If There is Hope, It Lies with Warsaw

People saw war in Warsaw.

The dorm building of Warsaw Polytechnic University, formerly a Nazi German prison

Since the 19th century, Warsaw and the Polish nation had faced the blood-wash of warfare several times. First the Germans came in and occupied the city, then the Russian came in and took the city over. The Russians were out for a while, then tried to come in again, but failed. The Germans came in again, and the Russians came in again. The two sides met and had a huge war. What happened to Warsaw? It was almost razed down to the ground. The Germans retreated, the Russians triumphed, and the Russians did not leave the city and the country alone until 1989. 

A peaceful scene at the Łazienki Palace. Only 2 decades ago such scene was unimaginable

Despite the fact that most of the city was aggressively rebuilt after the Second World War, there are some structures that are able to reflect the different periods of the city's history.  The Łazienki Park is probably one of the oldest existing complexes where people can trace all the way back to the 17th century.  Once a royal playground, the complex is now a public park, where humans, swans, and peacocks enjoy peaceful time together. Yeah, that's right, peacocks.

A peacock at the Łazienki Park

But that's not what makes Łazienki Park famous. The park has a statue dedicated to one of the greatest children of the Polish motherland since the beginning of everything: Frederic Chopin.
The statue depicts a young Chopin sitting underneath a tree, listening to the blowing wind, and contemplating about one of the master pieces we all know by heart.  When I first saw the statue, it seemed to me that Chopin came to life. I just quietly passed by, and was afraid of interrupting him from being enchanted by his own imaginations and thoughts.

The Statue of Chopin

Chopin loved Poland, although he was half French and spent 18 years of life in a place called France. During his time, Poland was part of the Russian Empire. Shortly after Chopin left for France,  an uprising aiming to fight for the independence of the Polish nation broke out. However, it was brutally crushed by the Russian Imperial Force. Chopin never returned to Poland ever since, but his love for the country where he was born and raised never diminished a bit.  He even asked his friends and family to send his heart back to Poland after he died, and the heart is now embedded into one of the columns inside a cathedral in Warsaw. On the column, it says:

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

                                                                                                                                                                                              - Matthew 6: 21 

Of course Poland loved Chopin back. Whenever you take a plane in or out of Warsaw, The Frederic Chopin International Airport is something you won't miss.

The Statue of Chopin

When speaking of the Polish motherland's proud children, there is one name you cannot simply ignore. Warsaw's own Maria Skłodowska, later known as Marie Curie, was the first woman to ever win the Nobel Prize, the first person to ever win the Nobel Prize twice, and the only person to ever win the Nobel Prize in two different fields. Madame Curie's theory of radioactivity and her discovery of Radium had provided cancer patients with effective treatments. However very sadly, she died of overexposure to radioactive materials herself. Marie Curie could have made a fortune from what she discovered, but she did not make a single dime from patenting radium isolation, which has saved the lives of millions. As a Polish, she never forgot about her motherland. In fact, polonium, one of the elements she discovered, was named after Poland.
  

The Statue of Marie Curie at Warsaw Polytechnic University

Much of the so called "old town“ are reconstructions of the original old town that was destroyed during the famous Warsaw Uprising in World War II.  The Polish once again picked up their own guns and resisted the oppressive rule of the Nazi Germans. Although a failure, this massive campaign represented Polish people's strong will to fight against aggressive invaders. There is even a museum in Warsaw dedicated to the uprising, where school kids and foreign tourists could learn about the perseverance and the resilience of the Polish nation. The Royal Castle sitting at the center of the old town was once where the Polish monarchs lived. Today, the castle is merely a symbol of the Polish authority, reminding everyone in Poland that today the fate of the country is not only in the hands of a few like in the past, but rather in the hands of every single Polish man and woman.

The Royal Castle and the old town

After World War II, the reconstruction of Warsaw began. The most famous architecture that represents this era is the Palace of Culture and Science. It's more of an "I'm sorry" gift Stalin gave to the Polish people, for the Katyn Massacre in which over 20,000 Polish were murdered by Soviet troops during World War II after the latter divided up Poland with Nazi Germany. The building was built in the Stalinist style, and is comparable to other great examples of such style like the  Seven Sisters in Moscow. 

The Palace of Culture and Science

Today, the Communist influence of the reconstruction of Warsaw is still well alive. Family compounds were built to accommodate factory workers and their families, and are continued to serve as homes to many people. Some say they look ugly, while some others say that they are functional and economically viable for housing citizens of Warsaw at an affordable price.

A typical Communist era community

Somewhere down in the Emilii Plater area, there is a seemingly abandoned statue of Jesus Christ standing in a back alley parking lot. It's right behind a hostel where Roman Polanski filmed The Pianist. The hostel was also once a Catholic missionary center, which probably explained why there was a statue of Jesus there. The statue overlooks cars that are clearly from a different era. Whoever constructed the statue wouldn't possibly recognize or even imagine the scene you and I see today. Yet the only thing that hasn't seemed to change a bit are the same gray wall the statue has to face every day and devote Catholics who continue to paint over the statue and lying flowers under the Christ's foot on important dates.

Throughout history, people of Warsaw had witnessed tremendous turmoils and massive destruction. However, people never gave up, as some believed that there was always hope.

Modern buildings in Warsaw

For Nicolaus Copernicus, he faced persecutions from the society at the time, for his theory of Heliocentrism. But he did not cave in. After his death, Copernicus was widely regarded as a leading figure of the renaissance era, opening the door for a new age of scientific discovery.

The Statue of Copernicus

Chopin's  patriotism had inspired generations of Poles fighting to keep the Polish identity. His music had inspired even more people all over the globe, from past to present. Despite the fact that he died in France, he chose to rest his heart in Warsaw. His soul? It never really left Poland.

Warsaw's own Marie Curie could be found driving an X-Ray truck around the battle fields of World War I. Her discovery of radium had saved the lives of thousands who suffered from cancer. She contributed all radium related technology to humanity and chose not to earn any profit from it.

The uprisers during the Second World War did not die for nothing. They showed the world the Polish nation's will to fight against any occupiers. Today, they are celebrated and commemorated for the foundations they laid for the victory against Nazi Germany, and set examples for the struggle against the Soviet Union which eventually led to the downfall of Communism in Eastern Europe.

The Statue of a fighting Mermaid in Old Town Warsaw

Unfortunately, none of these people had the chance to see the real impact they had brought to this world. Copernicus never got to see the satellite flying over the sky. Chopin never got to see his homeland again as well as millions of people who were inspired by his works. Marie Curie never got to see the smiling faces of cancer patients who were saved by her discoveries. The uprisers never got to see the end of the World War and Polish nation's eventual independence. Of course, none of these peoplehad the chance to see all of the struggles the Polish nation had to go through in the past four centuries or so.

And that seemingly abandoned statue of Jesus might be the only one who had seen it all.