Warsaw Uprising Survivor speaks out on the lessons for today
Where there is no democracy, where there are no values that are most important for every human being, then, there is no respect.
All photos by: Zuza Krajewska
Survivors of the Warsaw Uprising fought for freedom and humanity almost 80 years ago. Now as, as war returns to Europe, the last of their generation are keen to let their voices be heard.
We interview Uprisers to show the human faces of history, the people who survived the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, fighting for an independent Poland in the glow of broken street lights. We want to tell the stories that bring inspiration and hope for a better future.
The Uprisers we’ve portrayed are one of the last ones representing the Generation of Columbuses - a generation of Poles whose first steps into adulthood was marked by World War II. Why ‘the Generation of Columbuses’? Having been born into the finally independent Poland, that then once again has been deprived of its freedom through World War II, they had to take on the role of discovering Poland on the maps of Europe one more time.
Wanda Traczyk-Stawska, 96 years old, was one of these soldiers. Having fought through the Warsaw Uprising, she is now actively engaged with some of the most pressing issues of the Polish (and European) societies. She shared with us her experiences and lessons learned from the times of occupation, her thoughts on the role of democracies in the times of war, as well as her thoughts on ongoing policy changes in Poland.
For her, everything comes down to freedom. She told us:
‘Freedom is an essential component of human dignity. Every human being is born with human dignity. If they are not free, they suffer from the beginning.’
What else did she say? Read a part of the interview below:
“Where there is no democracy, where there are no values that are most important for every human being, then, there is no respect. Respect for a man, regardless of his material status, but most importantly, his education. Sometimes a simple man is wiser than a university graduate. It is a question of his personal values. There are people who are very simple and yet so wise and so great. This is why it is most important that in the Constitution it is written that all citizens are equal. So that we have good citizens. Let's teach them, let's educate them, so that they know how to be tolerant, how to be helpful, how to be friends. These are all values that are priceless, because, maybe, that would be an end to wars. I hope this war will be the last one, the one in Ukraine. And so it will be if Ukraine is not abandoned by all countries, which are also democratic.
Where there is no democracy, where there are no values that are most important for every human being, there is no respect.
Ukraine has already won. It has already won, because even if Russia was to defeat it now, it is impossible to sit on bayonets. They will not sit for long. There will again be a new uprising, just as it was with us during those 123 years when our freedom was taken away from us. We fought and fought. What I want to tell you to remember is that the first successful uprising was Solidarity. Without a single shot we regained our independence, and what we gained went further. All the countries that the Soviet Union occupied also regained their independence. The Russians only lost everything.
We have matured into a democracy and we should guard it with all our might, bringing up children all over Europe and all over the world so that they know how to be friends with one another.”
In light of the recent Russian invasion on Ukraine, it is increasingly important to remember that. History is not only relevant for history’s sake, but also to understand the situation we are in today. The message from the uprisers is clear: Never again. World War II took a great toll on Poland. Now the Russian invasion is wreaking havoc within Ukraine.
The European Union is at the same facing an exponential rise in authoritarianism, nationalism and xenophobia among its citizens, who are becoming more and more disengaged, cynical and drift to extremes.
The solidarity of the European citizens is thus now of paramount importance. European democracy is under pressure to resist the attacks on freedom so that we won’t need other uprisings. The experience of the past can save us from making mistakes in the future.
