70th Anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising - press accreditations

Warsaw, 7 July 2014 - On 1 August 1944, Warsaw, the Capital of Poland, saw the beginning of what was to become one of the most important events in the modern history of Poland - the Warsaw Uprising.

All journalists interested in providing media coverage for the anniversary event, which will welcome insurgents, international guests, Polish Government officials and the Mayor of Warsaw, are kindly asked to complete the Accreditation Form available here no later than by 11:59pm on Thursday, 24 July 2014.

The anniversary programme, 30 July - 1 August, which require standard or POOL accreditations, is available here. Press Centre will operate at pl. Zamkowy in Warsaw from 29 July.

On 1 August 1944, about 25 thousand poorly-armed soldiers of the Polish underground army joined the fight for freedom against the overwhelming German forces. Soon, their numbers grew to some 50 thousand. However, without any help from their allies, , as well as facing the distinct advantage held by the Nazi-German troops, and heavy casualties, the Polish command was forced to surrender after 63 days of continued fighting.

Nazi-Germany, on the other hand, threatened by the incoming Eastern Front, threw into combat a number of their finest troops. What this meant in practice was the extermination of the city and its denizens - in an act of genocide. Overall, the Nazis murdered nearly 180 thousand civilians residing in Warsaw.

The Uprising fell through in military terms. Nonetheless, the tradition of our fight for independence has survived the efforts of Soviet propaganda. It was the one to prevail when 25 years ago, in 1989, Poland regained its independence.

CONTACT:

Press Division of the City of Warsaw

e-mail: powstanie@um.warszawa.pl

phone: +48 22 44 33 89

Source: Press Division of the City of Warsaw