Lessons from the other Warsaw Uprising

Jewish World Review ^ | 8-5-04 | Jonathan Tobin

[SJackson]

his month marks the 60th anniversary of the other Warsaw uprising. Though it is little remembered outside of Poland, the lessons of this terrible battle are worth remembering for a number of reasons in a world where collective action against evil still seems to be a difficult.

I am not referring to the Warsaw ghetto uprising.

That battle, which began on Passover in 1943, was long over when 16 months later their Polish neighbors rose against the German occupiers on Aug. 1, 1944.

In 1943, after a month of hopeless and honorable heroism, the last stand of the doomed and pitifully outnumbered and outgunned Jewish fighters had ended in the complete destruction of the ghetto. Other than a precious few who escaped to safety, all of the fighters and the Jews they sought in vain to protect were either killed or transported to the death camps.

Over a year later, it was the Poles turn to fight a valiant, but ultimately doomed battle. In August 1944, with the tide of the Second World War already turned decisively against Adolf Hitler, the Soviet Union's Red Army had expelled the Germans from their own borders and were advancing from the East on the Polish capital.

[IronJack]

This has always been an inspiring story to me. Read Leon Uris' Mila 18. It's a tale of what a handful of people with courage can do.

Would that we had the same courage today.

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on this middle east/political ping list, please FR mail me.

And a ping for those on Alouette's list, she's away from her computor.

[sharktrager]

Though many non-Jewish Poles and some in the Home Army sought to assist the doomed Jewish revolt in 1943, the Jewish fighters and the tens of thousands of helpless civilians they sought to protect ultimately were left to fight and die alone, without aid from the Allies or local partisans.

I am neither Polish nor Jewish, but this statement offends me.

There is a huge difference between the condition of the German army in 1943 and what it was in 1944.

Had the partisans joined in in 1943 they would have been killed with no hope of success. But in 1944 they had a chance, but were hung out to dry by the Allies.

It is a matter of choosing your fights wisely. A larger force in 1943 would not have changed the outcome. I do not fault those who bravely fought in the Ghetto Uprising. For them, it was the only reasonable course of action. They were going to be killed either way. The same can not be said of those who fought in 1944.

[SJackson]

I am neither Polish nor Jewish, but this statement offends me....

It's one line, not the thrust of the article so I wouldn't get too offended since it is factually correct. Some help might have allowed more Jews to escape, but essentially nothing would have changed the final outcome.

[chukcha]

Totally screwed up story with wrong conclusions - not typical for Tobin.

The truth is that there were two Polish resistance groups - Home Army (Armiya Krayowa) and People Army (Amriya Ludowa). Home Army was supported by British, People Army - by the USSR. They both would fight Germans, but quite often they would fight each other.

In 1944 Home Army decided that the situation was ready for a power grub. They miscalculated - the Soviet Army stopped its offensive and were wiped out by Germans.

What does it have to do with Israel? I think nothing.

The Warsaw Ghetto uprising, when the same Poles were making jokes about Jews being fried alive, makes for a much better comparison.

[lizol]

"The truth is that there were two Polish resistance groups - Home Army (Armiya Krayowa) and People Army (Amriya Ludowa)".

Yes, that's truth. But it's truth also, that the AL was a margin in big part collecting casual criminals (they called it not robbery, but "social justice" in action), whereas the AK was a mass movement, something like a regular, undergroun army.
There were also other resistance groups, like National Armed Forces (mainly nationalists), Peasants Battalions, Grey Rows (undergroun scouting) and each of them was much more signifficant than the AL.
The AL was just a Soviet military agency in Poland, peparing what happened in 1944-1946. Later most of them were members of communist Security Service, which was Polish NKVD.

[lizol]

Ping

[lizol]

"when the same Poles were making jokes about Jews being fried alive"

Where did you get it from? You mean probably the same Polish insurgents, who liberated Jewish concetration camp in Warsaw called "Gesiowka" and saved many Jews (mainly from Greece).

Read more or think twice, neither one hurts.

[Grzegorz 246]

I saw it, but I don't want to talk about it anymore. It's just pointless.

[veronica]

As to Jews, they've always thought to have been the center of the world.

Actually, I have found that it is anti-semites who think Jews are the center of the world, and that belief causes them to obsess about Jews in an unhealthy manner.

Make no mistake! I do not hate Jews!!! But, I don't like them, as I do not like those who lie no matter the color their skin or nationality is. It's that simple!

Nobody says you have to like Jews.

There were no doubt heroic Poles who sheltered Jews, but there were also Poles who collaborated with the Nazis, such as those at Jedwabne. I suppose there are still Poles who would save Jews, and Poles who don't like Jews.

[Grzegorz 246]

I don't hate Jews, in some way I even like some of theme.

"I suppose there are still Poles who would save Jews, and Poles who don't like Jews."

You are right, but the same we could say about Jews and Poles in reverse situation.

There were also Jewish traitors during WW2, for example Jewish policemen in Warsaw Ghetto, who helped Germans; also some Jews collaborated with Soviets, who attacked Poland in 39 together with nazi Germans and then killed hundreds thousand of Poles - but anyway when I hear something about Jews or Israel, I don't think that these are people, who helped Soviets to kill thousands of my compatriots.
Either I'm not talking about it all the time. I said it here on FR only once, when I was provoked by other Jewish user.
Look here:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1182769/posts

Look at #5 and next posts wrote by this user.

Unfortunately this is frequent situation.
Here on FR and in other message boards I heard from Jewish users that: "99% of Poles helped Germans in killing Jews"; "All Poles are antisemitic animals"; "Poles are feed their Jew hatred in their mothers milk" and many other similar "opinions".

I know one thing - I don't deserved to be called "antisemitic animal".

[chukcha]

I know enough to smell bullsh*t.

This is the quote from Simon Wiesenthal"The Armia Krajowa was an underground fighting organization which operated in Poland from 1939 to 1945. It carried out armed raids, bombed railway shipments and participated in partisan fights against Nazis. In Feb. 1942, it created a Section for Jewish Affairs which collected data about the Jews. It provided little practical help to the Jewish underground."

On the other hand, Armiya Ludowa was ready to help Jews ( "Encyclopedia of the Holocaust" ):"Several units of Jewish partisans, which had initially operated independently, joined the ranks of the Gwardia Ludowa and the Armia Ludowa. "

Survival rate for Polish Jews was 1% - the lowest among countries occupied by Nazis. For comparison, in France it was 75%. While Poles did not actively killed Jews - with few exceptions (Jedbawneh) - they did not help them either.

And it is all too well known that Jews were killed in Poland after the war (Kielce). In the 60's practically all remaining Polish Jews were expelled.