World War II -

Borne Sulinowo – Officer’s House: Forgotten History

Gosia — Sun, 02 Feb 2025 15:13:31 +0000

Borne Sulinowo is a town full of mysteries, once difficult to find on the map of Poland. Its existence was a closely guarded secret. The history of this place begins in the years 1933-1939, when the Third Reich started to displace the local inhabitants to build a military base and training ground here. Between 1934 and 1937, the Pomeranian Wall (Pommernsellung) was constructed, which was part of the fortifications on the eastern border of the Third Reich. In the garrison Groß Born, as Borne Sulinowo was called at the time, units of Heinz Guderian’s armoured division were stationed. Guderian was a well-known military theorist and the author of the book “Achtung – Panzer!” which presented the concept of “blitzkrieg.” Interestingly, training exercises for Afrika Korps units were also held here, another place of training in Poland was also the Błedowska Desert. At that time, the Officer’s House was also established, serving as a training center. The Officer’s House was officially opened by Adolf Hitler on August 18, 1938. In addition to the training facilities, the building housed an officers’ casino and a concert hall intended for special ceremonies. There was also a restaurant, which offered an incredible view of Lake Pile. Although the Officer’s House still looks impressive from a distance, up close, its advanced decomposition is evident. For me, this is an advantage, as it makes the place more interesting to explore. However, from a historical and architectural perspective, it’s sad to see such a valuable monument falling into ruin. In 2010, a fire destroyed a large part of the building, including the roof of the concert hall. Further damage was caused by nature. Despite the ongoing decay, the Officer’s House still makes an incredible impression. Exploring its interiors, one can imagine what it looked like in its heyday. The glass ceiling, though partially collapsed, still looks impressive. The history of Borne Sulinowo does not end with the fall of the Third Reich. After the war, this area was taken over by the Red Army, and its existence was kept a strict secret. In the nearby village of Brzezino-Kolonia, a Soviet missile base was located. There was also the mysterious facility 3002, about which I wrote about here. The Officer’s House isn’t the only attraction in Borne Sulinowo. The area is dotted with many former German bunkers. Another interesting place is Klomino, a ghost town. During the Third Reich, there was a prisoner-of-war camp here, holding Poles, French, and Russians. After the war, when the area was taken over by the Red Army, the camp was used to detain German soldiers. It was later transformed into a military base, which operated until 1992. Since then, Klomino has never been inhabited, and the buildings have gradually been demolished. Currently, the town is not a major attraction because there’s very little left. Near Borne, in the forest along the road towards Szczecinek, there’s another interesting place—a Soviet military cemetery. The cemetery was established right after the Red Army occupied these areas and created a military base in 1945. It functioned until 1992, when the base was closed. It’s a civil-military cemetery, so civilians who served the secret military base and their families are also buried there. Most of the burials took place between 1945 and 1967. After 1970, only the children of the military base personnel were buried there. The cemetery contains about 350 graves, nearly half of which are anonymous. We can only speculate who lies in these unmarked graves. They were likely soldiers of the 6th Guards Vitebsk-Novgorod Mechanized Division, stationed in Borne Sulinowo. There was no war at the time, and the authorities probably did not want to mar the statistics with fatal accidents during exercises. It is also suspected that the anonymous graves belong to deserters. In 2007, after the renovation of the cemetery, the bodies of Soviet soldiers from closed cemeteries in Kolobrzeg and Bialogard were moved here. Since then, the official name of the cemetery has been “Cemetery of the Soldiers of the Northern Group of Forces of the Russian Federation and Their Families in Borne Sulinowo.” However, locals call it the “cemetery with the PPSh.” This name comes from the grave of Ivan Paddubny, marked with a monument of a PPSh—a Soviet submachine gun. The monument was relocated from the center of Borne Sulinowo after Poland regained independence. While the history of the PPSh is known, the fate of the soldier remains a mystery. It is suspected that he died in a shooting in the village of Kragi in 1946. The circumstances of this incident are unknown, but the fact that it occurred a year after the end of the war is surprising.

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Moscow, museums – places worth visiting

Gosia — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 15:03:32 +0000

Moscow has been on my mind since visiting St. Petersburg which was about 5 years ago. Like most tourists, I wanted to set my foot on the Red Square. For many, such an expedition is comparable to setting foot on the moon. Personally, I didn’t make a giant leap for mankind, but I realised the main purpose of my trip. I reconsidered my stereotypes about Russians. Russia, and above all Moscow are treated a little standoffishly by foreign tourists. It’s particularly visible in tourist places where apart from Russian, almost you cannot hear any other language. I only heard Polish once during all week, however sometimes it seemed that I was a kind of “tourist attraction”. Muscovites didn’t hide their surprise with my nationality and each time they reacted very enthusiastically. It’s impossible to hide that our relations are defined by politics and bitter history, but if we try to put these issues aside, then we will see a completely different, surprising face of the Russians. I don’t want to talk about politics because it’s a shaky ground, but it’s not possible to escape while being here. So for contrast, it’s worth visiting a few places to see how the times of World War II, Cold War and after the collapse of the USSR are presented in Russia. Honestly, I must admit that my notions have largely been confirmed, but at the same time some things have surprised me. It’s said that the winners write history, I would also add that each country writes its version of history. Taking this into account, I can briefly describe the nature of the places dedicated to events since 1939 (or more precisely since 1941), to the present times. The one of such places is the Central Museum of the Armed Forces, also known as the Soviet Army Museum, which covers the exhibits from the Soviet revolution till the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008. The first exposition was opened by Lenin himself in 1919, as the collection got bigger, the museum was moved in 1965 to the current location, right next to the Central Theatre of the Russian Army. The main part of the museum was dedicated to the Great Patriotic War, to clarify, this war differs from World War II because it began much later on 22th June 1941, along with the invasion of the Third Reich on USSR. In the so-called Victory Hall you can see the replica of the flag that the USSR soldiers put on Reichstag in May 1945. In the central place of exhibition you can see the Nazi eagle and a huge photo presenting the parade organised in the Red Square, just after the end of the War. The next four rooms are dedicated to the military history of Russia during the Soviet period. Here you can see exhibits related to the Cold War such as the wreck of the American spy aircraft Lockheed U-2 shot down in 1960, or exhibits from Russia’s participation in various armed conflicts: Vietnam, Korea, Syria, Afghanistan and Chechnya. There are also flags and equipment captured from Georgian soldiers during Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008. Outside there’s a large collection of tanks, combat planes and artillery. Admission costs 120 RUB – data from 2019. More information about the museum and opening hours is available here. Unfortunately, information about exhibits is available only in Russian. Following the footsteps of the World War II, it is worth visiting Park Pobedy – the Park of Victory. At the central point of the park, at the top of the hill of Poklonnaya Gora you can visit the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. The tour begins with a huge, monumental Hall of Comrades, which honours the former commanders who were awarded the Order of Victory, including those outside the USSR like: Eisenhower or Montgomery. Then the way leads up the marble, wide stairs to the Hall of Glory, decorated in a typical Russian grandeur style. In the centre of the hall there’s a huge sculpture of the Soldier of the Victory, while on the walls are the names of the Heroes of the Soviet Union. The further part of the exhibition consits of Hall of Sorrow, commemorating fallen soldiers and 6 separate halls presenting huge images of key battles and moments during the war:– the battle of Moscow– the battle of Stalingrad– the siege of Leningrad– the battle of Kursk– the battle the Dnieper– the decisive battle of Berlin An amazing impression is also made by the model of the bombarded building in the Third Reich. The Museum is open every day from 10 am. to 7 pm., except Mondays and last Thursdays of the month. Admission costs 250 RUB – data from 2019. More information can be found on the website, unfortunately only in Russian language. An interesting place is the VDNKh – Russian Exhibition Centre (Ros. Vserossijskij vystavočnyj centr), a huge former Stalinist complex composed of pavilions representing the Soviet Republics. At present, there’re souvenir shops and products from countries that were the part of the USSR, like Armenia or Belarus. An interesting place commemorating the Soviet conquest of the Space is the interactive Museum of Cosmonautics. The entrance to the museum is just below a huge monument to the Conquerors of the Space. Part of the exposition commemorates the breakthrough moment in space exploration – the date 12th April 1961 when the rocket “Vostok” with Yuri Gagarin on board was launched into space. In addition, the museum presents the reconstruction of the space station “Mir” which is open to visitors. Its size corresponds to the Mir actual size. The Museum also features the Module Soyuz – TM 7, which enabled to transport the crew to orbital Mir station on 28th November 1988. It was the research mission. You can also see the propulsion unit, which is part of the spacesuit, used for the so-called spacewalk. Among interesting exhibits, there are also the Salyut-6 Station, and the Lunokhod Soviet Moonrover controlled from earth, which was designed for the moon exploration. Unlike the previous museums, all information about exhibits is translated into English. The Museum of Cosmonautics is a fascinating, interactive museum even for those who aren’t interested in this topic. It’s a unique place to see while being in Moscow. The exhibits here are no less surprising than the cost of admission which is 250 RUB (which is about 4€). The good news is that in Moscow there are no separate fees for Russians and foreign citizens, which is common practice in Saint Petersburg. Find out more about Moscow here:

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Kehlsteinhaus, Germany – a visit to the Eagle’s Nest

Gosia — Wed, 11 Dec 2019 21:10:47 +0000

Kehlsteinhaus or the teahouse on Kehlstein – it’s a legend itself. Beautiful Alpine views clashes with the difficult history of the World War II. The teahouse is widely known by another name, which speaks more to the imagination. It’s famous Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest. The teahouse was built on the initiative of Martin Bormann as a gift from NSDAP for Hitler’s 50th birthday. The best architects and engineers in the Third Reich were involved in the construction of the Kehlsteinhaus. This project cost over 30 million Reichmarks, which is currently worth around 150 million €! According to the Bormann’s intention, in addition to the diplomatic function, Kehlsteinhaus was supposed to be a leisure place for Hitler. A slightly lower than the Eagle’s Nest was Berghof – the official Hitler’s residence, where he spent most of his time during World War II. Contrary to the Berghof, the Eagle’s Nest was not destroyed during the war, so everything here is authentic. Unfortunately, the birthday gift turned out to be a flop, because the suffering of fear of heights Hitler visited this place only out of necessity. Hitler hosted mainly foreign delegations here, and his visits were limited only to several minutes. You can access the teahouse on foot or by special buses from the Hintereck station. Right next to the station there’s a large parking lot for cars. Return ticket costs 16,60 € per person. The 7 km long Kehlsteinstraße road was built in just 13 months and it’s said that it’s one of the most picturesque routes in Europe. During the way to the top, you can listen about the history of the Kehlsteinhaus and the great engineering project connected with it, but there’s no information about the Hitler at all. We get off in the upper parking lot from where we are heading to a long, 124 meters tunnel in the rock, at the end of which the elevator. The tunnel is wide enough to fit a car. It was probably designed to drop off Hitler and his guests straight to the elevator door The elevator door opens and I feel like I’m going back to the 30’s of the last century. A stylish golden interior with a mirror, green upholster, and an old phone, certainly remembers those times… somehow I feel so strange. I take into account that reportedly the decision to attack Poland was made here… The elevator arrives at a height of 124 m, the analogy with the length of the tunnel is striking. Nazis were interested in numerology, but I don’t know the reason why this number appears twice. Maybe someone knows? The elevator stops in the teahouse at 1834 m, when we open the entrance door we feel like being in the clouds. In front of our eyes is amazing panorama of the Bavarian Alps which spreads at a distance of 200 km. Kehlsteinhaus certainly meets its task, it surprises with an incredible location, intimidates and manifests the power, that was its intention. It was supposed to show foreign delegations the power of the Third Reich. We were two times in Kehlsteinhaus. The first approach was failed due to the lousy weather conditions. In order to go there for the second time, we had to resign from the trip to Nurymberg. We hit the spot, the weather and the views were wonderful. From the perspective, I can admit that the picturesque Rossfeld Panorama road made no less impression on me than the Kehlsteinhaus itself.

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Belarus – 10 reasons why you should visit this country!

Gosia — Wed, 16 Jan 2019 20:06:32 +0000

I’d been planning to visit Belarus for a very long time. Even though this country is located very close to Warsaw, it always seemed to me very distant. Before visiting it I heard many warnings about corruption, negative attitude to Poles or problems with crossing the border. How did it really look like? Check out 10 reasons why it’s worth visiting Belarus! 1. The Stalin Line Just 35 km from Minsk, there’s s a place where time has stopped. Bunkers, underground tunnels, trenches, weapons warehouses, command stations and large exhibition of military equipment, literally takes one back to the WWII times. This is the largest military museum in Belarus. It’s the part of fortifications, built in the 20’s in the 20th century. The line was built to defend against the attack from the west, however, during the WWII, it played exclusively an auxiliary role. As a consequence of the signing of the Ribbentrop – Molotov Pact, a new Molotov line was built along the “new” Western border of the USSR. Most of the equipment form the Stalin Line was moved there. It turned out to be a grave mistake because when the Germans attacked the USSR, the Molotov line was not yet completed, and Stalin’s line was not able to perform defense. In the vast area of the museum, you can go along the long trenches or exploring bunkers and underground tunnels and see helicopters, combat planes, tanks and radar systems. An interesting place is also a graveyard of old cars and a replica of the house destroyed during the war. However, the true attraction in the winter is the visit Father Frost. His cottage is located right next to… a range 😉 2. Inverted house – the world has stood on its head! About 40 km from Minsk in Dukora town, you can visit an interesting place where you can challenge your sense of balance. In the area of the open-air museum you can find the Inverted House. The architect recreated in detail every element of overturned building, well except curtains… 😉 There’s a real test waiting for you inside. Like the outside, also and inside everything is reversed, and in addition, the building is a little tilted which makes it difficult to walk. 3. Belarusian Village – let’s make the world colorful! Belarusian villages are one of a kind and when travelling by car, it’s worth to turn a little from the main route to see at least one. Villages in Belarus are poor, it seems that the further from big cities, this financial situation of people is worse. In a typical village, usually there’s no store and you can’t see cars, the water is taken from the wells, and the houses are mainly wooden. However, what surprised me the most was the amount of colours. Every house had a different shade, every gate had another painted pattern. The gardens were very well groomed and in the windows you could see various decorations. 4. Castles, smaller castles… There’re a lot of interesting castles in Belarus. According to the legend in the tunnels of the famous castle Mir, were hidden the treasures of the Radziwill family. In the Lida Castle you can see how life looked like in the times of the raids of Teutonic Order. There’s also a beautifully located castle in Kosava. 5. Where is the bison? While travelling in Belarus I felt like the national symbol of this country were bisons and storks. Despite winter, storks in Belarus were present everywhere, on my way or on the market stalls 😉 However, you don’t need to go Bialowieski National Park to see bisons, as you can see one close to the highway from Minsk to Brest! 6. Like home! I couldn’t believe that I found a lot examples of Polish relationships with Belarus. Before leaving, I didn’t actually know what to expect. I was wondering how the Poles were perceived by Belarusians. I had a number of stereotypes in my head. I must admit that I treated this trip as a verification of the universal impressions of this country. Once again I checked that reality differs a lot from the way as its presented or we think about it. I am surprised by the culture and openness of Belarusians, the state of roads and safety. During the stay I wasn’t felt bad because of my nationality, on the contrary a lot of people were very helpful I didn’t see any militia, on the roads (I covered around 1200 km in Belarus), I didn’t encounter bribery and was impressed by the way the Belarusians drive. 7. Urban exploration – urbex There are also some interesting abandoned buildings in Belarus. One of the most interesting places is certainly the Belarusian exclusion zone – Belarusian part of the contaminated zone, after the Chernobyl power plant explosion. Unfortunately, due to a small amount of time, I wasn’t able to visit this place. As a consolation, I chose to visit an abandoned palace in Ruzhana. What is true this complex has years of greatness behind it, while its skeleton and location on the high hill is still impressive. 8. Brest Fortress The Fortress in Brest was the last place in my journey to Belarus, and at the same time the icing on the cake. But first, a little bit of history, the fortress was built in the first half of the 19th century and to the outbreak of World War II was within Poland borders. Then, it was included into the USSR. The Fortress In Brest is also called the fortress of heroes and it’s a symbol of the heroic fight of its defenders. 9. Potatoes and cream! The staple in Belarus are potatoes and cream. The choice is wide, for example from many potato dishes you can taste: Draniki (potato pies), potato casserole and mashed potato in a shape of sausage. Belarusian cuisine also consists of aromatic soups like: borscht, soljanka or mushroom soup. Very popular are also dishes like: dumplings, pies, pancakes, pelmeni or kolduny. Belarusians don’t use a lot of spices while thick cream is mandatory to every dish. More about Belarusian cuisine soon 😉 10. Journey to the past… Surprising that after just a few hours of driving you can land in a completely different reality. A reality remembered perfectly by our parents or grandparents. The monuments of Lenin or Stalin, and the symbols of hammer and sickle are the most visible element of political system. However, the real fun starts when you need to do some formalities. Bureaucracy, countless quantity of documents and signatures, constant backlogs in procedures make the journey to the past, even more authentic! 😉 More details soon 😉

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Georgia – Gori, a short visit to Stalin’s hometown

Gosia — Wed, 20 Jun 2018 14:27:02 +0000

The first time I heard about Gori, it was in History class a long, long… time ago, I didn’t even think I would ever be in Stalin’s hometown. Some time ago, the world remembered about Gori again. In August 2008, news and headlines were dominated by images of the city seized by Russians. During the short war between Georgia and Russia over two regions: Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Gori, which almost borders with South Ossetia, has become the main point of military actions. Initially, it was bombarded by Russian forces, resulting in the death of many civilians and then from 13th to 22nd of August fell under Russian occupation. Being in Georgia less than 10 years after these events, I decided to see this place. I was very curious about how Stalin’s hometown looks like and how the Georgians perceive their well – known military leader. Stalin always ephasised his Russian descent, he tried rather to cut off from his Georgian backgound. Starting from 1921, when he included Georia to USSR, made a series of repressions. Georgia was the first Soviet Republic to declare independence, and now it doesn’t hide its aspirations to join NATO and EU structures. For these reasons, I won’t hide that Gori surprised me very much. To feel a slightly mouldy “breeze of communism “. the city looks like form the previous era, I could say that time has stopped here with the death of “good uncle ” in 1953 . A quick taxi ride across one of the main arteries of Gori – Stalin’s Avenue, I pass the city hall on Stalin Square. Formery it was a place where the Stalin’s statue stood. The local authorities tried to get rid of it first in the 50’s during “the thaw”, and then in the 80’s, but social resistance was too big. Only recently, because in 2010 President Saakashvili decided to do away with it, but to avoid protests, it was brought down at night. Riding a litlle bit further, I reach Stalin Park in which I’m greeted by a huge statue of Stalin proudly standing in front of the entrance to the Stalin Museum. It was built in 1957, right after Stalin’s death, when in the entire Soviet Union Khrushchev „the thaw” bacame. The museum building was built in a typical Soviet design, the red carpet at the entrance leads to the marble chamber where in the main point stands, guess what… the statue of Stalin 😉 The Museum presents Stalin’s life from an early age to the end of the Soviet Union. Among the plenty exhibits you can see Stalin’s poems, photos, busts and portraits of the chief. An additional attraction is the untouched Stalin’s picture of the chief. In fact, Stalin had a lot of scars on his face after smallpox, which he tried to hide by means of retouched photos. The exhibition of gifts from around the world is also interesting, among which you can also see those from Poland. In the central part of the main hall of exhibition is the postmortem Stalin’s mask. The mask itself isn’t a unique exhibit, it’s a simple reflection of the face of the deceased, while the atmosphere of this room is another story, not necessarily good… the interior dark and it looks like a mauzoleum. Personally, it reminds me the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, but little smaller. The Museum doesn’t mention anything of the crimes made by Stalin, but on the contrary, it presents him as a sensitive poet and an excellent leader of the nation. There is a small cottage outside the museum where Stalin was born. It isn’t a particular tourist attraction but enclosed in special framework looks pretty wierd. A few steps further you’ll find armored railway wagon, the main means of Stalin’s transport, due to his fear of flying. He used it while going to conferences in Tehran and Jalta. What’s more interesting, the wagon hasn’t been renewed yet. It’s remained in original state since Stalin’s last journey. Admission to the wagon costs additional 5 GEL, and to get to it, you have to find a museum employee with a key. The service of the museum is in an amazing way correspond to the atmosphere of the building. After 15 minutes of searching, at the end of the red carpet, dazzled by light from crystal chandeliers, I saw a woman in a working scarf on her head. She turned out to be museum – keeper! I didn’t hide my happiness as we’re moving towards the car. The door opened and I saw the beautiful interior of Stalin’s cabinet, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. Everything was designed with taste, so different to the typical Russian style. I start taking pictures when I suddenly heard loud “niet, photo niet!”, and in the lens I saw the threatening pose of the musuem keeper. Every opportunity is good to make some more money, I knew exactly what she was going to do, but I thought that the high price of the ticket was enough to cover a few pics of the wagon. Without wanting to move sensitive financial topics, I asked briefly, ” why niet?” I saw her confusion while helplessly trying to find good reason. After a moment of thought, she gave up and left the car 😉 The Museum is a kind of tribute to Stalin, and a cherished memory of the beloved chief. After a visit to this place, I thought a lot about the reasons for Stalin’s cult in Gori. It’s known that every country writes its version of history and the educational system in Georgia doesn’t show the entire cruelty of the leader. It seems to me that the Georgians have a bit of a perverse attitude towards Stalin. He is seen as a rebel from an invaded country who eventually led the great USSR. Georgian Prime Minister in his speech on 9th May 2015 proudly anounced that WWII was won by Georgian. In my view, despite gaining independence in 1991, Georgia hasn’t formed the full sense of nationality yet. On the other hand it’s impossible to hide that there’s demand for such things, a really big demand 😉 Directions and entrance: From the bus station – Didube in Tbilisi, there’re many marszrutkas to Gori. Admission isn’t cheap compared to other tourist attractions in Georgia. Normal ticket costs 10 Lari, but you have to pay extra 5 lari if you want to visit the train car. More info here. Gori Surroundings Fortress Gori is one of Georgia’s oldest cities. The name of it comes from the Gori Fortress – Goris Ciche, which means “fortress on top”. Nowadays, there are only ruins, but the view from this hill is impressive. Uplistsikhe While in Gori is also worth visiting Uplistsikhe located just 10 km away. It’s possible to reach it by public transport, but there are only a few buses during the day. Comfortable and relatively affordable option is taking taxi. Taxi ride, including the time needed for sightseeing, costs 25 lari but if you can drive a hard bargain… 😉 Uplistsikhe means “Lord’s fortress” and is one of the oldest cities in Georgia. There are a lot of caves which were used as houses, warehouses, shops and churches. It is estimated that in the times of its prime, the complex consisted of about 700 caves! ” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]

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Pearl Harbor – “AIR RAID PEARL HARBOR THIS IS NO DRILL.”

Gosia — Thu, 01 Mar 2018 21:41:43 +0000

When I booked a flight for a month’s stay in Hawaii I didn’t have even an American Visa, let alone a travel plan, but I had one pleace on my must-see list, it was Pearl Harbor. As I wrote before, Hawaii islands aren’t cheap, so also the tickets to this famous base are expensive. Passport to Pearl Harbor – a ticket to explore all places costs $72, but in my opinion, this place is really worth every given buck. Pearl Harbor is located on the Hawaiian Islands, in Pearl City which is close to the famous Honolulu. The name Pearl Harbor itself derives from the original Hawaiian name – Wai Momi, which means “Water Pearl”. The waters of the present Pearl Harbor, were once abundant in oysters producing pearls. Since 1912 this is one of the most important American naval and air bases. The construction of the base began in 1901, and after numerous investments consisting of deepening the port, in 1934 it was able to accommodate the entire American Pacific Fleet, apart from the biggest aircraft carriers. I won’t write in detail about the historical background and the attack, as this information is available, but I’ll just present the most important facts. – The strategic position of Hawaii, halfway between the USA and Japan had an impact on Japan’s decision to attack Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941. Japanese target was to stop the United States from military actions in the Southeast Asia. – Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor can basically be considered as a turning point in World War II, as the result of it, United States joined the war. – The attack started at 7.55 a.m. and lasted less than two hours. It was supposed to consist of 3 raids, but there were only two. The third phase of the attack was to destroy the entire port infrastructure and fuel tanks, the implementation of this plan, would certainly have excluded Pearl Harbor from service for a very long time. – The entire operation hadn’t been preceded by a declaration of war by Japan, and it was a huge surprise for soldiers stationed at the base who were completely unprepared for such attack. – As a concequence over than 2300 militaries and 68 civilians lost their life and about 1200 people were injured. On the Japanese side 65 militaries lost their life and the one was taken captive. – Despite massive losses in the base equipment, Japanese forces didn’t realised the main target of the attack – destruction of aircraft carriers that were not in the base that day. It was a huge mistake because, as it turned out during the Pacific War, it was mostly aviation that played a key role, not the navy. In addition, most of the destroyed battleships, with the exception of two: USS Arizona and the USS Oklahoma, have been repaired and returned to service. – The raid on Pearl Harbor started a war in the Pacific and turned the United States into World War II. More importantly, Pearl Harbor is one of the largest American naval bases today. The most important point of the base / museum is Arizona Memorial is a building located just above the sunken shipwreck of the USS Arizona. As a result of the attack, more than 1100 sailors were killed on this ship, so almost half of all the victims of Pearl Harbor. Admission to Arizona Memorial is free of charge, from the Visitor Center you can get there by boat. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to visit this important place in Pearl Harbor, because that day one of the boats hit the bridge at Arizona Memorial, preventing safe sightseeing. However, as it turned out later, I was able to see two other things which station temporary in Pearl Harbor. Another interesting point is the submarine USS Bowfin called also as Pearl Harbor Avenger, which can be seen inside. Next to it is the Pacific Submarine Museum, where you can see Ballistic Missile Poseidon C-3 cut in half. Outside the museum you can see a real Japanese kaiten – a type of live torpedo, used for suicidal attacks and also other kinds of torpedos. The other points are located on the Ford Island, where you can get by special bus service running every 15 minutes. A great impression made on me the battleship USS Missouri, also called Mighty Mo or Big Mo. The Battleship is a special object in the American Navy because here on 2nd September 1945 the surrender of Japan was signed. The exact place to sign surrender can be seen while exploring the battleship. After the end of the war, the USS Missouri took part in many war operations and after the war in Persian Gulf in 1991, it was decommissioned and directed to Pearl Harbor as a ship – museum. In my opinion, the most interesting place in Pearl Harbor is the Naval Air Station with a flight control tower and two hangars. High Naval Air Station can be seen as first. The first words from it on 7th December 1941 were: ” Air Raid Pearl Harbor this is no drill.” It’s worth adding that building a tower started in early 1941 and at the time of the Japanese attack, it wasn’t fully completed. In the first hangar no. 37 you can see aircrafts from World War II with a plane called bush Bush Stearman, which was steered by senior President George H. W. Bush. Second hangar no.79, presents Cobra – attack helicopter and numerous other helicopters and transport planes. Outside there is also something for the Top Gun fans, the famous F-14 Tomcat Fighter, but also you can see here Mcdonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle, Soviet Mig-15 or P-40 Warhawk. At the end of my visit in Pearl Harbor, there were two surprises which I mentioned before. Both objects don’t sation permanently in Pearl Harbor, which is why I was very lucky to see them. The first was a giant floating radar SBX, called Sea – Based X-Band Radar, one of the key elements of the American Antiballistic System. Radar is placed on a special modified oil rig capable of moving at 8 knots. Unfortunately, taking pictures of the radar was forbidden, but how it looks, can be seen in the image below: The second and the greatest surprise was the massive atomic aircraft carrier – USS Carl Vinson, which during my visit was enetering Pearl Harbor. The aircraft carrier can accommodate almost 6500 people, and its size in comparison to the Visitor Center is really impressive. In the process of entering Pearl Harbor, the entire crew in white uniforms was standing around the deck, while the crowd presented at Pearl Harbor was cheering, waving American flags. What it seems to us often pathetic regarding the United States, then for me was a really amazing experience. ” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]

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Monte Cassino – Passer-by, go tell Poland…

Gosia — Wed, 29 Jul 2015 10:56:01 +0000

Since I remember, I have always been interested in history, especially this connected with WWII. After visiting Monte Cassino, I think that even the best written history of this heroic battle can’t evoke such intensive thoughts and emotions as visit in this place. During ascending to the top of this hill one can realize how strategically important was this location. During WWII it enabled to control a large area of Liri river valley and most of all the route to Rome. On the way to the top it’s well worth visiting The Memorial Museum of the 2nd Polish Corps of General Władysław Anders which took part in this battle. According to the information from this museum, it wasn’t only one battle but in fact it consisted of 4 battles which took place nearly 5 months. First attack took place between 17th – 25th of January 1944. It was made by Americans who decided to proceed to frontal attack. Unfortunately crossing torrential river – Rapido resulted in failure. Those who managed to cross it, were killed by German marksmen. Enormous losses on US side, were the reason to make a decision to bombard historic Benedictine abbey. On 15th February, 256 bombers dropped 576 tons of bombs during 3 hour air raid. This barbaric act outraged all world because this abbey was also called “The Athens of the Middle Ages”. Abbey was built in 529 and it was famous for a great amount of valuable manuscripts and known as a important historic building. During bombarding there were no German soldiers as German Reich headquarters had decided not to use it for military purposes in view of its historical value. This decision was in fact a big mistake because, bombardment enabled Germans to take strategically located underground positions of the abbey. Another two attacks took place between 15th – 18th of February and 15th – 25th of March. During this period efficient thrust was impossible in a quagmire caused by torrential rains. The last battle took place form 11th to 18th May. During this battle the 2nd Polish Corps attacked in the most difficult conditions. One can think that the 519 m high hill posed no challenge but during ascending this hill I realized how bravery were the Polish soldiers. Just imagine these fully armored soldiers climbing a very steep mountain, in the constant artillery and marksmen fire! On 18th May in the morning, 12th Podolski Lancers Regiment placed Polish flag on the Monte Cassino peak. The victory came at a high price, with at least 312,000 casualties on the Allies side and 435,000 casualties on the German side. The most difficult actions took place on Gustav Line, there fought soldiers from: Poland, United States, Italy, France, United Kingdom, India, New Zealand, Canada and even South Africa. Polish price for this victory was enormous: 924 soldiers dead, 2930 were injured and with 345 missing in action. Cemetery wall is decorated with the inscription: “Passer-by, go tell Poland, that we have perished obedient to her service” Polish Military Cemetery was built here in 1945. 1072 Polish soldiers rest here. There’s also a grave of General Władysław Anders and his wife – Irena. After the Battle of Monte Cassino, General Władysław Anders had to stay abroad. He was condemned for enormous Polish losses in this battle by former Polish government but in fact he has remained Polish hero. If you are in the neighborhood of this cemetery, come and visit our soldiers, light a candle and feel the history of this place. It’s not only a symbol of our great loss but also our great pride. ” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]

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