During the Warsaw Uprising, apart from fighting in the streets, there were also other struggles - under the surface. Sebastian Pawlina's newest book, War in the Sewers, tells about the dramatic events that took place in the underground labyrinth.
Everyone is afraid of going down to the sewer. Poles have no choice but to find courage. The Germans will never dare to do so. They will hang grenades by the hatches and throw them inside. They will block the wells. They will kill the insurgents and civilian refugees exhausted by the underground journey.
After the liquidation of the ghetto, Jews hide there. The Home Army liaison officers squeeze through them, carrying reports. Thanks to them, assault groups gain the advantage of surprise. When the Uprising collapses, the sewers become the last escape route for fighting Warsaw. For many - a place of eternal rest.
"The Sewer War" is a story of courage and fear. About the dark that could not be tamed. About terrible silence and an ominous echo. About crushing pain and exhaustion. Because the Warsaw sewers during the occupation are a death trap and a promise of survival.
Sebastian Pawlina - historian, journalist, expert on the history of Warsaw, specialist in the history of the Warsaw underground. Winner of the POLITYKA Historical Award for the book Praca w diversji . Everyday life of the soldiers of the Kedyw District of the Home Army's Warsaw District. Co-author of the Great Book of the Home Army. Permanent collaborator of "Ale Historia", "Gazeta Wyborcza" magazine, the "Stolica" monthly and the portal Codzienostkihistoryczne.pl. He has published in Polityka and Focus Historia.