Poland Fights: Faith and Patriotism on the Cityscape of Warsaw

​The purpose of many of the religious shrines visible throughout the cities and countryside of Poland is often to give thanks for a prayer that has been answered or perhaps in the hopes that it will be answered. Another reason is to honor and remember an important event.

​There are few things as dear to the Polish people as those who gave up their lives for a free and independent Poland. One such struggle in Poland’s long history was the Warsaw Uprising. On August 1, 1944 at 5pm, Poland’s underground resistance army began what has been called the greatest and most tragic uprising in European history.   It was a heroic 63 day struggle by Poland’s  Home Army (in Polish, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated as AK) civilians and non-combatants to liberate Warsaw from Nazi occupation during World War II.

---

​The people of Warsaw wanted their city, their country back in their own control and endured incredible hardships and sacrifices, as well as death and destruction during its incredible fight against tremendous odds. The deaths and carnage was of such magnitude as to leave the city and its people with scars that linger to this day.  ​Over the decades, the city of Warsaw has paid tribute to its freedom fighters with hundreds of plaques and monuments throughout the city including  this shrine, erected on the grounds of St. Anthony of Padua Church on Senatorski Street.

From the front it appears as a typical shrine dedicated to the Virgin Mary with Child, topped with a bell and a cross.   It is the back that reveals its purpose and to whom it is dedicated:  two letters, P joined with the letter W, stands for Polska Walczy (Poland Fights), the symbol of the Warsaw Uprising, of a fighting Poland.   It honors the freedom fighters that fought and died on the church grounds during combat as well as the civilians who were murdered there by the Nazi’s.

The Poland Fights symbol can be seen on Polish flags, monuments and medals.
Also carved into this religious shrine, it reveals the intertwining of Polish faith with patriotism and the fight for freedom. 


Photo source: https://www.facebook.com/groups/429606714062209/permalink/2322506964772165 Kapliczki przydrozne Waldemar Torba

For more about the purpose and role of shrines in the cities and countryside of Poland read:
Spirit of Place: The Roadside Shrines of Poland. Hippocrene Books, Inc. 2023