Anniversary, a photo from Mazowieckie, East

Photographer's Note

Well known view form Warsaw Old Market Square. The reason for this post are two: first, I was there with Wolfgang fritzi007, second, today is an anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising.

he Warsaw Uprising (Polish: Powstanie Warszawskie) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army (Polish: Armia Krajowa) to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces. However, the Soviet advance stopped short, enabling the Germans to regroup and demolish the city while defeating the Polish resistance, which fought for 63 days with little outside support. The Uprising was the largest single military effort taken by any European resistance movement during World War II.
Although the exact number of casualties remains unknown, it 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. Jews being harboured by Poles were exposed by German house-to-house clearances and mass evictions of entire neighbourhoods. German casualties totalled over 8,000 soldiers killed and missing, and 9,000 wounded. During the urban combat approximately 25% of Warsaw's buildings were destroyed. Following the surrender of Polish forces, German troops systematically leveled another 35% of the city block by block. Together with earlier damage suffered in the 1939 invasion of Poland and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943, over 85% of the city was destroyed by January 1945, when the course of the events in the Eastern Front forced the Germans to abandon the city. (From Wikipedia)
Accidentally, I found in Internet the view of the same houses in 1945.

Beta version.

Royaldevon, snunney, SnapRJW, timecapturer, ikeharel, holmertz, rychem, No_One, worldcitizen, jjcordier, delpeoples, fritzi007, Silvio1953, mcmtanyel heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

Royaldevon (85678) 2014-08-01 1:22

Hello Malgo,

Your inclusion of the w/s is very pertinent. I felt my heart stop when I saw the devastation! Poland, and Polish people, have risen from the ashes and regenerated everything in a very positive way.
How lovely to have been able to capture these children playing so innocently in the water. A very well composed and interesting shot.

Have a great day,
Bev :-)

ceepea (317) 2014-08-01 1:55

Beautiful, peaceful, happy scene and in complete contrast with the history you have described. Very nicely composed.

snunney (130967) 2014-08-01 2:37

Hello Malgo,
Your charming capture belies the sad history behind this beautiful square. Lovely composition very nicely presented.

SnapRJW (31631) 2014-08-01 3:55

Hello Malgo - I find that thoughts of war consumes many minutes of my days the the moment. I watch what's happening in the Middle East with a sense of despair and as the world remembers the 100 year anniversary of WW1 and the utter madness of it you post this. Your note and WS are another sombre reminder of the madness of mankind. It seems that past conflict teaches us, the supposed highest form of life, nothing at all.

Would that we could all be as innocent as these small children who splash in the fountain totally unaware of the dark history of your location. Looking at the WS, I can identify the buildings in you shot and marvel at how well they have been restored. What a tragedy that those lost in war and those who suffer from its memories cannot be restored as neatly too.

An excellent post.

Warmest regards

Rosemary

timecapturer (49288) 2014-08-01 5:31

Hi Malgo
a beautiful square this and all the more amazing when you compare it now to the old and sad 1945 image. A nice touch with the adults of tomorrow playing and oblivious to the significance of this place and the date. A beautifully moving anniversary tribute Malgo. Wonderful!

Have a good weekend - B.

Sergiom (117241) 2014-08-01 6:12

Ciao Malgorzata,

Quelle belle petite place. Tu as très bien mis en scène les enfants autour de la fontaine. Remarquable de constater à quel point ils aiment avoir les pieds dans l'eau.L'arrière plan est de toute beauté.

Amicalement

Serge

Nicou (193806) 2014-08-01 7:41

Hello

Avec une fontaine à fond plat jeu d'eau jeu d'enfant inévitable et c'est très beau quelle place et vue et ces terrasses et ces maison colorés superbe.
Bravo et amitié
Nicou

holmertz (102096) 2014-08-01 7:51

Hello Malgo,
This is a fine photo, and as you well know I appreciate that you stepped back several metres to include the fountain and the playing children. The comparison with the old photo is extremely interesting. It makes it possible to actually see how well the new old town was reconstructed according to the old look. I can't remember seeing two such photos before,
Kind regards,
Gert

rychem (72187) 2014-08-01 8:45

Starówka wygląda pięknie w porównaniu dawnym stanem, a te dzieci maja w nosie całą historię i po prostu chcą być szczęśliwe, a ja im tego życzę :)
pozdrawiam Ryszard

izmirli (3989) 2014-08-01 10:44

MERHABA DEAR FRIEND MALGORZATA...
VERY CUTE SQUARE AND CHILDS...WONDERFUL COLOURFUL HOUSES..WELL DONE....
BEST REGARDS..
GURKAN...

No_One (4) 2014-08-01 11:51

Hi Malgo
Your workshop is so important to see this place in prop context, that level of destruction is unspeakable. And so much it allows us to appreciate now the beautiful place this has become, and to see and enjoy the full contrast of then and now, especially the happy children playing in the fountain. Beautiful comparison, excellent workshop and note, thank you.
What a shame that parts of the world today are still be levelled to the ruins we see in your workshop. I am glad we can smile to see this succes here.
Best wishes
Noel

worldcitizen (15980) 2014-08-01 12:58

Hello Malgo,
This is a lovely view of the square during happy times. The children enjoying the fountain are great, and I like all of the colorful facades and the cobblestones on the ground. In contrast, the WS photo is haunting. Thanks for finding this older photo, and including it for comparison. There is so much devastation in the world right now, hopefully the children in this photo will only know peace...

carlo62 (81265) 2014-08-01 15:36

Ciao Malgo
la differenza tra le due foto è estremamente contrastante quanto disgustosa. Sembra impossibile che siano successe queste cose, non credo che riuscirò mai a capire cosa possono aver provato le persone presenti e, spero, di non riuscirci mai.
Proprio pochi giorni fa ho trovato su youtube un filmato su Dresda, prima e dopo il bombardamento, come ho visto molte foto di Danzica (Gdańsk), cose assurde.
Molto meglio vedere questi bambini che giocano spensierati e sperare che un giorno non si trovino uno di fronte all'altro con cattive intenzioni.
Un triste saluto e buon we
Carlo

kasianowak (17672) 2014-08-02 3:37

Czesc Malgosiu
Dzieki za przypomnienie o tej okraglej rocznicy.
Roznica miedzy starym zdjeciem, a tym zrobionym pare dni temu uswiadamia, jak wazny jest pokoj, ktorego symbolem sa tu dzieci taplajace sie w fontannie.
Pozdrawiam serdecznie
Kasia

delpeoples (60342) 2014-08-02 7:08

Ciao cara Malgo

A very important day to remember for the people of Poland, but also for the rest of the world. The Polish people endured such hardship during that war, it is necessary for us to sit back and reflect and remember. Sadly it seems that we have not learnt from those terrible lessons. A superb photo to commemorate this day with and also so wonderful to hear that you have met Wolfgang and showed him Malgo's Warsaw.

Un abbraccio
Lisa

photoray (13981) 2014-08-02 7:27

Howdy Malgo,

Attractive Warsaw Square scene with the statue fountain surrounded by classical architecture in multiple colors, and children enjoying it all.

I would enjoy sitting at an outdoor table, sipping ice or hot tea, soaking in the history and culture.

In my youth, I read Leon Uris's Mila 18 and it made a deep impression on me, helping form my "pacifist" personality.

Have a rewarding and fine weekend,
Sincerely,
Ray

maria-v1981 (10966) 2014-08-02 14:18

Hello Malgorzata,
Beautiful details of a sparlkng photograph. Beauty.
Great notes, as usual.
Regards,
Maria

macjake (98262) 2014-08-02 15:30

Hi Malgo
haha
for obvious reasons i know this spot very well.
it was just a few steps away from our Hotel Room :)
Perfect location for the old town area.

its hard to imagine what life could have been like back in the days you described in the note.
its simply hard to imagine... :(

was this Wolfgangs' first time in Poland or Warsaw?

the included WS is an important addition to the posted photo and story - it adds alot of power and impact.

well done Malgo
grat post for TE
cheers
craig

fritzi007 (14698) 2014-08-03 12:20

Hallo Malgo,
super Foto, perfekte Qualität, gratuliere dir zu deinen guten Geschmack, und zum 1900sten Foto; danke für Alles!!!
Viele, viele Grüße
Wolfgang

Silvio1953 (220759) 2014-08-04 12:45

Ciao Malgorzata, fascinating lovely composition with nice children, splendid light, wonderful colors and excellent clarity, very well done, my friend, ciao Silvio

jemaflor (146412) 2014-08-05 23:27

Hi Malgo,
Nice photo with all thes ecolored houses a,d the fountain with children, a view well composed and well presented, very interesting Ws to see the old view, impressive ! tfs.

ChrisJ (171366) 2014-08-06 1:53

Hello Malgo

The inclusion of the children who are innocent and have no idea of the memorial or its reason or purpose adds a lot to the composition. They are just enjoying the moment. I like the angled pov on the bg buildings too. Tfs!

mcmtanyel (67789) 2014-08-06 19:42

Hello Malgo,
How nice it is to see colorful houses, children playing and young and old people resting in the same square that was entirely demolished 70 years ago. Thanks for the touching then-and-now show.
Regards,
MT

Alco (7559) 2014-08-06 20:10

Hello Malgorzata,
Very nice picture of that square. I like very much the architecture of the buildings are their various colors. Nice sculpture in the foreground. The Young children around the statue add life to the picture. Very well done. TFS.
Have a nice day.
Alain