To Honor WWII Fallen Heroes, This Entire City Stops For A Minute Every Year

Every August 1st.

There aren’t many things that can make a man tear up like a baby, but man, we feel like this is one of those things. It’s not a particular part in this video that makes it so but the entire feeling of it. The way people stop in their tracks. The siren echoing in the background. The way people look and stare when they stopped. It’s all just really beautiful.

Another amazing fact here is exactly that. The fact that citizens of Warsaw do this every year and most people around the world don’t know about it. It’s one of the most heartfelt displays of patriotism we’ve ever seen, so in case you didn’t know about this, we want to share it with you.

If you’d like to read in more detail about the Warsaw Uprising, visit this Wikipedia link for more information.

For some background on this tradition, it is meant to commemorate the Warsaw Uprising which began on August 1st, 1944. A push by the Polish resistance which was lead mostly by civilians, it’s aim was to liberate Warsaw from the clutches of Nazi Germany which has taken hold of it.

Lasting 63 days, this fight was supposed to coincide with the Soviet advance into the city but it was halted . Left on their own, they fought tooth and nail against the German Army but were overwhelmed and the city was was leveled. The casualties of Warsaw are estimated at about 200,000.