70th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising will be celebrated in Poland on 1st of August. The program includes many ceremonies in commemoration of these past events. However, the “W” hour (the uprising) and how Poles honor it deserve special attention . It is an extraordinary and very moving experience for all of us. Poles, often indifferent and insensitive to each other, unite and show great solidarity and unity only in exceptional circumstances. These were definitely John Paul II’s death and the disaster in Smolensk. But these were just moments that are not repeated. The only exception is the anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising. Each year on 1st of August at 5 pm a large part of our society set aside their daily activities and hold still to the sound of wailing sirens to honor those who fought and died for what we may enjoy now – our freedom.
Link to Poland joins this incredible event and encourages all of you to celebrate this extraordinary moment in the same way. Let us pause for a while on 1st of August at 5 pm and think of those whom we owe so much.
Photo © Stefan Bałuk. Warsaw 1944.