Not to be confused with the “Dubya” from Texas. The “W” in the title is in reference to something which perhaps can never be explained logically. That is why this post might not make any sense in general, due to its mish-mashed form.
Emotions of hatred, disgust, bondage, fear, helplessness, and the overwhelming feeling of being fed up. Nobody enjoys being held captive in their own home, street, city, or country. Furthermore, nobody likes being treated like an enemy in the above given places.
Years ago, I looked at the Warsaw Uprising from the logical point of view. Where for every German soldier killed by the Polish Home Army (AK), 10 random Varsovians were shot (as the uprising persisted, the civilian death toll rose to even greater numbers...). I did not understand the fascination that many Poles saw behind those 63 days.
However, once I stopped looking at this from a logical point of view, and began to read the stories, memoirs, letters, and other accounts of that time, I started to have a different approach. I put myself in their position. And I’d do the same, without a shadow of a doubt. Without any hestitation. In a blink of an eye.
Sure, it’s easy to say (or write...), but there’s something more to this. A burning desire to retrieve that which is yours, that which is being raped right in front of your eyes. The streets which you used to walk about, the places where you used to kick the ball around, the parks which you visited, the buildings and their walls which survived more than one foreign invader.
Warsaw, prior to World War II, was referred to as “the Paris of the East”. Those who criticize it for how ugly it looks now, or how bad its infrastructure is, should learn why it is the way it is (hats off to our ruling friends from the East, and their peaceful ideology), and how it used to look prior to the friendly visit from our neighbors from the West.
What other city uprose during the Second World War?* Many might ask, “what for?”, “at what cost?”, “was it worth it?”, and so on. Courage, bravery, honor, ballsiness, guts and glory, and freedom, was what drove the men and women (most of them in their teens) of Warsaw to retrieve their city from the Germans. Some prefer to live on their knees, than to die on their feet. They preferred to die in battle, fighting for something, than to just die.
What does this have to do with Legia and its supporters? We commemorate the heroes of those 63 glorious days. T-shirts, scarves, stickers, and many other gadgets are created, sold and bought by fans in order to actively participate in the annual anniversary celebrations. Not to mention the fact, that groups such as OFMC (Old Fashion Man Club) clean the graves of those long forgotten.
Therefore, on the 1st of August, at 17:00 (The “W” Hour), I see it as my responsibility to remember the fallen, who bled for Warsaw - the city which survived its own death.
Semper Invicta! Semper Heroica!
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| Graffiti done by Legia fans - 2011 |
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| Graffiti done by Legia fans - 2011 |
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| Graffiti done by Legia fans - 2008 |
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| Graffiti done by Legia fans - 2010 |
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| Graffiti done by Legia fans - 2009 |
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| Graffiti done by Legia fans - 2011 |
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| Graffiti done by Legia fans - 2011 |
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| Graffiti done by Legia fans - 2011 |
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| Legia fans during the first (cancelled) match of the 2011/12 T-Mobile Ekstraklasa season against Zagłębie Lubin, remembering those who died for Warsaw's freedom. |
Warsaw Lives
*Vilnius is an exception, but its uprising is a different case on its own.
