On Monday, When the terrifying images of the burning Notre Dame cathedral flooded the social media, one of the most prominent French scholars and commentators, François Heisbourg, took to Twitter to express his hope that the gothic temple would eventually be rebuilt. "However long it takes and whatever it costs. The Poles showed us the way after the destruction of Warsaw [...]".
The Polish capital was razed by the German occupiers as retaliation for our resistance to subjugation. It was an act of brute vengeance, rarely seen in the history of mankind. The Nazis' aim was to execute the entire city, both literally and metaphorically. They were murdering Warsaw's citizens, Poles and Jews, including women and children, but they also intended to erase the city from the physical space, as a symbol of Polish statehood. Warsaw was to be annihilated.
Nevertheless, the Germans chose an enemy they could not defeat. The bravery and stamina of the inhabitants of Warsaw were unmeasured. The city survived and rose from the ashes.
During the Second World War it was the only city which saw two armed revolts. Every year, on April 19, we commemorate the sacrifice of the Polish Jews who fearlessly stood up to the German oppression in the Warsaw Ghetto. And on August 1st we salute the heroes of the Warsaw Uprising.
The first one erupted in 1943. Out of despair and exasperation and in defense of Jewish dignity. Most fighters were profoundly aware of the fate awaiting them. But they sought revenge. On April 23rd Mordechai Anielewicz, the leader of the uprising, wrote to his friend Itzhak Zuckerman: "Only a few will persist. The rest will be slaughtered, sooner or later. The fate is sealed. But the dream of my life has just come true. I've lived to see the Jewish self-defense in the Warsaw Ghetto in all its glory and splendor".
On the very same day, the Jewish Combat Organization issued an appeal to the Polish residents on the Aryan side: "We are conveying to you our brotherly, heartfelt greetings. [...] Rest assured that every threshold in the Warsaw ghetto is our fortress. Maybe all of us will die in combat, but we will never surrender. We are craving for revenge and punishment for all the crimes perpetrated by our common enemy. This is a fight for our freedom and yours!".
The rebellion was crushed ruthlessly. On May 16th Jürgen Stroop, the commander of the German troops single-handedly blew up the Great Synagogue at Tlomackie street. It was the culmination of the uprising's suppression and a telling sign of the Nazis' purpose: they were not only determined to exterminate the Jews. They were also bent on wiping out every trace of Jewishness: the faith, the legacy, the identity.
Stroop then wrote in his report: "What a marvelous sight it was. [...] I held the electrical device which would detonate all the charges simultaneously. [...] After prolonging the suspense for a moment, I shouted 'Heil Hitler' and pressed the button. With a thunderous, deafening bang and a rainbow burst of colors, the fiery explosion soared toward the clouds, an unforgettable tribute to our triumph over the Jews".
Fifteen months later the Warsaw Uprising broke out. Many of those Jews who had fought in the ghetto and managed to escape, were ready to fight again. Some joined the ranks of the People's Army, some enlisted in the Home Army. Common enemy, common fight. For our freedom and yours.
After the Jewish revolt in Warsaw, the ghetto was obliterated. After the Warsaw Uprising, the whole city was leveled to the ground. Now it stands tall: vibrant, lively and optimistic. Also thanks to Mordechai Anielewicz, Itzhak Zuckerman, Marek Edelman, Simcha Rotem, Zivia Lubetkin, Tosia Altman and many others. The triumph was not Stroop's. It was theirs.
