You are cordially invited to the fourth annual
Kościuszko Chair Military Lecture
on the topic of
The 70th Anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising: Why the Poles Commemorate Defeat
with
Dr. Marek Chodakiewicz
Professor of History, The Kościuszko Chair in Polish Studies
Thursday, September 11
12:30-3:30 PM
The Institute of World Politics
1521 16th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Parking map
This lecture is sponsored by the Kościuszko Chair of Polish Studies.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the tragic Warsaw Uprising. During this great feat of martial heroism, the Polish anti-Nazi, anti-Communist underground resistance fought the German occupiers of their homeland for sixty-three days — from 1 August to 3 October 1944. The goal was to rid the capital city of the Germans before the arrival of the Red Army. Predictably, the Soviet troops on the other side of the river Vistula stood by passively; Stalin hoped to destroy the Polish resistance with Nazi claws. The Western Allies did little more than airdrop some small arms and ammunition, most of which fell into German hands. As a result, the city of Warsaw was almost entirely destroyed, and a significant element of the Polish Home Army slaughtered. In addition, the Germans and their auxiliaries massacred approximately 200,000 civilians as they suppressed the uprising.
Yet, in spite of the toll and the defeat, the Poles generally celebrate the failed Warsaw Rising. In this year’s Kościuszko Chair Military Lecture, Dr. Marek Jan Chodakiewicz will explain this phenomenon.
The lecture will be followed by a screening of the movie The August Sky: Sixty-Three Days of Glory [Sierpniowe niebo: 63 dni chwały], with English subtitles.