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Poland marks 72th anniversary of Warsaw Uprising

Xinhua, August 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

Poland on Monday marked the 72th anniversary of the Warsaw Uprising, the biggest underground action against the Nazi German in occupied Europe.

At 5:00 p.m. local time, the so-called "W" hour which was the exact time of the beginning of the Warsaw Uprising on August 1, 1944, sirens sounded throughout Warsaw. The whole city stopped for a minute of silence to pay tribute to the uprising fighters and victims.

Polish President Andrzej Duda, Prime Minister Beata Szydlo as well as combatants participated in the anniversary ceremony at Powazki military ceremony Gloria Victis memorial.

Earlier, commemorative events were held on the streets of Warsaw. Flowers and wreaths were laid at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and at the monuments.

During the evening celebrations, President Duda said,"Poland will never forget its heroes, will never forget great Warsaw insurgents, will never forget Warsaw citizens, who died for the longing for freedom and for their city (...) Poland is proud of Warsaw, proud of Warsaw citizens and their unshaken attitude."

During the celebrations, Leszek Zukowski, president of the World Association of Home Army Soldiers and one of the insurgents, said that the effect of every uprising is "an impulse and a tip for the next generations that one must fight for freedom."

"The love for motherland which was inculcated into us since early childhood, expressed in the willingness to fight for her, in the belief in victory, although we all realized the possibility of losing our life in the fight," Zukowski said.

The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish Resistance Home Army to free Warsaw from the Nazis.

The insurgents held on for 63 days. As one of the results of uprising's failure, Nazis set the city ablaze, causing more than 85 percent of it completely demolished.

The exact loss is hard to estimate, however, around 180,000 civilians were killed, and another 500,000 banished from their homes. Endit