Warsaw is the capital of Poland. It's motto is "Contemnit Procellas", which means "it defies the storms". It is a fitting motto because Warsaw continues to be the site of many uprisings, rebellions, and power shifts. Two of them were especially devastating:

• Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (1943): Led by Mordecai Anielewicz of the ZOB and the ZZW. 1000 Jewish resistance fighters vs. 2842 German SS forces. Jews are defeated, and deportations to extermination camps continue.
• Warsaw Uprising (1944): The largest underground movement in all of WWII. Poland's attempt to assist the Allied war effort and make a statement to the USSR that they are not interested in being occupied. The Polish Home Army (AK) manages to hold off the Germans for a while but, without Russian or Western assistance, the resistance crumbles.

Eventually, the war ended and Poland became part of the Warsaw Pact (signed in Warsaw). 45 years later, Poland would be the first country to revolt from Soviet rule. Warsaw is now the 8th most populous city in the EU.

For more information, read:

http://www.polishresistance-ak.org/Main%20Page.htm

http://www.historynet.com/magazines/world_war_2/3032951.html?page=6&c=y

http://www.achtungpanzer.com/pol/kubus.htm

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