Warsaw Rebuilt

Warsaw was leveld during World War II. Whre Krakow did a negotiated surrender and the Nazis left the city unscathed, setting up their command centers in the palaces of kings, Warsaw went down fighting. And they paid a very high price for their resistance. Before the war, Warsaw had 1.2 million citizens--half of them died in the war. In addition, the city was targeted for complete demolition by the Germans and 85-90% of buildings were partially to completely destroyed.

So, what happened in the rebuilding? Does Warsaw look like a city built in the last half of the 20th century? the answer is mostly no, not at all. There has been a noticable effort to replace buildings with something that looks like what was there before the war. Driving in Warsaw past buildings that look like a 19th century structure, our guide would tell us it was built 8 years ago.

The magic of that is undeniable. It wasn't that easy to attain, either. Blueprints were not available for these buildings. Many of them predated structural engineering, and anything that did exist was buried under mountains of rubble. Rebuilding Warsaw relied on old photographs and drawings, many of which came in through solicitations in Poland and abroad.

Warsaw's old town (Stare Miasto) was a walled city that was established in the 13th century. The Germans leveled it with more vehemence than the rest of the city so it was a pile of rubble. Immediately post-war, the rebuilding efforts began. Rubble was sifted and decorative elements that could be recovered were salvaged and reused. The bricks were cleaned up and put back into service. You would not guess that when you wander the narrow cobblestone streets that open up onto a gorgeous open court yard that is every bit as old world as Krakow. We ate dinner at a restaurant off the main square, and the inside was as old feeling as the outside. Thankfully this is not something that Hitler ultimately won out on. UNESCO named Warsaw's Old Town a World Heritage Site--so I am not the only one that thinks they did a good job.