Farewell to Poland

All our bags are packed, we're ready to go. We're leaving back to the USA tomorrow! This past week has been crazy hectic and I can't believe I'm blogging the night before we leave, but I had to post some last pictures of our adventures in Poland. This is the Czarniecki family who we adore... they are devote Catholic but came to visit us at our Mormon church one Sunday. Aren't their kids adorable?

Ben went to Turkey. A very interesting place, with very interesting spinning dancers. Ben said this guy just twirled around in the same position forever.

He also went to Russia... and the Ukraine and Greece. I got the exciting job of staying home and watching the girls.

So, August 1 is the 67th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, not to be confused with the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The Warsaw Uprising unfortunately isn't very well known... at least you don't hear about it much in the history books, but it was a crazy/courageous/devastating event for Poland. The gist of it is the underground army, which was a fully functioning organized Polish army, uprose against the Nazis in Aug. 1944. They been planning an uprising for years, and were waiting for just the right moment. In the summer of '44, the Soviets were making their way to Warsaw from the east, coming to "liberate" them and Stalin promised his help if they uprose. Well, he was a total jerk and ordered his troops, who were just on the bank of the Vistula, to stay put and let the Poles fend for themselves. They Poles bravely uprose against the Nazis and had awesome success the first couple weeks. But the incredulous Nazis got reinforcements and took out vengeance on the Poles. After two months of fighting, 200,000 POLISH CIVILIANS were dead. I can't even imagine. Then Hitler, so furious, ordered the systematic destruction of the city and it was 85-90% leveled. So, every August 1, Warsaw commemorates the uprising with all sorts of events and ceremonies... they are really proud of their military history.

Ben went to as many events as he could. Here are some men who fought in the uprising, including a general in the Polish army (third from left) who at the time was a captain.
Ben met this guy who was SO INTERESTING. He's Polish, at the age of 8, was put in a Siberian prison camp when the Soviets invaded in 1941, served two years, was granted amnesty when the Soviets switched to the allied camp, and as he was totally displaced from his family, he made his way down to all the -stan countries, and joined up with General Anders' army (AT THE AGE OF 10!!) who served under Patton in North Africa. He emigrated to the USA and served in our army in the Korean War where he sustained injuries and had to be medically discharged.

The Polish military cemetery is SO BEAUTIFUL and amazing. It was all lit up with candles and adorned with flags and flowers for the anniversary
Me in my cheesy red and white (Poland's colors)

That night we went to another ceremony and you have to keep reading...

I wish I had a better picture of this couple, but we met them at this ceremony and they were so interesting. As a young man, he fought in the uprising, was captured and served time in a Gestapo prison in Krakow, ESCAPED the day before executions, and when the war was over bribed a Soviet colonel to let him flee into West Germany, from where he was able to emigrate to the states in 1947 where he's lived ever since. If that's not crazy enough, his wife (also Polish-American) is a World Trade Center survivor. She was at the WTC in 1993 when it was bombed AND in 2001. She was working on the 82nd floor in the North tower when the plane hit just a few floors above her. She was able to escape down the stairwell until she reached the 20th floor where her strength failed her and she basically gave out. Two men dragged her down the rest of the way and got her out of the building. At that point, the south tower collapsed and she nearly suffocated to death from all the dust and debris. She said at that point she "resigned herself to death" but somehow survived the whole thing to live to tell about it.

Ok, so after the ceremony when all the government officials had left, the Warsaw soccer league lit these flares. I didn't know at the time, but they were totally illegal.
Kind of a crazy picture. So, we offered the nice older couple we met a ride home and made our way back to our car, only to find that it was blocked in by about 20 or so police cars. I guess the leader of the soccer league had been arrested by undercover cops for allowing his team to use illegal flares at the ceremony. They had him in an undercover car, but his homies who were all bent out of shape about his arrest, surrounded the car and wouldn't let it leave. Basically a riot ensued. The car peeled out and almost ran over people, the players were yelling and shoving cops and throwing bottles, I was freaked out and ducked for cover. And WHAT WAS SO FUNNY, was the Polish- American couple just stood right in the middle of the street and casually watched it all without flinching. I guess if you've been through what they have, nothing really phases you. When they got in our car they said nonchalantly, "Well, that's Poland for ya."
This is the only picture I have of it unfortunately. But, we had to drive down the sidewalk on the right to get out of there and at the end of the street truck loads of riot police with shields and batons were making their way over. It was crazy.