Everyone that we talked to about "stuff to do in Warsaw" echoed "Warsaw?! Go to Krakow!"
Warsaw. The city was reduced to rubble by the Germans. Eighty-five percent of the buildings in Warsaw were destroyed. They burned libraries. They burned museums. They stole the rest. Here's just one image of the destruction.
And here's a aerial comparison of the "old town" from 1935, 1945, and today.
Polish mathematicians / code-breakers did much of the early heavy lifting when it came to breaking German codes. The work done at Bletchley Park would have been impossible without this effort.
Today, Warsaw looks like this.
And it also looks like this.
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It is a city ruined by Nazis and then rebuilt and re-ruined by Soviets. Today it is hailed as a survivor. A "phoenix" city. A city that has continually risen from the ashes.
Ignoring the part how this was a horrific time in history and there was soooo much lost, it's interesting how much more efficient a planned city probably is.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good question. I'll have to ask Emily about the efficiency / planning.
ReplyDeleteMy uneducated guess is that the Soviet satellite period of Poland produced infrastructure that was both utilitarian and horrible. Perhaps that's the USAmerican in me.
If there's one group of people that knew all about efficiency...
Perhaps Boston could use some near total destruction. :)
Important Note : I am not advocating the near total destruction of Boston.