Rising '44: The Battle for Warsaw

This magnificent book must be the definitive work in English on the uprising of the Poles in Warsaw in 1944 against their German oppressors. (Potential readers should not confuse this sixty-six day battle with the rather more limited and tragic ghetto rising of 1943.) The breadth and sweep of Davies' book and the staggering amount of research that must have been undertaken are truly impressive. Davies begins by examining the attitudes towards the occupation of Poland and the possibility of an uprising in Warsaw that prevailed in the Allied capitals of London and Washington, also in Moscow whose armies were fast approaching the city and in Poland itself, a country with a long history of insurrection against occupiers. The actual uprising and its progress is dealt with in considerable detail from all points of view including that of the Germans and the consistently hostile British press. 'Capsules' of personal experiences are inserted in the text that may be read or skipped to maintain the narrative thrust. The last part of the book deals with the Stalinist repression that followed the sweep West by the Soviet armies and the widespread operation of the NKVD (Secret Police) and brings us right up to the year 2000 with regard to the national treatment of the events of 1944. Davies goes to great lengths to describe fairly the actions of the Soviet forces but does not flinch at a clear description of the treatment of the Poles under the Soviet regime. In this respect the book is much more reliable than other histories provided by left-leaning academics. Equally the shabby treatment the Poles received from Roosevelt and also the British Foreign Office is explained plainly. Three sections of excellent contemporary photographs are provided together with copious appendices. Prospective buyers should know that Norman Davies is held in high esteem in Poland and I have no hesitation in recommending this magnificent book to all those interested in Polish history.

Raw Truth Hurts (2/3 people found this helpful)

Having recently returned from a business trip to Warsaw, but having the opportunity to visit the Warsaw Rising museum - a deeply moving and disturbing experience - I bought and found Norman Davies 'Rising' one of the best history books I have ever read. Not only is it passionate and well written, but it also leaves a nasty taste in the Western mouth as to our pathetic lack of support for the Warsaw poles in their desperate fight against the Nazis and then the Soviets. This is no light read, and no-one should approach it expecting an easy and simply factual recounting of the true Warsaw rising of 1944 so often confused with the earlier Warsaw Ghetto rising. It left me a sadder and hopefully more enlightened person. And I hope it is compulsory reading in German and Russian schools!

Poles don't give up.......ever (3/3 people found this helpful)

A soul stirring book. A nation with along tradition of rebellion, the Poles were always going to rise..it was just a matter of when. The Germans seem to have known this and therefore meted out special treatment during their occupation.
All the various aspects of politics, planning, communication and intelligence are covered without any great emphasis on military technicalities.
The only real issue I have with the narrative is the use of "The resistance" to cover the AK. They were the "home army", a fully military force with "proper" ranks and organisation and fought in uniform. I feel "resistance" gives the general reader the impression of civilians with a gun.
When you read this and pick up on how Poles were fighting alongside their "allies" in Italy, Western Europe, with the Red Army (The polish paras were dropped into Arnhem whilst the rising was on...guess where they wanted to go! Read Poles Apart for their story) and yet so little positive help was extended towards Warsaw you feel humbled.
This book may just make you ask the next old chap you meet with a Polish surname "how did you get here?" and you may feel grateful to him for his sacrifice rather than maybe expect him to be grateful for being allowed to live here.

A fitting history of a little-understood heroic stand (14/15 people found this helpful)

There are some aspects of World War II, believe it or not, that are under-reported, or at least aren't studied as much as others. One reason for that is just lack of interest, but another reason is because a lot of the source material is simply unavailable, and what's out there is likely to be so biased that you have to sift it for useful information. For the longest time, the uprising in Warsaw in 1944, when the Soviet army was on the doorstep of the Polish capital, was one of those things. Norman Davies has done a good job of rectifying that, to an extent, with his book Rising '44: The Battle for Warsaw. Still, it is not as definitive as it could be because, as Davies points out, many of the needed documents to write a complete history are still not available through Soviet archives. Davies does what he can, and he does a wonderful, if sometimes exceedingly slow, job of it.

One thing that Davies points out, which is the most important thing I take from it, is how often this uprising is confused with the uprising in the Jewish Warsaw Ghetto in 1943. Until I read this book, I was one of those who were misinformed about this, and the Soviet Union (and the communist Polish government) readily allowed this misconception to stand for many years. The two uprisings are *not* the same, and they deserve to have their separate histories and their separate commemorations. The Warsaw rising of 1944 began on August 1, 1944, as the Soviet army was rampaging through the countryside. They had reached the Vistula river, just east of Warsaw, and the Resistance movement (at least, the non-Communist parts of it) wished to rise up, re-take the city, and welcome the Soviets as liberated people (much like the Parisians did when Paris fell to the Americans and French). Rising '44 is the tale of this uprising, a tale of woe because the Soviets stopped to allow the Germans to crush it, because the Americans and British were too weak in relation to the Soviets to do much more than provide token airlifts of supplies (many of which didn't reach the Resistance anyway). The attempt to re-take the city, expected to last two or three days before the Soviets moved in, instead lasted 66, with the Germans taking heavy losses even as they systematically destroyed the city.

But Rising '44 is much more than that, and sometimes (especially in the beginning), that drags the book down a notch. The book begins with a wide overview of the Polish situation, both in relation to the Allied coalition (Soviets, USA, and Britain) and with the Germans. It works hard to set up the circumstances that were in effect when the Rising began. Thus, it does not move chronologically, except within each specific area, detailing first how the Poles were the First Ally of the British and French, and how they heroically stood up to the Germans as the British and French decided they did not have the resources to invade Germany from the east in 1939. The first section gives information on the Soviet invasion of 1939, along with the occupation by both sides. This chapter moved incredibly slowly, with a few annoyances as well that made me almost put down the book. Davies' insistence on renaming Poland "First Ally," presumably to make the point that Poland was there at the beginning and was let down, really got on my nerves. He even inserts that phrase in place of "Poland" in quotes from various sources. Davies' prose in this section did not help, and I found it a struggle to continue.

However, once past this section, it is well worth it, and I found that the information imparted was useful despite how it was presented, as everything becomes related when the Rising begins. The middle section gives a chronological history of the Rising, almost day by day, that is just gripping. Interspersed with the narrative are primary source excerpts that draw you in even more. The only quibble I have with the excerpts is that they're referenced in the main narrative as if Davies is trying to tell you "now is a good time to go read this excerpt and then come back" but the excerpt has nothing to do with what you just read. He gets better at that as the book goes along, but I was mystified at the placement of some of them. Davies' prose sparkles in this section, giving the reader a detailed account of the triumphs and the miseries that the Resistance suffered through, the eventually dashed hope that help would be on the way soon. He also details the political machinations behind the lack of help (at least as much as he is able to, though the Soviet side is more supposition than the Western side). Davies tells us about the problems between the various Polish organizations too, such as the conflict between the Communist-backed organization that is just waiting for the Soviets to take over the country so they can be instated as the new government, and the Government in Exile that is based out of London.

Finally, Davies does an effective job of giving us the aftermath of the Rising, both the immediate aftermath and the extended one that carries over to the current day. He details how the Rising was never referred to by the Communist government, and when it was, how the members of the Resistance were vilified as criminals. He chastises the British and American governments for their weakness in standing up to Stalin, how Churchill felt horrible about the valiant fighters' predicament but could do nothing as the weakest of the three coalition leaders. The last two sections of the book are riveting, and more than make up for the very slow beginning.

Rising '44 is a valuable book to read if you have any interest in either World War II or the beginnings of the Cold War. Don't let the beginning slow you down. It's worth it to get to the meat of the book. Davies has himself a winner.

Bit too much based on the politics for me (2/7 people found this helpful)

I won't deny the excellent research - take the introduction where the author makes a fine description of the house where the signal is received from Warsaw, saying the rising has begun.
However I feel the book was based far too much in other countries. The politics behind the attempts by some parties to provide help, and others to block this. Although the author has provided sections by eyewitnesses, he hasn't really described that much about what happened on the ground. We don't see the ebb and flow. We don't know that much about the areas held other than maps generally. This was a little annoying. Having been to Warsaw a few times, I know that the whole city has changed after being razed, so to extent comparison with the modern day city was inappropriate. But the physical description of the battle itself I felt was missing.

Rising '44: The Battle for Warsaw

Norman Davies

Reader Reviews:

A Magnificent Account of the Battle for Warsaw 1944 (0/0 people found this helpful)

Raw Truth Hurts (2/3 people found this helpful)

Poles don't give up.......ever (3/3 people found this helpful)

A fitting history of a little-understood heroic stand (14/15 people found this helpful)

Bit too much based on the politics for me (2/7 people found this helpful)

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