Rebuilding Warsaw: From the Ashes of WWII

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[@megaprojects9649]

Go to underluckystars.com/MEGAPROJECTS and help support the channel. They are now running an early black Friday sale, plus 10% off on any purchase with code MEGAPROJECTS. Thanks to Under Lucky Stars for sponsoring this video!

[@GuntherRommel]

Well, it's obvious that you actually believe in the product. The sponsorships that mean a lot to you are always touching to see.

[@lqdlqd1385]

Please mind that it was Germans who fought during WWII, not Nazis. If we put it in politically correct way, then we should speak of WWII as conflict between Nazis, Communists and Capitalists (and not Germans, Russians and Allays). Plus not all the Germans fighting in Hilter's army were Nazis.

[@henningbartels6245]

@@lqdlqd1385 have you ever considered the fact, that people who are or were drafted for war, did not go there voluntarily?

[@ewasa7061]

It is sad how much you are afraid to say that it was the Germans who destroyed Warszawa.

[@2lefThumbs]

Harrumph, I remember your anecdotes on other channels of buying "Astrology Monthly" (or similarly named magazine), then realising Astronomy isn't Astrology. Now you're fronting "Under Lucky Stars" wtf you smoking?

[@micha4702]

I'm a native Warsaw resident and I'm very happy to see that such a high profile channel made a film about the history of my city

[@gansior4744]

+1, absolutely love the City

[@BonShula]

Did someone bigger than this channel make a video about it?

[@andersjjensen]

Now Warsaw is on my bucket list of travel destinations.

[@megaprojects9649]

:)

[@BonShula]

@@andersjjensen I want to go to Berlin first, then Prague, Warsaw and last Volgograd for the full experience

[@anitasjoberg9948]

My mum was born in Warsaw in 1937. Many family members died in the uprising 1944. This week she celebrated her 85th birthday and is still going strong.

[@michalmalikowski8058]

Happy birthday to your mom sto lat sto lat niech zyje zyje nam

[@Paw3Looo]

Oni walczyli o kraj a ty uciekłaś

[@adidadi84]

@@Paw3Looo Ogarnij się człowieku. Przecież jej mama miała wtedy 8 lat więc jak ona mogła uciekać

[@Paw3Looo]

@@adidadi84 na jakiej podstawie to piszesz ze uciekła z matką?

[@adidadi84]

@@Paw3Looo Ty kumasz że jej matka miała w roku 1945, 8 lat, wiec Pani która napisała komentarz urodziła się okolo 10 lat po wojnie. Jak niby więc miała uciekać ?

[@pengyfelix]

I visited Warsaw in 2000, and I vividly remember the guide pointing to a line near the bottom of a brick wall. "Below that line was all that was left after the war. We rebuilt everything above that using photographs and paintings. All original."

[@catpar5004]

If you visited warsaw 20 Years ago u would not recognise city now. New metro new street new building, renovation everywhere new busses stop, new buses ( electrical with Wi-Fi) more and more green, new Warsaw railway station new railway new train and tramps. All no older than 5 years… impressive very impressive

[@WindowsDrawer]

You need to visit now, poland has changed much in. 20 years

[@bolinfan1519]

I heard the reconstruction lacks the quality of the original buildings.

[@fekalistagrzybowory7619]

You are so wrong

[@bolinfan1519]

@@fekalistagrzybowory7619 That's what a native Pole told me. I think it was my third cousin who said that, a high-level business executive in Szczecin. Or perhaps it was my attorney in Warszawa.

[@PaniPunia]

Another thing we need to remember is Warszawa literaly rose from the dead - during the war, especially Warsaw Uprising, the fallen were buried everywhere, and I mean it. Parks, courtyards, gardens, patch of Grass between buildings - now it's a cemetery. After the war there was a lot of efort to identify and exhume those make shift burial sights and identify the dead, but until this day everytime you put a shovel onto the ground In Warsaw city center you might dig out some bones. The city was rebuilt on the bodies of people who fought for it.

[@ferrusmanus184]

This is the biggest, most important, most awe-inspiring and most underrated middle finger to the Nazis I've ever seen. Absolutely incredible.

[@badda_boom8017]

No. Not at all. The biggest middle finger to nazis is rebuilding Synagogues. Which wasn't done.

[@Frostbourn]

They were called Germans

[@Lurker01]

@@badda_boom8017 how do you know?

[@badda_boom8017]

@@Lurker01 I live in Warsaw.

[@Vescilla]

@@Frostbourn not all nazis were German, there were others too.

[@Niamato_inc]

I cannot recommend Warsaw and Krakow enough. Two of the most vibrant, beautiful and charming cities in Europe. That’s coming from a French man who visited every country of the old and beautiful continent. Great country and admirable people whose resilience should be an inspiration for all developing countries.

[@frenchsong87]

My family is Polish and my grandparents grew up during WWII. I’ve never been to Poland, but especially after seeing this video definitely want to go now.

[@robrobrobrobify]

I came from Toronto for a visit back in 2009, and haven't left. ;) Amazing place.

[@janek32.]

Love from Poland😏🥰

[@baltrax2366]

@@robrobrobrobify you are still in Poland?

[@WindowsDrawer]

@@robrobrobrobify Blink twice if they're forcing you to say this

[@SMiki55]

Move in!

[@FilipilipPL]

Soviets did not librate the city, they waited across the river untill it was 100% destroyed and then rolled through it like it was a dessert

[@noidea2568]

I'm pretty sure he wasn't saying it for serious, because at 5:51 he says is in a quite ironic way.

[@gribo.9543]

Did you even watch the video?

[@MianCowell]

@@noidea2568 Agreed, there's certainly an ironic tone to the way he said Liberated

[@vitalymaliarov696]

Lol, polish people wouldn't exist anymore if it wasn't for the Soviet union. All polish people should bow down to Joseph Stalin

[@AlessandroGenTLe]

During the war Polish were telling to their children: if you happen to be between a russian and a nazi soldier, run to the nazi one. This is to explain how russians behaved there!

[@vadymsanduliak]

As a Ukrainian, I hope we will manage to do the same with cities like Mariupol. Im very proud of the polish people for achieving such an incredible feat

[@mpingo91]

_"we will manage to do the same with cities like Mariupol"_ *** Absolutely! And hopefully - for Russian money!

[@AB-li1eo]

You'll rebuild your cities even more beautiful than before. We'll help all we can, all of the World will.

[@triggertits]

There are many people around Europe that stand ready to help out with the rebuilding. Even if the Russians try and weasel their way out of taking responsibility. We stand united against chaos and destruction.

[@bababa4275]

You will.

[@user-mh2uj7ns6h]

Just a reminder: Ukrainian SS volunteers massacred and destroyed the city with Germans and were brutally assaulting polish women.

[@robertgrzesiak6767]

My grandfather Stanisław worked on the reconstruction of Nowy Świat and Marszałkowska for 20 years. He too considered it a Mega Project. Great video with quality insight of Canaletto’s “input”.

[@partyontheobjective]

I'm a Warsaw native, and I can't thank you enough for this video. It's rare that this is ever shown or mentioned in media and it was such a herculean effort. The city might be rebuilt, but the scars are still visible. In the Old Town, there's this black line running through the city walls, and buildings, marking the level the whole area was levelled to.

[@thunderbird1921]

It's sad how many cities chose to rebuild in an ugly modern style unlike your people rebuilding the classic ones. I have a soft spot for the elegant old architecture, it gives cities a soul.

[@blski]

@@thunderbird1921 Reason is cost of rebuilding. In case of Warsaw decision was political. Would it be left to the individual owners of destroyed properties I suspect we will have blocks of office buildings in this place. Would you ask inhabitants they will, most likely, prefer housing blocks instead living in the ruins. (our family [what was left of it] lived in crowded conditions for years) It was Bierut Decret (invalidated later) allowing government to appropriate all the real estate of the city and consequently rebuilding it without prior owners concern.

[@ericcriteser4001]

I've never met a person of Polish descent that wasn't just a good, kind, decent individual. Well done, Poland.

[@andersjjensen]

If you mention Russia to them... that... kinda... goes away.

[@MrPwnageMachine]

Come to England and meet the ones fresh off the boat…

[@johniksushibar165]

@@andersjjensen i went to Poland with my Polish girlfriend, i said "niet" instead of "nie" as i usually did to wind her up,she sai shush, dont speak Russian or you will get beaten up...point taken

[@apetogetherstrong6600]

@@johniksushibar165 Soviet Union and Russia are so terrible when Putin accused Ukraine was nazi supporter, i think to myself "ofc they were. some jews gone missing is still better than let starve together or labour camp for random reason."

[@phforNZ]

They're lovely, until you piss them off. Then you realise you fucked up.

[@victoriaeads6126]

I've seen the rebuilt city center first-hand. It's amazing, beautiful, and terribly sad all at once. You see, they have plaques all over the city explaining where people fought and died during WWII.

[@Lillireify]

To be honest we have plaques all over the country explaining where people fought and died in WWII :) it's interesting to me that someone found this sad, we feel as this is a part of our history and that we need to remember our ancestors sacrifice, no feelings involved :)

[@zl8018]

​@@Lillireify "No feelings involved" - except fort he feeling of the duty to take over the ancestry of those who fought, died or rebuilt Warsaw and the whole country.

[@towelie1313]

I am a Warsaw resident, born and raised. Every single day at my workplace I pass by this one plaque stating that a THOUSAND people were executed in this very spot...

[@dresden123456]

Another Varsovian here, got this vid randomly recced (for once YT algorithm got something right ;)) Some trivia for you: there are several buildings in the city that have preserved bullet holes or traces of insurgents blood. The only royal residence that survived WW2 in a good shape is the Wilanow Palace and it's literally only because it was on the outskirts and Germans didn't have time to get to it. The Palace on the Isle was completely burned inside and the holes were drilled for dynamite (the plan was to blow it up) but again thankfully not enough time and it survived tho sadly lost priceless historical interiors. You can still see the dynamite holes in its walls. The pearl of the city Saxon Palace that dominated its landscape for centuries was reduced to rubble. The only surviving part being a small part of the arcade. The story is that a German soldier did not put the dynamite there out of respect for the Tomb of Unknown Soldier that it hosts. Reality or myth? I'd say myth but who knows. There's been talks about rebuilding it for ages now and looks like it's finally gonna happen starting next year. I'm pretty excited about it because I've only seen it in old photos. As a kid in the 80s I remember Warsaw still being rebuilt. Royal Castle wasn't finished til early 80s. None of the reconstruction happened in a day, it took perseverance and hard work. It saddens me immensely when Warsaw is dismissed as ugly or mocked for the brutalist architecture. There's an excellent historical explanation for her looks but it's rare to see people look into that. I know that every war leaves permanent traces of its cruelty but as much as it hurts to see loss of life (obviously) it's sad to see human heritage disappear as well.

[@zl8018]

As far as the bullet holes are concerned, the place which impresses me most is the fence of the Polish Security Printing Works in Sanguszki Street. It has metal bars and almost every of them bears traces of bullets of different sizes. If so many bullets hit the bars, it is not difficult to imagine how many flew between them. (And of course there is a reason for that because the defense of the Polish Security Printing Works was one of the most intense episodes of Warsaw Uprising).

[@cristinastefan7009]

I visited Warsaw this year. Even if I was aware of it and had a smaller glimpse from visiting Krakow a few years before, I was in constant awe just by walking around the city. As much as the exponats of the museums were impressive themselfs, the reconstruction of the those buildings was even more for me with all details.

[@mongrelking5667]

"Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła kiedy my żyjemy" The opening line of the Polish anthem sums up the Polish spirit perfectly. As shown in the example of Warsaw.

[@AWMJoeyjoejoe]

I've visited Warsaw many many times over the past 15 years. It's one of my all time favourite places.

[@ridethecurve55]

And as a great contrast video, Simon is next going to do this for Volgograd

[@kamilmieszkowski]

To be honest I love this history. Warsaw like Phoenix had risen from ashes. It is really really inspiring to think about unbroken spirit of people who would not let themselves be beaten, be defeated. Warsaw is full of historic places, modern architecture and skyscrapers. It is really captivating mix full of surprises.

[@YetiGx]

I remember when I first learned about Warsaw and how it rebuilt from the ground up. Very impressive stuff. ❤2 🇵🇱

[@andersjjensen]

You can't help but love the Poles. They will stop at no level of spite to give those who wronged them a gigantic middle finger. And, given recent events, it's clear that they're prepared to do it again and again and again.

[@Matys1975]

The are buying so much heavy weapons right now that boggles the mind.

[@bohomazdesign725]

And this is one of the main reasons why we are helping right now so much (we pretty much send over there half of our heavy military equipment) the Ukrainians to defeat Russian invaders. Especially after we saw what the Russians did to Mariupol. It really reminds us of Warsaws history.

[@Bolshevik.remover]

@@bohomazdesign725 to be fair not only Warsaw, whole Poland experienced both German and Soviet ocupation. When we heard about all those war crimes family stories that grandfathers prefer to avoid came back but also when we heard about stealing of washing machines and general incompetence more popular stories of soviet soldiers ripping the taps from walls and slaming into other houses expecting them to run water or eating soup came back. Trully nothing changes in russia.

[@kny1098]

Yeah "fuck you fuck you and fuck you too" for the freedom, ours and yours

[@Journey_Awaits]

You can kill people but you can never kill an idea

[@winderwonder]

I’m a Warsaw resident for four years. I’m madly in love with the place.

[@rhov-anion]

The rebuilding of Warsaw has always been such a wonderful story. When we are determined to recover all we lost, humans can become so strong and united. As I see Russia bombing historical buildings in Ukraine, I feel heartbroken, but I know that rebuilding is absolutely possible when the citizens are strong.

[@rataj616]

Not really wonderful story, bricks were taken from other cities (that soon became or were polish already - for example Wrocław but also a lot of cities in Lower Silesia) so instead of rebuilding those cities a lot of materials and machines went only to Warsaw

[@NeoZentrix]

Better to have a capital than no capital so actually yes it really is a wonderful story if you disagree then hitler would have probably liked you @@rataj616

[@nadomedia]

It’s very nice to see this get attention, thank you very much. But there are a few historical errors: - The Warsaw Uprising was not done by partisans, but by the biggest underground resistance army of WW2. - The Red Army stood on the other side of the Vistula and didn’t do anything about the German crimes. - The communists wanted to build a socialist city, but a few pre-war architects managed to implement their own plans of rebuilding the old Warsaw. First, it started with the Old Town, then the New Town, the Royal Route and other palaces were added later, with slight reluctancy of the socialist regime. - Warsaw was not the only place this was done in Poland: Gdansk was also reconstructed after the war, since it also was almost completely destroyed. Good to mention: modern day Warsaw is constantly rebuilding and re-imagining past times by combining ruins with modern architecture. Plus: Warsaw started with one of the biggest reconstruction projects of modern day history: the rebuilding of the Saxon Palace.

[@keithstevens5614]

The communists rebuilt Warsaw on the socialist model, and rebuilding the Old Town to give it historical flavor and link it with its past was always their intention from the getco.

[@krzpor7883]

Warsaw: city that survived it's own death.

[@julesmarwell8023]

wow how poignant

[@czaro8236]

I’m from Warsaw. I remember my dad telling me stories about the city when I was a child, one of my favorites was about the paintings “so precise that they were used to rebuild the city”. Btw, we have copies of those paintings printed on glass panels in many places in the old town so that you can compare them with what you see. Most of the time you would think that the paintings depict the view, not the other way round;)

[@katm9877]

To put that in perspective, my history teacher was a couple years old in 1948-ish. When we covered the rebuilding of Warsaw in history class, he recalled playing ON the rubble of the Old Town. Yes, I put "on" for a reason - the rubble piled up as high as THREE storeys! Until then, I had thought Tyrmand was being fanciful with the "four bricks a day" claim. Now I don't.

[@kacperbrodalka217]

"The work had been finished". As a Warsaw resident I am happy to announce that it hasn't been finished just yet. The Saxon and Bruhl palaces alongside the tenements on Królewska street are to be reconstructed. This video shows the grave of the unknown soldier at 3:31 and these are the remains of the Saxon palace. The idea to reconstruct those places of value to the tissue of the city have been floating around for at least a decade now. Let's see if the plans come to fruition.

[@tonyInPA]

I’d talked to some folks in Germany familiar with the effort to faithfully rebuild Berlin and even Frankfurt. A work of true dedication, fruit of the labor and will of thousands. But was then surprised to go to Dusseldorf and find a place that seemingly didn’t exist before 1945. Well done, Warsaw. And to the rest of the world (as someone who is half Polish)…telling someone with Polish blood that something can’t/shouldn’t be done (or is impossible) is the one way to guarantee that the thing will damn well get done

[@PeterW-ski]

Dresden was also a beautiful city pre WW2, completely destroyed and rebuilt after, it's on my bucket list

[@davidtaflan941]

Fascinating how Warsaw was rebuilt using paintings as the template. Cheers to the Polish people for overcoming the Nazis’ and the Soviets. A grand testament to the human spirit.

[@alexandermagee3288]

“They acted like dick heads” Simon you are a legend

[@JayZx777]

Dick-head is just too mild of a word to describe those Germans who murdered 6 million Poles not to mention around 20,000 cities and towns completely destroyed by them (Germans AKA Nazis). Why does the author keeps calling them Nazis? They were GERMANS!!!!!!

[@heniakonas9439]

My cousin, a child of 12 after the war, remembers going after school to help remove the rubble. Every citizen helped willingly after work for free. Warsaw was rebuilt by its people.

[@akchemaceshwa]

Being Architect and writing from Poznań, I'm always amazed by the reconstructed buildings here and the people who worked on it.

[@wtflol2721]

Poznań and Gdańsk also have a history of reconstruction after World War II. In Poznań, the Cathedral was not rebuilt in the neoclassical style that was given to it after the fire in 1772, it was rebuilt in the Gothic style. On the other hand, Gdańsk lost its old town in 85%. It was not rebuilt when Poland was divided between the invaders (Prussia, Russia and Austria) and was ruled by the Germans. It was rebuilt before 1772.

[@piotrmroczkowski2324]

Im from Poznań, cheers. Poznań was hit quite hard in the liberation proces, but far from other cities. Gdańsk and Wrocław are my favorite cities to visit in Poland. Wrocław was also destroyed pretty bad, and rebuild nicely. Actually there are allmost no cities in Poland who were not brutaly destroyed in WWII. Maybe not in a scale like Warszawa, but still.

[@akchemaceshwa]

@@wtflol2721 yes, I know how Catherdral looked before. The copper towers added later gave it the distinct look which we see today.

[@akchemaceshwa]

@@piotrmroczkowski2324 Aaa kolego, w końcu Poznański pyry dotarli tu 🤣🤣 Yes, being so close to Germany, Poznań was hit quite bad. Poznań was also part of Germany at certain time in history. I don’t visit Gdańsk much, so my personal experience of it is not that expansive. Wrocław have fair amount of buildings which was rebuilt after WWII.

[@keithstevens5614]

@@wtflol2721 WTF?

[@chrisbentleywalkingandrambling]

I knew it was decimated but not to that extent and nothing of the rebuilding. It is amazing what you are not taught in School. Thank you for this lesson in History. Thoroughly enjoyed hearing about this modern day Phoenix.

[@berzerkinglemur6534]

I am also a resident of Warsaw. My grandfather fought in the Warsaw Uprising. Therefore, this video material is important to me for personal reasons. Thank you.

[@jankilian1998]

More videos about Poland please!!! I was born in Warsaw, and I have been told many many times how mouch it took to reabuild it. It was nice to hear how it was done in one video. Now I finaly understand the scale of this mega project😉🇵🇱🇵🇱🇵🇱

[@janfazlagic8738]

Poznan 1956, 100 killed, 2 armoured divisions, a mutiny of Polish solidiers, Molotov coctails - zero coverage in historic channels.

[@zalacainbilbao]

I love Warsaw. I really admire the Poles. Their reconstruction of not only Warsaw, but other cities such as Gdansk, puts the reconstruction of Berlin or Dresden to shame.

[@mimamo]

With Berlin you are right. In Dresden you are wrong. The city has been to big parts beautifully rebuilt and reconstruction work is still going on to this day. Particularly the stunning reconstruction of Dresden's Frauenkirche (Church of our Lady) is unrivaled anywhere.

[@zalacainbilbao]

@@mimamo but still, the city as a whole, has huge gaps I'm the reconstruction.

[@wiedzacontrawadza3411]

Great thanks for your appreciation. Also - Białystok was ruined over 80% and was rebuilt. I guess many other Polish towns. Warsaw is the most famous example.

[@Mjak-yd3og]

How the Poles rebuilt Gdańsk brings the most shame to the Russians for what they did with Konigsberg (Kaliningrad).

[@martinstallard2742]

2:48 paradise lost 6:51 rebuilding the past 11:00 painting with light 14:40 from the ashes

[@kampai71]

It is hardly understood what he is saying. He should work on word projection.

[@brovgard]

Warsaw resident here. I'd like to say that this is a great video. This city has very painful history. If you know where to look you can still find bullet holes in walls.

[@egalvaoepg]

I'm from Brazil and just returned from a 10- day trip to Poland. What an awesome country!

[@alexhamilton4084]

This is amazing. The polish people should be proud of this achievement.

[@danielm81]

I'm from Wrocław, Poland and I knew *some* things about Warsaw reconstruction, but only now I learned what it really looked like and how much it took to actually do it. BTW - my grandfather after the war was involved in Warsaw reconstruction - he was searching through the ruins of Wrocław for undamaged bricks and other materials and loading all of that on trains - destination Warsaw.

[@Bolshevik.remover]

Was he living in pre-war Breslau or a settler from the east?

[@danielm81]

@@Bolshevik.remover from the east - from the southeastern part of Lesser Poland to be precise.

[@GazilionPT]

It's a pity you didn't show any of the interiors of the Royal Castle. I visited in 2009 and it was jaw-dropping. One thing is to just do maintenance work, as we've been doing in other historical buildings, like Versailles - another thing is doing it all over again to the smallest detail.

[@KrissowskiM]

I remember visiting it in 1987... basically - bare walls at that time....

[@Zaper66]

I'm polish, but I have been in Warsaw only once, so I only briefly known it's newest history. Watching this video I have learned a lot about our capital city. Thanks guys🙂

[@Pawel__M]

Thank you for this video. I am Polish and I live in Warsaw. The one thing that should be mentioned is that the idea of rebuilding Warsaw emerged in Poland even before the war ended and, at first, it had nothing to do with the politics. At that time, very few people had illusions that Stalin would allow Poland to remain a sovereign country, and it soon became clear that the Soviets won't keep their promises. But it didn't stop the determination of Poles to rebuild Poland in its pre-war shape. Rebuilding the capital city was a symbol of this desire, especially/also/even (the word choice depended on the political views of the speaker) among those who were loyal to the legal Polish government that was then still recognised by Poland's Western Allies and worked - in exile - in London). As if people in Poland were thinking: "It seems we can't regain our independence now, but we can keep our beliefs, and we can rebuild our capital city in our way". The support of the Polish population for Soviet Communists and their "Polish" puppet government was close to zero. The elections/plebiscite that was to come later was faked (think of the farce that Putin has organised recently in the parts of Ukraine that are illegally occupied by RuSSia. The "Polish" Communists, brought in by the Soviet army, picked up the idea of reconstructing Warsaw as a sign that they cared about the Polish heritage, that they are not "foreign imports" (even if they were, which they were proving every day by forcing Soviet patterns in every aspect of public life, including imprisoning and sentencing thousands of Poles to death and accusing them of being "British and American spies", "capitalist bourgeoisie", "enemies of the Soviet Union and working people" etc.). To sum up, Warsaw was rebuilt by hundreds of thousands of ordinary Poles, including pre-war architects, art historians, engineers, construction workers and volunteers, while the communists declared that the glory should go to... the communists. BTW, the centre of Warsaw, its very heart (close to the present Central Railway Station) was not reconstructed in its pre-war shape. The ruins of about 200 houses were removed to create space for a Soviet-style skyscraper (Palace of Science and Culture), "a gift from comrade Stalin", that became another symbol: of "Polish-Soviet eternal friendship" (as the communists claimed) or a symbol of enslaving Poland by the Soviets (as most people viewed it).

[@zongsoe]

my grandpa actually was one of the people rebuiling the royal castle, they used a piece of newspaper with it still intact that my father had. in return one of the builders gave him a painting of it :)

[@J3scribe]

What a marvelous story. I'm frankly astonished I've never heard it before, my love of history and architecture should have led me down this path. Thanks for an excellent and informative video. Now I know what I'll be doing online this evening.

[@mammuchan8923]

I was also astounded I hadn’t heard this before or even thought to look it up. What an amazing story

[@J3scribe]

@skandal1966 I will take your advice and look into those places, too. Thanks.

[@FreakyStyleytobby]

Man, I'm a huge fan of architecture, and believe me - having a walk there puts me in a constant extasy, because of all the stories you see in it. Definitely recommend to experience it on your own.

[@sytrostormlord3275]

@j.lewis You can also check out the Malbork Castle history - built originaly by Teutonic Knights, falling for decades... under Prussian rule was establish as one of national tresures of Germany and somewhat restored by Germans before WW2, then turned into rubble during WW2 - from a glorious, magnificent Castle, only few walls were standing now, almost 80 years later i has been rebuilt and restored to its former XV century share... one thing to add up- originaly it was the biggest building made of bricks in Europe...

[@RYNQS49]

see what the Germans have done to Warsaw Bombing of Warsaw in World War II kzbin.info/www/bejne/bYGvqY1rbZeWhdU&ab_channel=polandmail Warsaw after Warsaw uprising kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKOYpnqfbNKcopY&ab_channel=KorczakKrzysztof

[@marcin9342]

I got emotional watching this. Thank you for telling this part of my city’s history.

[@julesmarwell8023]

Australian here. many Poles in my country. honest good hard working people. glad to say they are my neighbours

[@BlackWolf6420]

They are now rebuilding Saski Palace and Brühl Palace just minutes from Old Town. The ground works have just began.

[@groobass82]

They do but this isn't the best time at the moment. Poland is in huge economic crisis. They should wait until it's get better

[@shb0018]

@@groobass82 xD

[@MaraMara89]

@@groobass82 but rulling party need better place for parliament - do they will build it for themselves :/

[@debil477]

@@groobass82 You are wrong.

[@jasse803]

I was born in Warsaw only 26 years after WWII ended. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this vid about my beloved city. Thank you!

[@TheBigk1964]

I live in Warsaw, moving here in 2006. This is a great video to help people understand the rebuilding, and I agree the destruction is a separate story all together! Great visual I just wish you could have included one building, the Prudential tower! It is still there today and there is footage of it being hit, but it is seen by many as finishing touch on the cityscape!

[@christophermcghee1663]

“They acted like dickheads.” Excellent

[@jrmckim]

Wow this is absolutely amazing. I had no idea that they did this.

[@saritacruz3020]

What an amazing story! I feel like this should be more well known.

[@Walsinats4]

My great grandmother brought bricks from her Żoliborz house which was destroyed in a raid to add to the construction of the royal castle. Soon after the Polish state stole what remained of her life, demolished it and the parcel stands empty to this day. The royal castle is the only thing that remains of my family’s ancestral home, and I love that structure deeply.

[@ebarteldes]

I’ve been to the rebuilt old town. It always brings me to tears.

[@lukasier4215]

Fun fact there is a book called 'Lalka', based on 18th warsaw, and you can navigate warsaw with it, wont work well in 2022 but thats still something intresting seing characters houses and places they visited

[@gansior4744]

I absolutely love Warsaw, its seriously pretty city. I love going from time to time just to look at the buildings around

[@sylwiatime]

The motto "The entire nation rebuilds its Capital" had a literal meaning because people from all over Poland sent money for the reconstruction. The Communists didn't give a penny.

[@berlineczka]

Two more trivia about the reconstruction: 1. It was hella expensive. There was a special tax everyone in Poland had to pay till the late 1970s that was literally called "Warsaw reconstruction tax". If it wasn't for the communist system, they would probably never had done it, as it would have costed trillions of dollars. 2. The reconstructing teams were so good at their work that they became some sort of international specialists for historical reconstruction. Dresden was famously one of the cities that also profited from the expertise of the architects, art specialists and planners who reconstructed Warsaw.

[@ballyhigh11]

I suspect that the Poles will be the go to consultants for the reconstruction of Ukrainian cities.

[@berlineczka]

@@ballyhigh11 That I do not know. The reconstruction of Warsaw happened in the 1950-70s, the original reconstructors are likely dead or retired today. I do not know to what extend this is still an ongoing business/expertise today. That being said, the majority of Ukraine that is being destroyed is dwellings and public infrastructure (i.e. important but without historical value), so likely the easiest and cheapest way would be to demolish what cannot be saved and built anew, and for the bridges, power plants and other specialized sites it's not the historical reconstruction specialists that you need but rather engineers with expertise in construction of said sites.

[@Jan_Strzelecki]

It's important to add that Germans were planning to completely raze Warsaw to the ground anyway, and rebuild it as a small German town of not more than 130,000 inhabitants. (see "Pabst Plan" if you want to learn more)

[@eaphantom9214]

I'm watching and listening intently 😮 Didn't hear about this at history class in high school or in any documentary 😑

[@badda_boom8017]

Maybe you didn't listen at school, because I did.

[@Kiiiurself8482]

@skandal1966 there wasnt many cities as destroyed as Warsaw (more than 95% buildings)

[@eaphantom9214]

@@badda_boom8017 😅 No really, this specifically wasn't taught and actually I did listen and absorb a lot haha 1 of the few topics I was interested in Smart phones barely existed then during my early teens So books only, no Google!

[@badda_boom8017]

@@eaphantom9214 we learned this at school.

[@bruhmoment3478]

@@badda_boom8017 Brother why the fuck would they learn about this in the UK? Do we learn deeper things about the UK other then the global things they did? No not really

[@Malapropify]

I've been born and raised in this city. Thank you for making such a high quality content about it!

[@michaelb1761]

This is amazing, that they were able to accomplish this under the boot heal of the USSR.

[@marek9081]

Let's just say it demanded some clever moves from members of the Capital Reconstruction Bureau. ;)

[@mikeclark9073]

I went to Warsaw in 2012, spent a week just exploring such an amazing city.

[@yusifali2878]

this video gives me hope for restoration of the old town in aleppo :')

[@bartosznaswiecie1179]

As a Pole this is the first of your videos that left me with sweaty eyes. Thank you for that ❤

[@bartosznaswiecie1179]

Also were talking about rebuilding some places even now, it's still very much a work in progress. Warsaw will stand, even if we get to work after the nuclear winter has just finished.

[@slv8306]

@@bartosznaswiecie1179 Remember, this guy called Poland a fascist country in 2019 due to PiS. Do not trust him, he is money grabber, probably a Jew.

[@bartosznaswiecie1179]

@@slv8306 what's wrong with being a jew?

[@thetemperamentalecnomist1261]

An expat in Warsaw and I’m uber excited to watch your upload!

[@Phil-D83]

Was in warsaw in 2014. A lot of the oldest buildings have 2 or 3 layers of orignal bricks at the bottom - and new on top. A few chruches,etc that were not blown up have these round holes filled in; where the ss drilled holes for dynamite but did not blow it up.

[@marvju209]

Takie dziury znajdziesz i w innych polskich miastach. Na przykład w Krakowie. Po prostu Niemcy nie mieli dosyć czasu, by zrealizować wszystkie swoje zbrodnicze przedsięwzięcia. Za szybko przegrywali wojnę. I to wymazanie z rzeczywistości nie dotyczy tylko strefy materialnej

[@Suli5241]

The whole reconstruction you describe (1770 inspiration ) regards Old Town and a few neighboring streets. The rest of Warsaw was made differently, some old houses that survived were leveled to the ground, streets got much wider, and whole districts were changed. Muranów was redesigned from the ground, Stalin's Palace of Culture completely changed Warsaw's downtown, same with MDM or Łazienkowska Thoroughfare. Soviet authorities had a strong influence, they wanted to change the city to a socialist capital, and restore a few historic landmarks important to the culture. It resulted in atrocities like the destruction of the Kronenberg palace post-war, and many others. Soon you can make another mega project video because the resurrection of Saxon and Bruhl palaces has started, both were destroyed by Germans in 1944

[@bartobrien3152]

Well said, Suli5241. The video blurs an important distinction between the Old Town - maybe 5% or less of Warsaw by area, which was rebuilt as it once was- and the rest of Warsaw, ie almost all of it, which was rebuilt but not as it had once been.

[@QQ-my2rq]

Warsaw is awesome, gorgeous and stunning nowadays. I’ve been living here for three years and it’s changing to the better in front of my eyes, I fell in love with it’s climate, safety, very nice and modern infrastructure and the history of fighting for freedom standing behind its back. Kocham Warszawę ❤🇵🇱 ps I’m russian 😅

[@wasabii007]

Feels like quite the missed opportunity to not mention that the Saxon Palace has just been approved and started being reconstructed three months ago. Most likely a billion dollar project when it eventually wraps sometime in the next decade... :) Other than that terrific video!

[@matti1595]

Hell yeah!

[@KoRbA2310]

Wait what!? They are rebuilding it!? No way! I will have to visit Poland in the future then. Haven't been there since I left for Ireland 8 years ago

[@natalias50]

@@KoRbA2310 they are indeed ❤️

[@Bolshevik.remover]

@@KoRbA2310 they probably won't finish in the next 15 years, assuming they won't cancel it.

[@julianhen9049]

Its a shame actually 1. We don't have money for that (Eu funds are cut and there is a war in Ukraine, and our incompetent goverment struggles with infaltion) 2.Pałac Saski is an ugly building before the war Varsovians were considering to tare it down. 3. The only part that ramained is a tomb of unknown soldier, the only value that the building has is as momument of german crimes, rebuilding it does no good

[@jameslewis2635]

Considering the times, this is a good project to look into - especially since the situation that Warsaw was in is very similar to that being created by Putin's war in Ukrain.

[@lucasszymanski114]

Thank you for this video! Proud to be born there. Keep up the fantastic work.

[@probono2876]

Brilliant program. Thank you Simon.

[@pawelkaras7231]

Lots of love from Warsaw! Thanks for all the videos!

[@stephenp7708]

Can only echo what so many people have said below - Warsaw resident and this video was emotional. Dresden wasn't enough

[@namelastname8D]

In the name of all of Polish people - thank you! BTW, inclusion of the bricks from Wrocław... You did your homework! I hope that Mariupol will see a similar revival.

[@user-kx4vw9uj6x]

when going to warsaw i was really suprised by somme neighbourhoods nowing the fact it has been completely destroyed, in fact, some neighbours even outside the old town looks authentic, and i was really wondering at some points if it wasn't just an original disctrict that had survived, it really doesn't feel like a rebuild city

[@brianfeely9239]

Been waiting a long time for such a video. Thank you.

[@Ison94]

as native resident of Wrocław i understand bitternes you mention. both cities were destroyed and i am sad watching pre war materials and see what Wrocław lost - but i am happy that materials took from Wrocław was turn in to drop of beauty in ocean of Stalins gray. and the idea -you mention uprasing as posible topic for warographic. maybe the battle of Festung Breslau (Wrocław) would be a good topic to?

[@jolantamsk3894]

Warsaw is a beautiful city - Very well done! Thank you!

[@Tom-rh9ty]

Thank you Simon and your writers. Beautiful story

[@brittislove]

I spent last Christmas and NYE in Warsaw, 15 minute walk from Old Town. When I got back to the States I read more about Old Town and its history. I'm a ww2 buff, but I hadn't realized exactly how much of Warsaw was destroyed, and thanks to your videos, I learned a lot about its reconstruction. Thank you! I will bore my friends with new rants. They don't like it but.. I do :3 Always informational, always helpful, thank you!

[@qv81]

Also a Warszawian from generations. So glad to see You take on this topic, which we speak about untill this day.

[@markvicferrer]

What an incredible story. Is there a movie, miniseries or tv show about this?

[@jestestuman]

actually not something serious. There are small old time documents that are in polish, but you can see the photos/videos captured: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJDPXomQYrFsmKs

[@WaukWarrior360]

An extremely important detail is that the Soviets deliberately chose not to intervene

[@MaxiTB]

Hungary on the other hand was not so lucky... which is pretty much was it boiled down to in Soviet Russia, pure luck.

[@andreylebedenko1260]

​@@Deathven1482 Not really, since the uprising was not coordinated with the Soviet Union, but fully controlled and directed from London by the anti-communist Polish government in exile.

[@G0TIMAN]

Not true XD

[@WaukWarrior360]

@@andreylebedenko1260 Yes really since the Soviets had actually encouraged the Polish Home Army to start the uprising. Then when they were just outside of Warsaw they decided to not continue so the Germans would have time to destroy the Uprising

[@WaukWarrior360]

@@andreylebedenko1260 And that's exactly why they did it. They didn't want a strong sovereign movement in Poland so they could more easily turn it into a puppet state firmly under Soviet influence

[@ChristopherM720]

Simon, this may now be my most favourite of the many MegaProjects. As this to LaserPig's I am a Pole! story about the tiny Polish destroyer taking on the Bismarck as why I love my Polish friends. Such a people.

[@Bolshevik.remover]

That story is fake. Captain and his second confirmed it. They fired 3 shots as a symbol that Poland still fights from the distance none of which hit the target and bismark didn't respond maintained observation for some time and later lost bismark in the storm.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

2:55 - Chapter 1 - Paradise lost 6:55 - Chapter 2 - Rebuilidng the past 11:05 - Chapter 3 - Painting with light 14:45 - Chapter 4 - From the ashes

[@ev.c6]

I have been to Warsaw and Krakow. Very beautiful cities. Poland is in general a very beautiful city. I like the symbol Warsaw has to Poland, a Phoenix standing from the ashes.

[@Zalley]

Thanks! - always wondered about the rebuilding of Warsaw. Great video.

[@maciejpelc9039]

I am really impressed by your deep dive in those details. I live in Wrocław and we do in fact are still a bit salty that our buldings were used to rebuild Warsaw. You must know that it had happened for many decades after the end of the war and many important buildings were dismantled.

[@reclawyxhush]

Thx from Kraków (Cracow), a former capital of the Kingdom of Poland. Well done and as far as I can tell it does justice to the truly unbelievable effort, both intellectual and physical, to uprise once again against the morbid spirit that used to haunt this nation.

[@ZeroCGR2]

I live in Warsaw all my life. This Megaproject video is a surprise to see.

[@kaminski8000]

Thank you for taking on this topic!

[@jasse803]

Paintings, yes, but also....wait for it... wait... old postcards! Yea, thousands of old postacrds were collected from surviving residents and helped to restore Warsaw (in particular the Old Town) Ps: also, your knowledge about Warsaw and of Polish history in general is to say the least impressive. Thank you so much for this vid.

[@Cycke86]

Thanks for discussing this massive reconstruction project. We are proud to have rebuilt our nation's capital literally from rubble. It shows that you can demolish buildings, but you can't kill the spirit. I dedicate this to our Ukrainian friends. They will also rebuild.

[@me12155]

I'm from Wrocław, and I literally mentioned the fact, that bricks from here were taken to Warsaw, like 5 minutes before you. I feel called out hahah

[@z00mbi3s]

Dziękuje za ten film/Thank You for this video :)

[@gurnibar1336]

Thank you for this material