It didn't break out at 5:00 PM on August 1, 1944. Its participants were assigned suicide missions. And the captured SS men and Gestapo men could not count on mercy. These are just a few of the facts you should know about the Warsaw Uprising.
As always, all TOP10 items are based on the articles we publish. This time - dedicated to the Warsaw Uprising. You can find even more texts on this subject in the World War II category.
You should know that…
 | 10. | Gestapo and SS men captured by the insurgents could not count on mercy. A bullet to the head was waiting for them almost immediately. The same fate befell the harmful Volksdeutsche. For this the captured soldiers of the Wehrmacht could not complain. They were treated well, were under medical care and were given food rations like everyone else (read more on this topic) . |
 | 9. | While the Varsovians fought fierce battles with the Germans, the inhabitants of Kraków ... were digging ditches for the Nazis. Huge crowds volunteered to work on the suburban fortifications that were to constitute the Wehrmacht's defense line. The turnout was so large that it surprised the Germans themselves and caused real consternation in the ranks of the Home Army (read more on this topic) . |
 | 8. | The omnipresent hunger meant that almost everything was eaten, and dogs and cats landed in the insurgents' pots. The commander of the Home Army, General Bór-Komorowski, was treated with the cat stew when he visited one of the troops fighting in the front line. Apparently he liked the dish very much, but he himself never admitted that he ate a purr (read more about this). |
 | 7. | In the Warsaw Uprising, the most tragic fate awaited the babies. Their mothers went out of their way to provide them with at least the minimum amount of food. However, it was not always successful. Hundreds, if not thousands of little children died of hunger, German bullets and under collapsed buildings (read more on this topic). |
 | 6. | At the turn of August and September, the soldiers of the "Czata 49" battalion received a suicide mission. Their task was to carry out a canal landing at Bankowy Square. This was to distract the Germans from the evacuation of the Old Town. The soldiers knew perfectly well what awaited them. The words of their commander left no illusions: Your destiny is to die so that the Old Town could pass (read more about this) . |
 | 5. | It was not General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski who was responsible for the outbreak of the uprising. The intrigues of Prime Minister Stanisław Mikołajczyk decided about the beginning of the fighting. He believed that the great armed insurgency would be a bargaining chip used to put effective pressure on Stalin (read more on this topic). |
 | 4. | Due to Stalin's irreconcilable stance, the American air force carried out only one drop for the fighting Warsaw. It did not take place until September 18. Unfortunately , of the 1,284 containers that were dropped over the city, only 228 fell into the hands of the insurgents (read more about this). |
 | 3. | One of the basic ingredients of the insurgents' menu was the so-called soup-spit . Its name was related to the fact that it was cooked from unshelled grain, so the eaters had to spit out the chaff every now and then. This dish appears in the memories of many Varsovians (read more about it). |
 | 2. | Channels played a significant role during the uprising. To this day, the participants of the fights who came to them remember it as one of their worst experiences. They were dark, dirty and smelly, but nonetheless saved many lives (read more about it). |
 | 1. | The Warsaw Uprising did not start on August 1, 1944 at 5:00 PM. The first fights took place much earlier. Already at 1:50 pm, the unit of Zdzisław Sierpiński "Świda" fought a skirmish with the Germans. As 17:00 approached, the number of clashes with the enemy increased. Most of them happened around 4pm (read more about this). |