Pat and Nancy (Grandpa and Grandma) came to visit us about a month ago. It had been about ten months since we had seen them! Don't they look like nice people? That's because they are.

One of the first things we did with them was attended a Battle for Warsaw reenactment at the citadel. This WWII watershed event in Poland is a big part of their national identity, yet is not well known outside of Poland. If you want to learn more about it, you can read this book:

I haven't read it, but Ben has and he was enthralled by it. Warning: it's a beast. Basically, the story is of the Warsaw underground that organized and planned an uprising against the Nazis. Confident that the Soviets, who were making their way to Warsaw, would come to their aid, the Poles bravely rose up against the Nazis and fought for their freedom. The battle lasted 63 days while the Soviets sat on the other side of the river (orders of Stalin) and watched the whole thing unfold without lifting a finger to help. The Nazis savagely retaliated and when the smoke was cleared, about 250,000 Poles (civilians!) were dead and Hitler ordered the systemastic destruction of the city. It was 90% leveled to the ground.

So, the reenactment:

It was REALLY loud. I don't know what they were using but it sounded like real machine gun fire, so C and Em weren't having the best time:



I caught this man watching the whole thing from a distance. I couldn't help but wonder if he was actually there...

There were also some 101st Airborne enthusiasts, and since Ben was actually a part of the 101st, he received celebrity status. Check out how gun ho the kid on the left is.

And on our way out, we came across these actors... perhaps on their way to reenact the Battle of Grunwald? That would have been exciting to watch, and probably not as loud.