Poland had the largest underground army of any occupied country. When fighting began in Warsaw, as Germans won back one part of the city at a time, Polish fighters and citizens began to suffer from famine, communication lines weren’t working, water lines weren’t all working, and many took to the sewers to move around the town unseen.
Poles kept waiting for the Soviets to launch their attack on the Germans and back them up. Instead, the Soviets take up the role of bystander and let the Germans destroy Warsaw. The Germans became even more aggressive when they realized no attack would be forthcoming. Once the Uprising was squelched, Hitler took his final revenge on Warsaw and flattened most of what remained. One 64 of 987 historical buildings remained intact. After the fall of the Warsaw Uprising only 1,000 people remained in the city, likely all in hiding. The city was almost completely uninhabitable.
Warsaw had been the biggest center of resistance; by letting the Germans destroy her, it was far easier for the Soviets to impose their communist government and lifestyle. Even worse than surviving, many of the survivors of the uprising, were arrested by the Soviets, and/or executed, lest they continue to be rebels and rise up against the new Soviet conquerors.
Continued next post . . .