Clancy Tucker's Blog: POLAND

Showing posts with label POLAND. Show all posts

6 February 2022 - STALAG LUFT III PRISON CAMP MUSEUM - POLAND

Though this site in the Polish town of Żagań has a long military history, it is best known for its use as a Luftwaffe-run prisoner-of-war camp during the Second World War. Specifically, for being the site of one of the largest prison breaks of the war, which was made famous by the 1963 film “The Great Escape.”

In 1944, 76 allied prisoners at the Stalag Luft III camp, hailing from a variety of different countries, escaped from under the noses of the Germans through a tunnel they dug by hand. Sadly, nearly all of the escapees were eventually caught; 50 were executed and another 23 were returned to POW camps. Only three of the 76 men managed to escape successfully.

The site of the former POW camp is now a museum, which features a full-size replica of the hut where the men planned their daring mass escape, and displaying many original items from the prison camp. One room in the hut is dedicated to another breakout from the camp, the “wooden horse” escape of 1943. In this plot, a group of POWs vaulted over a wooden horse built near the camp fence line, while two men hidden inside the horse gradually dug their way to freedom over a period of three months.

About a half-mile drive from the hut you can also see the “Harry” tunnel dug by the prisoners (one of three tunnels dug: Tom, Dick, and Harry), which now serves as a memorial. Here you can see exactly how long the tunnel was and the exit and entry points. A guard tower has been reconstructed to show the proximity of the tunnel exit to the attentive German soldiers on patrol. You are also able to wander through the woods and see some of the original foundations of the camp.

A final location, for those interested, is a further half-mile down the road. There is a cemetery here with the original mausoleum built for the 50 men who were executed. Their ashes were later moved to the military cemetery in Poznan.

Clancy's comment: I've been to a few prison camps in Europe, but not to this museum.

I'm ...

13 December 2021 - STATUE HONOURS CHILDREN WHO FOUGHT NAZIS IN POLAND

STATUE HONOURS CHILDREN

WHO FOUGHT NAZIS IN POLAND

G'day folks,

A statue honors the children who fought Nazis in Poland.

By 1944 Poland had been occupied by Nazi Germany for almost five years. Tensions mounted in the capital city with the Warsaw Ghetto uprising in 1943. The cruel end of the Jewish ghetto and the destruction of the district didn’t bring lasting peace as in 1944 the Warsaw General Uprising began.

Without the help of the nearby Soviet Red Army, German troops managed to bring down the insurgents the order the came: “Warsaw has to be leveled to the ground in order to set a terrifying example to the rest of Europe.”

By 1944, the city’s children were no strangers to war’s atrocities. The Polish resistance was forced to begin their uprising much sooner than planned and without the help of the Allied powers. The Polish Underground Scouting, known during wartime as the Gray Ranks, played an integral role in the resistance, mostly carrying messages for the troops, but sometimes donning the stolen German helmets and guns and fighting on the front lines.

By the end of the 63-day battle, the Polish resistance had managed to kill 8,000 Nazi soldiers and wounded around the same number. But as the Nazis razed the city the resistance deaths had climbed to 16,000 people, and the civilian death toll, including the Jews being hidden by the Polish people, reached as high as 200,000. Hitler and Himmler went on to destroy almost 90% of the buildings in the area.

Jerry Jarnuszkiewicz created the design for the Little Insurrectionist in 1946, just two years after the massacre, but the statue wasn’t built until 1983. Professor Jerzy Świderski, a cardiologist who was a Gray Ranks courier, unveiled the memorial on October first.

The statue of a young boy wearing an oversized helmet and holding a German submachine gun is reputed to be modeled after a child soldier called “Antek,” a 13-year old who was killed on August 8, 1944. A plaque behind the figure features the engraved words of a popular song from the period: “Warszawskie dzieci, pójdziemy w bój/za każdy kamień twój, stolico damy krew.” (Varsovian children, we’ll head into battle/for every stone of yours, we shall give our blood).

Clancy's comment: Any war sucks ... especially for children!

I'm ...

18 June 2021 - THE PAINTED VILLAGE – ZALIPIE, POLAND

THE PAINTED VILLAGE

– ZALIPIE, POLAND -

G'day folks,

The small village of Zalipie can be found at a remote area of South Poland. But to those who make the effort to get there the trip is well worth it, because this village contains quite the surprise between its walls.

The residents of this village have a beautiful tradition that started over 100 years ago, when the women of the village began to paint decorations of flowers on the walls of all the houses.

Although it isn't known exactly when the tradition began, we know that it started because the women wanted to cover the stains of chimney smoke. The stains were evident even through the paint, which is why they began drawing flowers on the walls.

When more modern furnaces and stoves began to come into use, there was no more need for the festive decorations, but instead of stopping, the paintings became more and more elaborate. Slowly, these paintings became an important part of the local culture and the village began to initiate contests between the painters to see who has done the best job.

And what started as the work of a few became the hobby of all, and today the flowers have conquered public buildings, bridges, roundaoubts, trees wells and even the local chicken pens and dog houses.