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80th Anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising

On the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising, we remember both the heroism of the soldiers engaged in this unprecedented effort to regain independence and of the civilians who supported the insurgents while being exposed to the fighting taking place in the streets of Warsaw.
Warsaw carried on fighting for 63 days (from 1 August 1944 to 3 October 1944). For the first time since autumn 1939 the underground state structures had been revealed. Poland was alive again! The Warsaw Uprising was the culminating point and the ultimate attempt of the Polish Underground State at open, armed combat with the German occupiers for Poland's independence. In political terms, it also meant fighting against the Soviets since following the insurgents' victory the underground authorities were supposed to be vested with the role of the master of the territory the Red Army was encroaching upon. These goals had not been achieved. The battle was lost and - as it then seemed - independence too was lost for ever.
The responsibility for the decision to commence the uprising lay on the shoulders of its commanders led by General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski. Historians estimate that the fighting, air raids, shelling and massacres of civilians by German troops claimed 150-200 thousand victims altogether - among Home Army soldiers and civilian inhabitants of the city.
The Germans, through systematic demolition and bombing of the city, turned 85% of the pre-war Warsaw into debris, drove the population remaining in the ruins out of the city and imprisoned the soldiers in camps. The flower of Polish youth, the would-be elite of the nation perished. Since the drama of the Polish uprising was so poignant and the post-war verdict of the leaders of the winning powers so unfair, free Poles have been celebrating the day of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising every year for the last 35 years, with due and deep respect for its heroes. The insurgents demonstrated extraordinary dedication and patriotism; their courage was additionally strengthened by faith. Hence to-day, while the last participants in the fighting - soldiers and witnesses of the two-month heroic rebel-lion against the occupiers - are still alive, we feel obliged by the legacy of those days to participate in the anniversary celebrations together with our great heroes and under their leadership. We want to relive the remarkable moment in our history and cherish the memory of it.
The collector banknote commemorating the 80th anniversary of the uprising features a symbolic image of the rebellion: on the front side, the victory of Polish soldiers who in spite of being poorly armed and lonely in their struggle were able to beat the Germans, for instance by capturing the PAST building. On the reverse side, there are civilians in prayer during one of the field masses celebrated mostly in the courtyards of Warsaw tenement houses. Faith encouraged them at this tragic time, imparting meaning to the fighting and to sacrificing one's life for the supreme values, such as the freedom of future generations. The symbol of Fighting Poland on the banknote - omnipresent on the walls and monuments of the insurgent capital - stood for the hope for regaining the independence of the homeland. Time has shown that the sacrifices of the insurgent generation were not wasted. Today their grandchildren are living in a free Poland.
Jan Żaryn