Would you fight as brave as people in Warsaw Uprising when attacked from every side by Germans and Russians?

Under those circumstances, yes. Though I’d probably be fighting in Bydgoszcz instead.

Some of the Polish history I’ve read of that time period is quite incredible. The Poles I admire most are those that used Guerrilla tactics as the covert Polish Underground. Those were some of the bravest men and women to have ever lived, considering the way the Nazis treated the Polish people. reading the story of how the Nazis lined Polish Boy Scouts up against a wall and gunned them down still haunts me.

Given those exact conditions.. yes.

It is hard to know until one is in the situation, which is not really possible to imagine, but I hope so. Usually, we as human beings, rise to our best against adversity and in defense of our homes.

The Warsaw Uprising deserves the greatest respect! Would we today be able to do something like that? Like @Marina said, I would hope so too. However, we have to keep in mind that if people grow up in a secure environment enjoying all the comfort of modern life, mentally they might be able to do so, or physically for that matter. The uprising meant additional hardship, an escalation of an already dire situation.

My father was born in Łódź and grew up there. When he was 14 my grandfather, who worked for a German company in Łódź, got transferred to Ulm which is in Southern Germany. So just before the Red Army arrived in 1944 they got out. But eventually Ulm was only a little safer. The town was heavily bombed towards the end of the war.

I’d hope I would have supported the Polish Underground tn 1942 instead of waiting over 2 years until the Germans were in retreat and the Russians on the horizon. The AK and the GL supported the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising more than 18 months months before the Warsaw Uprising but the majority of Poles looked the other way and in fact sometimes turned in underground fighters and fleeing Jews.

People are people and what happened in Poland would happen anywhere. A small number will actively fight invaders. They will be supported by others who might not be fit for actual fighting. But there will be many more who keep their heads down until victory is assured and cheer for themselves.

I feel secure in the knowledge that should my loved ones be endangered I would fight on their behalf, however in the circumstances depicted in this question I would more than likely be the obvious novice who’s shaking frantically while awaiting the approach of the hostile armies.

@Nially_Bob Kudos for an honest answer.

No way. In keeping with my country’s proudest traditions I’d be waving my national flag (a white lys flower on a white backdrop) and offer my most enthusiastic collaboration.

@Jack_Haas Then protest vigorously when said collaboration isn’t occurring fast enough?

@Nially_Bob Bob, I can’t see that ever being a problem: during WW2, french civil servants were assigned quotas of jews to fill trains with. As German archives revealed when they were made available to the public, the french population was so enthusiastic about denouncing jews and civil servants so zealous that they didn’t just meet the quotas, they created logistical nightmares for the nazi transport authorities. French aren’t good at much, but when it comes to creamy sauces and collaboration, no one comes close.

@Jack_Haas Neither a culture nor a society should be held accountable or perceived based upon the mistakes of a single group who lived within a different time period in the same society and culture. Those born within French territory are capable of being brave, upstanding and dignified individuals the same as most, if not all humans. Atleast, that’s what I have been led to believe when considering the evidence available to me.
Additionally, if it’s any consolation, the UK was led in WWII (for the most part) by a fat drunk.

Actually I refuse to feel guilt for the actions of past generations as long as I do my best to make sure the injustices are not still in place or not repeated today. Generational guilt seems to be expected in America today but the epitome of this was an article in Time this week that asked if our species was guilty of wiping out Neanderthal man 40,000 years ago.

I even refuse to feel guilty about the crimes of the Bush administration. You can vote against a guy, speak out against what he is doing and refuse to cooperate. At some point we have to trust in law.

@galileogirl Do you also not take credit for the actions of past generations which have had a positive effect on the society and culture you live in and amongst?
@Nially_Bob…should be held accountable or perceived negatively based upon…

@Nially_Bob I give my ancestors in the nearest generations credit for contributing to the person I am, but who they were is none of my doing. I am a family genealogist and have traced them back up to 500 years and I think who they were is extremely interesting but I don’t feel guilty about the failure of my parents and grandparents to stop the internment of the Japanese during WWII, my gggrandparents ownership of slaves, my gggggrandparents getting land grants in Alabama as a result of fighting and killing Native Americans, my ancestor 40,000 years ago who might have killed and possibility eaten a Neanderthal or even Eve who is supposed to be the originator of all guilt. lol

@Nially_Bob You’re mistaken. I base my convictions on personal knowledge of the french character and behavioral norms I have observed since my early childhood. Then there is this habit of supporting genocidal regimes, let bloodthirsty strongmen murder their citizens at will in exchange for their country’s riches, of making deals with tyrants to profit on the back of their oppressed populations, a history of siding with evil regimes against the US and the UK, but in the eyes of the french liberal elites and most of the population, a genocide isn’t really one if the US or Israel can’t be blamed. The evidence is just overwhelming. A few french people are capable of being brave, upstanding and dignified individuals but many more are able and willing to stoop to lows no one even knew existed.

Would you fight as brave as people in Warsaw Uprising when attacked from every side by Germans and Russians?

I think that this question has a major flaw:
The Warsaw Uprising was in response to the German attempt to reinforce Warsaw, to make it into what they referred to as a “fortress city.” Many cities that were in the path of the Soviet Army Center’s drive on Berlin were slated to be part of a complex web of defensive positions, intended to sap the soviet forces and thin the Soviet lines of supply.

The Warsaw Uprising was inspired by the notion that soviet liberation of Warsaw was on the way. The Uprising was initiated by the Warsaw Ghetto insurgent elements who wanted to help pave the way for soviet liberation. These anti-German insurgents were in contact with the soviets and to a lesser extent with the western forces.

The timing of the Warsaw Uprising was unfortunate and the purpose (to facilitate the earlier arrival of soviet forces) went unfulfilled. German SS units put down the uprising before it could have the desired effect of paving the way for soviet cooperation.

After the fact, the surviving Polish Nationalists involved in the uprising felt betrayed because Stalin did not make it a priority to make Warsaw a priority in time to act in concert with the Warsaw insurgents. The insurgents were brutally crushed by the Germans.

The Polish Nationalists were also driven by the desire to beat the soviets to the punch, in the sense that they wanted to control their own political destiny, if possible. So they acted prematurely and tend to blame Stalin for acting too late to save the Uprising from utter failure.

For his part, Stalin certainly considered the political make-up of the insurgents and concluded that they would be less friendly to setting up a soviet-style government in Warsaw after the war.

So…the soviets deserve a share of the blame for the failure of the Uprising, but they cannot be said to have been attacking Poland in 1944.

Now, September 17, 1939 is a different question entirely! Then they did attack Poland, while Poland’s western allies (Britain and France) sat back and did NOTHING. Rather, Britain and France singled out Germany alone for a declared war, while giving the soviets a pass when they participated in the invasion of Poland.