Warsaw has reclaimed its position as a proud capital

Well-meaning outsiders sometimes warn visitors to Poland to stick to Kraków, overflowing with splendid historical buildings, and avoid Warsaw – 'another boring capital city', as one writer phrased it to me. Ignore them. Kraków is charming, in the way that reliquaries of the past tend to be. But Warsaw is a monument to Polish perseverance – a sprawling symbol of the indefatigability of Europe's most successful post-Cold War nation.
To appreciate Warsaw's 21st-century revival, consider what the city endured and overcame in the 20th. Months before he shot himself, Hitler ordered its total destruction. Even as Germany's fate was being sealed, the Führer's marauders executed his instruction to raze the Polish capital 'without trace' with murderous zeal. The city was dynamited block by block. Universities were blown up. Schools were torn down. Libraries were set on fire. Historical monuments were obliterated. Houses were pillaged. Survivors were crammed into trains and deported to concentration camps.
When it was over, Warsaw – the site of the most gallant uprising of the Second World War – was a pile of dust and debris. It would have been easier to relocate the capital, and the Moscow-backed government that seized Poland briefly moved its operations to Łódź. Varsovians, however, remained defiant.
In 1945, they organised an exhibition in their ruined city. 'Warsaw does not lament, it does not complain,' the event proclaimed, 'but before the tribunal of nations Warsaw Accuses'. General Eisenhower, one of the 43,000 visitors to the show, described the state of Warsaw as 'far more tragic than anything I have seen' in Europe.
Not for long.
Poles expelled from the city returned, cleared the rubble by hand, buried the dead, and began rebuilding Warsaw brick by brick. They compelled the government to support them by the sheer force of their example. Some buildings were resurrected as facsimiles of the destroyed originals. But the animating ideology of reconstruction was Soviet socialism, and, after a period of frenzied activity, Warsaw became stagnant.
A symbol of this slump was Hotel Bristol. Housed in a neo-Renaissance building that opened in 1901, it once numbered among the city's grandest buildings – and was one of the handful to survive the Nazi rampage of 1944. By the 1980s, it had become so derelict that it had to be boarded up and abandoned. Warsaw itself degenerated into a drab city whose centrepiece was a Stalinist tower bequeathed as a 'gift' from the Soviet Union.
The fall of communism stimulated a second revival. Varsovians seized the moment: they converted the Communist Party headquarters into the country's new stock exchange, and opened casinos inside the Stalinist behemoth. A cluster of glass-clad skyscrapers proliferated around them.
Despite the recent election of the social conservative Karol Nawrocki as Poland's next president, Warsaw remains a haven for minorities. 'I am of course very uncomfortable,' a gay student at Warsaw University told me a day after the result. 'But this is Warsaw, and we still feel safe in Warsaw.' 'This city', another dejected voter told me, 'gives us hope'.
Politics can conceal Poland's extraordinary achievement. Its GDP is rapidly approaching $1 trillion. The living standards of its people are the envy of Europeans. The Polish army is larger than the armed forces of Britain. Poles who emigrated abroad in search of opportunity at the start of the century are now drifting home. Some are running successful businesses – cocktail bars, breweries, restaurants – at home. Others are investing in the technologies of the future. A Canadian tourist was so impressed by the city that he was considering moving his business there. 'I have not seen a place with such work ethic,' he told me.
Warsaw, reduced to the ground within the lifetime of many of its elderly citizens, has reclaimed its position as the proud capital of a great country.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Telegraph

32 minutes ago

• Telegraph

Labour must put energy security ahead of net zero ideology

British Government ministers appear to enjoy nothing quite so much as interfering with complex systems they don't entirely understand. Research commissioned by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has highlighted one set of clearly unintended consequences that could soon come about as a result of Energy Secretary Ed Miliband's fanatical pursuit of his 2050 target. Interactions between high temperatures, solar panels, heat pumps and the transmission network may result in a greater likelihood of 'electricity shortfalls and loadshedding', a polite euphemism for controlled blackouts. The driving mechanisms are straightforward: heat pumps, soon to be mandatory in newbuilds, and highly incentivised in older properties, offer cooling capabilities that are likely to increase electricity demand during hot periods. At the same time, Britain's distributed renewables grid will be more exposed to degradation of performance due to these same high temperatures as solar panel efficiency falls and transmission networks are pushed to their limit as carrying capacities fall, increasing 'the likelihood of widespread blackouts'. It is a fascinating combination of incentives and outcomes, particularly for a department with 'energy security' in its title. It is also an excellent illustration of why we should be deeply sceptical of government schemes that seek to remake society on a grand scale: the choices to push certain approaches has created this pathway to instability. It is far from the only way in which net zero puts energy security at risk. There are the dark, windless winter days where neither solar nor wind provide significant inputs into Britain's grid, potentially leaving us reliant on backup power sources – an additional source of capital costs – or on interconnectors to European countries, which may also find their generating capacity limited. At the other end of the spectrum, a report into Spain's April blackouts has highlighted that particularly sunny days may drive prices negative, causing producers to switch off in a cascading failure. Britain does at least seem to have learnt this lesson ahead of time, taking steps to prevent a similar incident here. As the UK report has highlighted, however, it would be foolish to assume perfect foresight of future risks. It is surely time the Government put energy security ahead of net zero ideology.

Sky News

33 minutes ago

• Sky News

Belarus opposition leader Siarhei Tsikhanouski freed from jail after rare visit by top US envoy

A jailed opposition leader in Belarus has been freed and is now in Lithuania. Siarhei Tsikhanouski was released along with 13 other political prisoners following talks between Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Keith Kellogg, who is President Trump 's envoy for Ukraine. Mr Kellogg became the highest-ranking US official in years to visit Belarus, which is a close ally of Russia. Mr Tsikhanouski, a blogger and activist, was arrested after announcing he would run for the presidency against Mr Lukashenko in the 2020 election. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison the following year after a court found him guilty of organising mass unrest and of inciting social hatred. After he was detained, his wife Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya ran in his place and she became an opposition leader who is now in exile in Lithuania. Although Mr Lukashenko was officially declared the winner of the election, the result was denounced by the opposition and the West as a sham. On Saturday, a video on Ms Tsikhanouskaya's social media showed Mr Tsikhanouski getting out of a minibus and smiling despite his emaciated appearance. He and his wife hugged as their supporters clapped. She said: "My husband is free. It's difficult to describe the joy in my heart." She thanked Mr Trump, Mr Kellogg and "all European allies" for their efforts in getting him released. But she added her team's work was "not finished", with more than 1,100 political prisoners still locked up in Belarus. The 14 who were freed on Saturday included five Belarus nationals as well as three Poles, two Latvians, two Japanese citizens, one Estonian and one Swede. Among those released was Ihar Karnei, a former journalist at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 'Free world needs you' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X the release was "fantastic news and a powerful symbol of hope for all the political prisoners suffering under the brutal Lukashenka (sic) regime". "The free world needs you, Siarhei!", Poland's foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski said on X. At the meeting between Mr Lukashenko and Mr Kellogg in the Belarusian capital Minsk, the pair hugged. Mr Lukashenko said: "I really hope that our conversation will be very sincere and open. Otherwise, what is the point of meeting? "If we are clever and cunning in front of each other, we will not achieve results. You have made a lot of noise in the world with your arrival." Mr Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994, secured a seventh term in office following an election in January this year that the opposition called a farce. It was not immediately clear whether Mr Kellogg's visit might pave the way for the lifting of some US sanctions against Belarus. They were imposed over the crackdown on the 2020 protests and Mr Lukashenko's support of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Times

39 minutes ago

• Times

Inside Mary Lou McDonald's plan to shake up Sinn Fein

Without a doubt, last year was something of an annus horribilis for Mary Lou McDonald, the Sinn Fein leader. The early omens were not good: February polling showed a surprising six-point drop in support as her party came under pressure over its stance on immigration. In the summer, McDonald's strategy to field a record 335 candidates in the local elections fell apart spectacularly. It was a disastrous day out, given that Sinn Fein took under 12 per cent of the national vote and more than 230 unsuccessful candidates were left picking up the pieces. For the first time, grassroots members of Sinn Fein began muttering about McDonald's future in charge of the party. With five months until a general election, the pressure on the leader was intense. At the same time, she was dealing with huge personal upheaval. Having recovered from a hysterectomy, McDonald and her family took a trip to Biarritz. In the airport in France, her husband, Martin Lanigan, became seriously ill. He later underwent surgery and was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Then her father, Patrick, with whom she had a complicated relationship, died last summer. In October, a series of scandals rocked Sinn Fein, right as the country was on the precipice of a general election. A 'complete overhaul' of the party's governance structure was ordered by McDonald, and The Sunday Times can now reveal the outcome of those reviews and the new rules which TDs, senators and staff members will have to follow. The first big controversy last October came when it emerged that two press officers had given job references for a former colleague under investigation for child sex offences, for which he was later jailed. Seán Mag Uidhir, a well-known Sinn Fein figure who headed the party's media operation in the north, and his colleague Caolán McGinley left Sinn Fein when it emerged that they provided references for Michael McMonagle. McDonald said that McMonagle was immediately suspended when he was questioned by the PSNI about the allegations in 2021, and yet the following year, his two co-workers provided the references. As part of the 'complete overhaul' of governance, a review of human resources practices took place. An internal memo has been given to party members which lays out new rules. From now on, all requests for job references for staff who work or once worked for Sinn Fein need to be referred to the party's HR manager. Members and staff have been told they shouldn't give any references at all. If clearance is given by HR for former and current employees, only brief factual references should be provided, confirming only the person's start and finish date and their job title. References should not mention the person's character or ability, and line managers are now the only people authorised to provide these references. Furthermore, references should also not be given for elected representatives or activists, except in exceptional circumstances that must be approved by Sam Baker, the party's general secretary. Not everyone in the party is a fan of the rules, which are laid out in a private memo, but the new diktat will remain in place. Another huge issue that arose last October came with the shock resignation of the Laois TD Brian Stanley. After he left, he described an inquiry into a complaint made against him as 'seriously flawed'. A Sinn Fein draft report into a complaint made against Stanley came to the opinion that his conduct in an incident constituted 'sexual harassment', something he strongly denied. The internal inquiry into the complaint dragged on from late July of last year until early October, with claims and counter-claims being made. The second big piece of work as part of the overhaul was to look at how Sinn Fein disciplines its members. Barry Mulqueen, a Belfast barrister, undertook an in-depth review, looking at how the disciplinary committee had handled complaints to date. He was due to supply a report to Sinn Fein at the end of May. Sources say that what has emerged is that the party's disciplinary processes are not fit for purpose. Issues that are likely to be addressed will be the structure of internal inquiries, who carries them out and, crucially, the amount of time an inquiry takes. There is a view that complaints drag on for far too long, and that a structure needs to be put around the 'back and forth' nature of serious complaints. The third serious blow for Sinn Fein last year was the controversy over a former senator who was secretly suspended and later resigned from the party over inappropriate messages sent to a teenager. Niall Ó Donnghaile, a former Belfast lord mayor, was suspended by Sinn Fein over the issue but the party let him resign on health grounds without revealing the complaint against him. The teenager in question then said McDonald's tribute to Ó Donnghaile was 'like a mental stab'. At the time, she issued a statement thanking him for his service to the party, something she later apologised for. On foot of all of this, Gareth McGibbon, a registered social worker, has completed a new draft of the party's child protection policy. A source said that a part of this work involved making sure that everyone in Sinn Fein knew exactly what steps to take, and how to conduct themselves, if a matter of concern involving a minor arose. There has also been work done to make sure the policies are aligned north and south. All of these revelations, and the resulting follow-up questions, emerged for Sinn Fein in a drip-feed manner that created a huge sense of dread, especially as the country was on the verge of a general election. One party member described the period as the party being 'in a death spiral'. Although Sinn Fein painted the results of the election as a triumph, it failed to replicate its quota-smashing performance of 2020, and ultimately failed to cross the threshold into Government Buildings. Since then, the results of the election have been studied carefully by strategists. Sinn Fein is ultra-secretive by nature and prefers to keep a tight lid on what is happening behind the scenes. However, The Sunday Times spoke to sources at all levels of the party to get a detailed insight into the mood within the camp. Sinn Fein's decision to present a united front with the rest of the 'combined opposition' of Labour, the Social Democrats, People Before Profit and others has gone down well with supporters, who feel voters might, in future, buy into the idea of a government made up of a left-wing bloc. 'Grassroots members are happy with this strategy, and with Mary Lou being front and centre of that. It was good red meat,' a local party member said. Close observers of Sinn Fein's daily attacks during leaders' questions may also have noticed a subtle shift. While TDs spent the five years leading up to last November's general election presenting the public with credible alternative policies, this time the plan of action is attack, attack, attack. There was, a source said, 'a certain amount of preparing for government that went on in recent years but now we are sticking to the principles of equality for the working class. It is going back to our roots on issues like neutrality, housing and health and disability services.' Away from the Dail chamber, the party is refocusing itself on its bread-and-butter issues. 'We are in a period of regrowth,' the insider said. 'Our focus from an activism and membership point of view is unity and the unity message. There is a big, big push now to focus on unity in messaging, for discussion and in terms of organising events. Party members have been asked to coalesce around this again.' Another criticism of Sinn Fein made after last year's elections came from John Hearne, the respected Waterford councillor. He said the party was being run by 'armchair generals'. Sinn Fein is actively trying to re-engage its membership base, and the decision-making process around the presidential campaign has been a case in point. 'There has been an interesting shift in attitude from the hierarchy,' a party source said. 'Every member was asked to consider making a submission to the party or through the structures to give their thoughts based on four scenarios.' The first option was Sinn Fein running its own candidate; the second was Sinn Fein promoting and backing a candidate with the united left; the third was giving tacit support to that candidate on the left; the fourth involved the party sitting it out on the sidelines. Some of the feedback so far has indicated strong support for option two: fully backing a candidate of the left. One decision from the top that has not gone down quite so well is the decision to cancel the ard fheis this year, and hold an annual conference in April 2026, which will happen in Belfast. The party cited 'logistical and strategic challenges' and said it was 'increasingly difficult' to find a suitable venue for the autumn and 'particularly one large enough to accommodate our growing attendance'. Party members who spoke to The Sunday Times said they were not consulted about this decision and they also said they had doubts about the reasons given for putting it off. A source with knowledge of the decision said it was taken because the party simply would not get enough media attention for an ard fheis when a presidential election is happening and a budget was being announced, particularly on TV shows. There are other pressing decisions to be made, however — decisions which may yet divide the party. On Saturday, July 5, in Dublin, selected party members will gather for a special conference on gender policy. It comes after Sinn Fein was banned from taking part in a trans Pride march in Dublin next month over its stance on rights for transgender people, despite meetings with LGBT+ groups. These groups want Sinn Fein to clarify its stance on puberty blockers in Northern Ireland, but also on the UK Supreme Court ruling on sex, gender and equality. David Cullinane, the Sinn Fein health spokesman, was 'rapped on the knuckles' by the party leadership after he posted on X that a Supreme Court ruling defining women by their biological sex was a 'common sense judgment'. He later deleted the message and apologised. The issue is particularly sensitive for McDonald given that she has a trans woman for a sibling. More liberal members within Sinn Fein are pushing for clear change and more conservative members are urging the party 'not to get involved', as one person put it, adding: 'It is not coming up on the ground.' Beyond this, members around the country are reporting that Sinn Fein remains under serious local pressure on immigration. 'We are still bruised from last year. Misinformation continues to fly across social media,' one said. There is a push among the membership for Sinn Fein to formulate a very clear and accessible immigration policy, but the sense is that, like many of the party's big plans, this is some way off in the future.