Warsaw marks anniversary of 1944 uprising

Warsaw saw a general halt in traffic at 5 pm on Monday, commemorating the hour "W," - the time when the Warsaw Uprising started 72 years ago. Former insurgents, city and state officials and residents gathered at the Gloria Victis Monument at Warsaw’s Powązki Cemetery to paid tribute to the fallen. "Poland will never forget about its heroes, will never forget the wonderful insurgents of Warsaw, will never forget about the citizens of Warsaw, those who gave their lives for freedom," said President Andrzej Duda. Numerous other commemorative events took place near monuments, schools and cemeteries, including a a patriotic song concert at Plac Piłsudskiego. The Warsaw Uprising was a valiant but unsuccessful effort to unseat the German Nazi occupants towards the end of World War II in 1944. Around 150,000 people died in a 63-day military effort, which ended in a complete destruction of the city. The Uprising was the largest single military effort taken by any European resistance movement during World War II.