On Saturday we took a tour of Warsaw’s Old Town (Stare Miasto). Unfortunately I’m only just getting the chance to put this experience (and the photos that go with it) to print, but I don’t think I’ve lost much of that experience.
Our tour guide, pan Adam, teaches Polish at the school with Jess, and is very knowledgeable of Polish history.
We started by grabbing dinner at a small cafe, just inside of Plac Zamkowy. After that we met up with everyone and started our tour. Adam pointed out that the city had been all but completely destroyed (85% destroyed, as we’d later find out), and nearly all of the structures we would see were in fact replicas.
We started our tour where the city began, and where the reconstruction symbolically began. From there we wove around the city, seeing the historical buildings and learning of their significance. Our tour followed the flow of history, more or less. During this time we learned a lot that I had never learned, or had forgotten. One thing I learned was that for a period 150 years, Polish people had no land. Additionally, the Polish kingdoms had been repeatedly sacked and carved up.
But we also learned that despite the constant attacks, the Polish people lived on.
Initially, Warsaw was not the capital, but rather the central meeting point for many of the wealthy and important people of the Polish kingdom, which stretched farther North and South than it does now. Due to this, Warsaw became a center for finery and fashion, and was called the Paris of Eastern Europe.
This all ended with the coming wars. The land was once again divided and bombed into ruin.
Poland was one of (if not the) first country after the USA to have a constitution. This constitution was also the only one aside from America’s that gave Jews freedom. Due to this, the largest populations of Jews were in New York City and Warsaw. Then WWII happened, and Hitler’s horrible ethnic cleansing began.
We learned about the atrocities to mankind that transpired during this time, as well as the selfless heroics. We learned how the Jewish children would smuggle goods and arms into the ghetto, and of the Jewish rebellion, and the Warsaw uprising that would later follow in it’s wake.
We learned that the world can be a horrible place, but in the midst of our darkest days is where we can find our brightest light of courage and determination.
As the day wore on, so did our emotions. After lunch the group was much more silent. Some of us were on the verge of tears for the rest of the day. Though we were now much more silent and saddened, our eyes were now more open. When we looked at the buildings, we no longer saw the architecture or the stores and restaurants within… We saw the spirit of people who refuse to be conquered. Who demand freedom, and peace. We saw the men, women, and children who struggled and died so that we can have a cup of coffee on a corner cafe.
Our lesson that day was not in history, but in respect and humility..
When we first arrived, I observed a young girl move from her seat on a crowded bus when an elderly women entered. She said nothing, and did not ask or wait to be prompted. As soon as she saw the old woman, she moved. At first I thought that it was very respectful, and that they had respect for the aging and the physical difficulties that came with it. After the tour I learned the real reason she moved. Sure, age was a factor, but the amount of respect and honor they feel for those who struggled before them. Bowing to the weight our elders bore for us. That is why she moved without a second thought.
I learned something else that day. Something not historically true, but true nonetheless. I learned that the Polish Eagle, present sometimes on their flag, is not an eagle at all.
It’s a Phoenix.
