71st anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising against the German occupation

The Warsaw Uprising began on August 1st, 1944 and this year Poles celebrate 71st anniversary of this heroic 63-day fight of World War II by the Polish Home Army against the German occupation. 

The Warsaw Rising is considered to be the single largest military effort undertaken by a resistance group in Europe. The Polish resistance Home Army decided to start the rising to free the capital from under the Nazi occupation at a time when the Soviet Red Army was approaching Warsaw from the east on its way to Berlin. However, on Stalin's orders the Soviet offensive was stopped and Warsaw was left to bleed to death. Before the Soviets finally captured the city in January 1945, the Nazis had demolished most of the buildings and infrastructure.

There are hundreds of pictures documenting this tragic event: Warsaw Uprising Photos