Razing Warsaw

On 1 August 1944, the Polish Home Army launched the Warsaw Uprising, the largest act of armed resistance by any European underground movement during the Second World War. For sixty-three days, soldiers and civilians fought a desperate battle to liberate their capital before the advancing Soviet Army arrived. Instead, the Red Army halted outside the city, allowing German forces to crush the uprising with overwhelming force. The result was one of the greatest tragedies of the war. Up to 170,000 civilians were killed, survivors were driven from their homes, and Warsaw itself was systematically destroyed in an attempt to erase both its people and its history. Rather than recounting these events through the eyes of later historians, Razing Warsaw allows those who lived through them to speak for themselves. Drawn from the remarkable archives of the KARTA Foundation, this unique collection presents commanders'' orders, official reports, private letters, diary entries and eyewitness testimonies in chronological sequence, taking the reader from the difficult decision to launch the uprising through the fighting, suffering and ultimate destruction of one of Europe''s great cities. Appearing in English for the first time in this outstanding translation by Marek Sobieralski, these powerful voices reveal the courage, fear, hope and despair of ordinary men and women caught in extraordinary circumstances. Together they create an unforgettable portrait of a city fighting for its life, and a vital historical record of one of the defining yet too often overlooked episodes of the Second World War. Essential reading for anyone interested in the Second World War, resistance movements, urban warfare and the human cost of conflict, Razing Warsaw is both a compelling historical document and a lasting memorial to the people of Warsaw.