Today, we commemorate all the brave men and women who stood up against the terror of the German occupation during the Warsaw Uprising, on August 1st, 1944.
On this day, 79 years ago at 5 pm local time, on “W” hour, Poland Home Army (Armia Krajowa), started The Warsaw Uprising, which was a major operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation.
It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led by the Polish resistance Home Army. The uprising was timed to coincide with the retreat of the German forces from Poland ahead of the Soviet advance. The Uprising was fought for 63 days with little outside support. It was the single largest military effort taken by any European resistance movement during WWII.
Is estimated that about 16,000 members of the Polish resistance were killed and about 6,000 badly wounded. In addition, between 150,000 and 200,000 Polish civilians died, mostly from mass executions. Based on the Report on the Losses Sustained by Poland as a Result of German Aggression and Occupation during the Second World War prepared by Jan Karski Institute of War Losses and dedicated to the citizens of The Republic of Poland, Germans destroyed over 80% of Warsaw, the demolition gang that destroyed capital of Poland, was made of real individuals, which with a name, not by mythical, anonymous “Nazis.” In the Report, there are photos, taken on October 7th, 1944, that show the ceremony for the decoration of TN men, who burnt down Warsaw to the ground.
On September 1, 1939, German armed forces led by Adolf Hitler attacked the Second Polish Republic, and on September 17, 1939, Soviet forces led by Joseph Stalin attacked Poland. After the surrender of Modlin Fortress on October 5, Poland, and all Eastern Europe, was partitioned according to the Secret Protocols of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, which was signed on August 23, 1939.
Without a declaration of war, Adolf Hitler issued the command to invade Poland with orders “to send to their deaths mercilessly and without compassion, men, women, and children of Polish origin and language.” In Poland, a traditionally tolerant country that was home to Europe’s largest Jewish population, German occupying forces established death camps, where millions were murdered, already then there was a death sentence for citizens of Poland. Adolf Hitler’s decision from, February 6th 1944 that “Warsaw must be destroyed as soon as the opportunity arises,” is supported by photos and it was a planned and systematic demolition of Warsaw, that Germans conduced form September to October 1944.
The Polish American Congress, a supra-organization of both individuals and groups, was established in 1944 and is the largest organization in American Polonia and it represents 10 million Polish Americans.
On this occasion the Polish American Congress Executive Committee, wants to emphasize previously stated support for Poland demanding reparations from Germany for losses sustained by Poland during German occupation in 1939 – 1945.
Poland is claiming reparations for the damage and loss caused by the Germans during the Second World War, and the continuing negative effects of that damage in numerous areas that continue until today.
The amount of reparations that Poland is claiming is PLN 6,220,609 million.
Until today, Poland and Germany have not signed a treaty to end the Second World War. Therefore, the issue of reparations and compensation remains open and must be resolved.
There can be no doubt that Germany started the Second World War and committed both war crimes and crimes against humanity and caused massive material losses in Poland.
In starting the Second World War, Germany breached the terms of Hague Convention, which states in Article 3:
“A belligerent party which violates the provisions of the said Regulations shall, if the case demands, be liable to pay compensation. It shall be responsible for all acts committed by persons forming part of its armed forces.”
“Germany dissociated itself from German Nazi crimes and developed a broad ‘culture of remembrance, it’s politicians asked the victims for forgiveness. However, they have ignored the material side of reparations and refused to pay compensations,”
“Warsaw’s claims for reparations for German war crimes and destruction are fully legitimate,” German historian and physician Dr Karl Heinz Roth, who has been working on the subject since the 1980s, told the Polish Press Agency.
“Poland and the Polish people suffered particularly heavily as a result of the German occupation. The subsequent reparation claims are not time-barred,” the German historian stressed. Dr Roth describes the lack of reparations for crimes and destruction as “hypocritical behavior”.