’t get in the way of the delicious food and delightful backdrop.

Truly a park used to the fullest for all the community to enjoy. 

Palace Controversy

When Russia took control of Poland after WWII, Stalin organized a gift for them - the Joseph Stalin Palace of Culture and Science.

Built from 1952-1955, this Palace was constructed using Soviet plans with some Polish architectural details included.  The tower was built by 3,500-5,000 Russian workers (and 4,000 Polish workers) who were housed in Poland at Poland’s expense! 

The Tower is the city’s most notable landmark but understandably is a controversial one.  Many Poles initially saw the building as a symbol of Soviet domination and some of that sentiment remains even today.  Many others feel that the building overpowers the city and destroys the aesthetic balance and charm of the old city.  This has been lessened over time, however, with the building of other skyscrapers nearby. 

Without controversy, the name has been changed and is now simply The Palace of Culture and Science. 

Warsaw Rising

Bad weather in Istanbul made our flight to Poland a little more adventurous than we would have liked - with consistent air turbulence, a late arrival, a speedy run through the Istanbul airport to catch our connecting plane, and then an unexpected two hour wait after our connector was, at the last-minute, delayed.

Nonetheless, we arrived in Warsaw before sundown and were delighted to check into the elegant Hotel Bristol which was perfectly located on the main street of Warsaw’s historic town.

As usual, we started our stay with a walking tour of Warsaw.  Our tour met at Sigismund’s Column in the heart of the historic town.  This was a fitting starting point as it was King Sigismund who decided to move the country’s capital from Krakow to Warsaw in 1596 and helped Warsaw truly emerge into a world-class city.

Like many European cities, Poland has endured a turbulent existence, surviving multiple wars and domination by a variety of countries including Prussia, Austria, France, and most recently the USSR. 

Through all the upheaval, Poland’s capital city has earned the reputation as a “phoenix city”, in large part because of its ability to resurrect itself on numerous occasions, including after its almost entire destruction in WWII. 

Although many cities in Europe suffered damage in the war, Warsaw suffered a worse fate than most.  It is estimated that 80% of the city was destroyed, including nearly the entire city centre and its most historic and significant buildings.    

Warsaw was a key target of the Germans during the War, primarily because the city was home to the largest number of Jews in Europe at that time.  In addition, when the Polish organized the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, the Germans - on the verge of losing the war - were thought to be so angered by the rebellion that they sought to destroy every aspect of the city before their defeat.

But the Polish were determined to rebuild their city and their spirit and drive is felt throughout Warsaw.

The completely gutted Historic Main Square was rebuilt in just 7 years with the majority of the city, including the city walls, rebuilt not much later.  Using photos and artist sketches from the 18^th Century (a prettier version preferred by the architects versus the 19^th Century version), the rebuilding was almost entirely identical with a few unexpected updates – a monkey statue, for example, perches on the corner of a building which was originally incorporated into a sketch as an insult to a feuding family.   

Although not the biggest or most dramatic, the people’s passion shines through  and this UNESCO recognized site now welcomes guests with jazz concerts, buskers/balloon sellers, outdoor restaurants and of course the famous Mermaid of Warsaw, who is fabled to be the sister of the Copenhagen mermaid and is meant protect the city from war (she was napping during WWII).

Architecture aside, however, Warsaw’s human tragedy during WWII can never be undone.  Of Warsaw’s almost 1.4 million residents before the War, half died during the War and only about 10% remained in the city by the time the War ended.   This tragedy is commemorated and reflected throughout the city and will be explored more fully in a separate post. 

Although the city has re-emerged and its 1.7 million population is growing at a pace much faster than the rest of Poland, the city still felt quiet somehow.   Perhaps because people were on vacation or because it is just now back to pre-war levels (versus the growth beyond that from other cities), but the city never felt crowded.  There was never any traffic, no waiting lines and never any trouble getting reservations somewhere.    A quiet calm for the phoenix city.

Four-tea!

A most delicious way to spend a birthday - breakfast in bed followed by a fabulous afternoon tea at the stunning new Address Boulevard.

Welcome new decade!