The Jewish Cemetery and The End of Warsaw

On our last full day in Warsaw, Fritz and I got up and checked the weather.  You wouldn't believe the predicted forecast... that's right, cold and dreary.  Ah, something new.  Instead of trying to fight the weather, we decided to match it with our itinerary for the day.  

The Jewish Cemetery was established in 1806 and is one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in the world.  Although nearly all of Warsaw was demolished during WWII, the Cemetery remained mostly untouched.  

The Cemetery was overgrown with trees bursting through the middle of the graveyard.  Tangled roots caused gravestones to tip out of alignment.  At one point, Fritz commented that the lines of headstones looked like they were in need of an orthodontist in many places. 

Some of the graves had small rock piles left by visitors. 

 A memorial for all the children who were killed in World War II left visitors weeping. 

Grandma Masha had twenty grandchildren 

Grandma Hana had eleven

only I survived

~Jack Eisner

The Little Smuggler

Through a hole, through a crack or a cranny

Starving yet stubborn and canny

Sneaky and speedy like a cat

I daily risk my youthful neck

And if fate will turn against me 

In that game of life and bread

Do not weep for me mother; do not cry

Are we not all marked to die?

Only one worry besets me

Lying in agony; so nearly dead

Who'll care for you tomorrow

Who'll bring you, dear Mom, a slice of bread

~Henryka Lazowert

Ghetto Warsaw 1941

We left the Cemetery and headed down the street to the Warsaw Uprising Museum.  

The museum commemorates the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 when the Polish Resistance Home Army fought against Nazi forces for 63 days with little outside support.  The Home Army planned their attack as the Soviet Union's Red Army was approaching from the West.  The Home Army was counting on aid from the Red Army, but instead of helping as the Germans were retreating, the Soviet's stopped short of the city allowing the Germans to regroup and defeat the Polish resistance.  It was the largest single military effort taken by any European resistance movement during WWII.  

We concluded our last day in Warsaw by heading to the "hipster" part of town for dinner.  Having skipped lunch, we were nearly starving by 4:30.  I suspect this place is a pretty happenin' spot, but the cool kids don't usually show up for the Early Bird Special on a Friday night.  Fritz and I basically had the place to ourselves.   Mmmmm hipster burgers with a side of micro-greens or whatever they put in the baby food jar!