MUSEUM OF THE WARSAW UPRISING

This museum occupies an important place in the Polish "ecosystem". Very modern, it has innovated in its presentation and is highly interactive, making it a model that all major museums today tend to follow as they renovate. It continues to create a sensation and is one of the city's most exciting museums. It tells the story of the 1944 uprising and the activities of the Polish underground state during the Second World War, which are often little-known in the West. Even if you're not keen on historical tours, you'll enjoy wandering through this eye-catching exhibition. The museum was opened in 2004 to mark the ^60th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, which began at 5 p.m. on August¹, 1944 and lasted 66 days. The museum is housed in the city's former tramway power station. A true place of national remembrance, dear to the Kaczyński brothers, this museum glorifies the national heroes who tried in vain to liberate their city from the Nazis. The museum is based on an interactive concept, whose patriotic and sentimental aspect may annoy you. However, a visit is a must if you want to understand how contemporary Poles relate to history, nation and religion.

Numerous multimedia documents are collected and arranged with dramatic music and the sound of tanks, in a nightmarish atmosphere that seeks to emotionally recreate the darkness of the period. Some of the panels are not classic museum objects, but rather places of worship, such as the list of the killed, before which Polish visitors come to meditate. If you're a history buff looking to understand the chronology of events, this museum will help. However, it can be easy to get lost in the details presented, as well as in the message the museum wants to deliver, so be sure to concentrate if your aim is to assimilate every detail of this historic event. In fact, if that's your goal, it's a good idea to read up on the insurrection before your visit. This will help you understand the museum's perspective. We recommend Debacle in the camp of the victors - Polish military action 1939-1945 by Wojciech Roszkowski; The Capital of Freedom by Andrzej Kunert, V - symbol of victory; Symbols, signs and patriotic manifestations of fighting Europe 1939-1945 by Tomasz Szarota.

The facts: In 1944, Polish underground authorities decided to launch an uprising in Warsaw against the German occupiers, known as the Warsaw Uprising. Following the uprising, a Polish state operated for 2 months in the capital. The ensuing struggles cost the lives of around 18,000 insurgents and 180,000 civilians. Around 80% of the capital's buildings were razed to the ground by the Germans, both during the uprising and in the subsequent campaign to destroy the city. For a long time, the Communist authorities denied the legitimacy of the uprising and the very existence of the Polish underground state. With democracy established in 1989, the Warsaw Uprising took its place in official memory. That's why one of the main aims of this museum is to promote information about the uprising and to recall its historical reality, long obscured by the Communists.