This Week's Historical Theme: World War II
17 January 1945
A significant event throughout the history of World War II that occurred in January was the liberation of Warsaw from German occupation. Warsaw had served as a battleground since the opening day of fighting in Europe. Germany had declared war by launching an air raid in September 1939, which was followed up with a siege that killed tens of thousands of Polish civilians. Warsaw was forced to surrender to the Germans soon after, as they were deprived of electricity, water, and food, with also 25% of the city's homes being destroyed.
Since the Soviets had snatched a part of Poland in the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, they soon found themselves at war with their 'ally'. In August 1944, the Soviets attempted to push the Germans west, and advance on Warsaw. An uprising was led against the German occupiers by the Polish Home Army, hoping to defeat the Germans themselves and not have the Soviets set up a post-war communist government. The Soviets, rather than aiding the Polish uprising, stood by and watched as the Germans slaughtered the Poles, thus destroying any Polish resistance to a pro-Soviet government. The city was finally later liberated from the Germans by Georgy Zhukov's troops.
Want to find out more about the liberation of Warsaw? Click here for more information, or here for more about communist Warsaw during the Cold War.
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