New ‘walkabout’ audio guides for foreigners reveal key locations of Warsaw Uprising
A series of audio guides for foreigners uncovering secrets of the Warsaw Uprising has been launched in a joint initiative between the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the Warsaw Rising Musuem.
Called Unseen Soundwalks: the Warsaw Rising ’44’, the 10 podcasts offer a walk around Warsaw discovering the most important places related to the Uprising.
One of the locations is the old PAST building which was one of Warsaw most impressive pre-war buildings and its first skyscraper.
Monika Grochowska, deputy director of the Institute said: “Unseen Soundwalks, is a series of guides that use geolocation technology to describe the history of places which have disappeared from the map of the Polish capital.
“Through an audio guide, each episode introduces the site to the listeners, tells a story about the place, and tells them where to stand and what to look for.
Another location is the barricade on Aleje Jerozolimskie.
“In this way, they get to hear stories about the fierce battle against the Nazi German occupiers in the very same places where they happened.”
The 'Soundwalks' will be supplemented by special films prepared by the Uprising Museum, using contemporary and archival photos, as well as the soundtrack from the "Warsaw Uprising" film.
A column of Polish women with children being led by German troops along Wolska Street in early August 1944. The Wola district saw some of the most brutal crimes of the Uprising.
The Warsaw Uprising broke out on August 1, 1944 and was the biggest resistance operation in Nazi-occupied Europe.
Initially intended to last several days, it continued for 63 days before being suppressed by the Germans.
The uprising claimed the lives of 18,000 insurgents and around 180,000 civilians.
The Unseen Soundwalks audio guides have been prepared by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute and the Warsaw Rising Museum.
Some 25,000 insurgents and countless Warsaw residents were wounded.
The immersive podcasts have been prepared for this year’s 76th anniversary of the Uprising and can be found on the Adam Mickiewicz’s culture.pl website.
A third 'Unseen Soundwalks' series is also being planned which will concern Jewish themes in Warsaw.
