Poland commemorates 80th anniversary of Warsaw Uprising
The meeting of Poland's President Andrzej Duda, Warsaw's Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski and the insurgents has initiated the ceremonies marking the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944.
During ceremonies held in the Warsaw Uprising Museum on Tuesday, Duda gave a speech and presented medals.
The president said the Warsaw Uprising was "one of the fundamental milestones of our freedom and independence... something that has probably never happened before in history."
Earlier, Trzaskowski laid a wreath in front of the monument commemorating civilian casualties of the insurrection.
The Warsaw Uprising broke out on August 1, 1944, at 5 pm. It was the largest military effort undertaken by underground resistance against Nazi occupation in Europe. Nearly 50,000 insurgents fought for two months in the operation initially planned for a few days. 18,000 died, and 25,000 were injured. The revolt claimed the lives of 180,000 civilians. The Germans expelled the remaining 500,000 inhabitants and razed the city to the ground. (PAP)
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