Unseen Soundwalks

Storming the Gęsiówka camp was no easy task. The whole prison was surrounded by guard towers and bunkers, all armed to the hilt. The insurgents used a captured Panther tank – dubbed ‘Magda’ – to initiate the attack by firing at the towers. This was followed by the assault. After the tank had forced through the barricade and broken through the entry gates, insurgents then used the cover of heavy fire to storm the camp. Some 348 prisoners were freed, including 24 women. Eighty-nine prisoners had Polish citizenship, the rest were Jews from Hungary, Greece, Holland, Belgium, France and Czechoslovakia. A vast number of the freed prisoners joined the continuing fight against the Nazi German occupiers during the Warsaw Uprising, assisting the Home Army insurgents in the Old Town. How to listen Unseen is available as a downloadable podcast, although it is best experienced through the Echoes geolocative storytelling app available for iOS and Android. After loading the app, search for soundwalks in Warsaw and you’ll

On the morning of the 13th of August 1944, the Germans launched an assault on the Old Town from their positions at the nearby Castle Square. At 0900 hours, a tracked vehicle, what seemed to be a tank, started crawling up Podwale Street towards the maze of streets which make up Warsaw’s oldest district, an insurgent stronghold at the time. Combatants threw molotov cocktails at the tank, forcing its driver to escape from the resulting fire. Insurgents found no weapons in the vehicle but they did notice a radio device of sorts. Nobody was allowed near the tank until a sapper had checked it out, although before a technician managed to inspect the vehicle, at around 1600 hours two soldiers claiming to be under direct orders from the Polish command climbed into the tank and started to drive it into the insurgents’ territory, towards the Old Town. A huge crowd gathered to celebrate the capturing of the German tank, and a makeshift victory parade assembled along the street. The resulting blast ripped into nearby b

Commander Stanisław Broniewski, codename ‘Orsza’, has given the order to attack a Nazi prisoner transport vehicle. It’s carrying Jan Bytnar, codename ‘Rudy’, from Gestapo heaquarters to nearby Pawiak prison. However, with the original plan going up in smoke, the Polish contingent has to think fast. They end up storming the van, led by ‘Rudy’'s comrade in arms, Tadeusz Zawadzki, codename ‘Zośka’, managing to release around 20 prisoners, including ‘Rudy’. While the event did not happen during the Warsaw Uprising itself, Operation Arsenal remains one of the most well-known events undertaken by the Polish underground during World War II and is a testament to the Polish determination to set themselves free from Nazi German domination. How to listen Unseen is available as a downloadable podcast, although it is best experienced through the Echoes geolocative storytelling app available for iOS and Android. After loading the app, search for soundwalks in Warsaw and you’ll find Unseen. Further reading A Crash Cours

During the Nazi occupation, the building’s function didn’t change, and became a Bank of Issue for the Nazi Germans’ General Government. A number of the bank’s Polish employees also worked with the underground, secretly passing on information about transports of money, leading to one of World War II’s largest heists against the occupiers. During the uprising, insurgents managed to storm the bank on the 3rd of August. However, due to its tactical position in between the Old Town and Warsaw’s centre, the Germans fought intensely to try and regain the building. Bloody fighting went on for four weeks straight, with the occupiers even managing to get inside the building a number of times before being fought off again by the Polish Home Army. It wasn’t until the 1st of September that the last remaining insurgents evacuated the building and escaped to Warsaw’s downtown through the city’s sewer system. How to listen Unseen is available as a downloadable podcast, although it is best experienced through the Echoes ge

Apart from housing the Polish Home Army headquarters, the PKO building also had a sanitary point which was later converted into a field hospital, providing beds and sanitation for up to 400 wounded combatants at a time. The building was so large it also accommodated a POW holding centre for Germans taken captive following the storming of the PAST building on Zielna Street. Meanwhile, the building’s third floor played host to the ‘Błyskawica’ – or ‘Lightning’ – insurgent radio station. How to listen Unseen is available as a downloadable podcast, although it is best experienced through the Echoes geolocative storytelling app available for iOS and Android. After loading the app, search for soundwalks in Warsaw and you’ll find Unseen. Further reading A Crash Course on the Warsaw Uprising Through Film on Culture.pl A Memoir of the Warsaw Uprising by Miron Białoszewski Paper Scars: How the Warsaw Uprising Affected Polish Literature on Culture.pl Remembering the Artists of the Warsaw Uprising on Culture.pl

In the first few hours of the struggle against the Nazi German occupiers, insurgents stormed the Prudential building and hung the Polish white-and-red flag from its roof, making it visible from all parts of the city. The main post office, which stood where the National Bank of Poland is now, was also a key target for the combatants. In the last days of August and into September, the Germans started to intensify their air raids and artillery fire throughout the city. The Prudential building was an easy target, and on the 28th of August it was hit by a 600 mm heavy calibre 2-tonne shell fired from a Karl-Gerät mortar. Despite the immense damage, the building did not collapse, and still stands to this day. How to listen Unseen is available as a downloadable podcast, although it is best experienced through the Echoes geolocative storytelling app available for iOS and Android. After loading the app, search for soundwalks in Warsaw and you’ll find Unseen. Further reading A Crash Course on the Warsaw Uprising Th

The telephone exchange housed inside the building was a communications nerve centre for the Nazi war effort on the Eastern Front, which by late 1944 was moving ever closer to Poland’s capital. The storming of the PAST was one of the most spectacular events during the 63 days of the Warsaw Uprising: almost 40 Germans were killed, while 120 were taken prisoner. On the Polish side, only around a dozen or so combatants died. Among the seized loot was a large ammunitions stash, which provided a strong morale booster following the successful siege. The strategic building and its surroundings remained in Polish hands until the end of the uprising. How to listen Unseen is available as a downloadable podcast, although it is best experienced through the Echoes geolocative storytelling app available for iOS and Android. After loading the app, search for soundwalks in Warsaw and you’ll find Unseen. Further reading A Crash Course on the Warsaw Uprising Through Film on Culture.pl A Memoir of the Warsaw Uprising by Mir

It was here that a barricade was built in the first days of the uprising to provide an essential communications corridor between the north and south parts of the city centre held by the Home Army. In the opening days of the uprising, insurgents got to work, digging out a trench between number 22 on the north side to number 17 on the south side. Once completed, the barricade was used by messengers and runners, as well as the civilian population. From a logistical standpoint, the barricade on Jerusalem Avenue was used as a corridor to transport weapons, ammunition, food supplies, as well as for transporting the wounded and providing a safe passage for field post. How to listen Unseen is available as a downloadable podcast, although it is best experienced through the Echoes geolocative storytelling app available for iOS and Android. After loading the app, search for soundwalks in Warsaw and you’ll find Unseen. Further reading A Crash Course on the Warsaw Uprising Through Film on Culture.pl A Memoir of the Wa

Unseen Soundwalks: Warsaw Rising '44  is a new immersive soundwalk from Culture.pl and the Warsaw Rising Museum that takes you to the very heart of the intense 63 days known as the Warsaw Uprising. The Warsaw Uprising was an attempt by the citizens of Warsaw to take back their city from its Nazi German occupiers. It took place from August 1st to October 2nd 1944. The second season of Unseen Soundwalks takes you around the city to ten of the Warsaw Uprising's most important moments. Unseen is available as a downloadable podcast, although it is best experienced through the Echoes geolocative storytelling app available for iOS and Android. You can follow Unseen on Instagram, and be sure to tag your photos with #unseenwarsaw when you experience our soundwalks!

On 29 July 1944, Zdzisław Jeziorański, known as Jan Nowak, the so-called ‘Courier from Warsaw’, met with General Tadeusz Komorowski codename ‘Bór’. Jeziorański has been sent to Warsaw by the Polish Government-in-Exile in London to report on the Tehran and Moscow conferences which had taken place the previous year. And the news wasn’t good. Soviet forces are fast approaching Warsaw from the east, creating unrest for the Nazi German occupiers. The launch of the Warsaw Uprising was now a matter of when, not if… Further reading on Culture.pl: Singing After the Uprising: Contemporary Warsaw Uprising Music: https://culture.pl/en/article/singing-after-the-uprising-contemporary-warsaw-uprising-music Remembering The Artists Of The Warsaw Uprising: https://culture.pl/en/article/artists-of-the-warsaw-uprising Warsaw Uprising articles on Culture.pl: https://culture.pl/en/search/warsaw%20uprising With thanks to: Rafał Brodacki, an historian from the Warsaw Rising Museum https://www.1944.pl Alicja Baczyńska, your audio

A bonus episode featuring an archival recording related to Chmielna 43. Originally recorded in September 1939. Many thanks to the Polish National Digital Archive for allowing us to share it with you.

On 24 October 1956, Władysław Gomułka, the new leader of the Polish communist party, took to the Tribune of Honour to address the Polish nation. The newly built Parade Square with the domineering Palace of Culture was the perfect backdrop for his speech which marked the beginning of a new era of Polish socialism following the cold years of Stalinism. The Tribune of Honour is the only piece of architecture in this series of Unseen which still remains, although the system under which it was created no longer exists in Poland. Further listening about the Palace of Culture: Stories From The Eastern West: PALACE Stories From The Eastern West: PALACE II With thanks to: Czesław Bielecki, an architect, opposition activist in the 1980s, and self-styled ‘political animal’, for telling us about his family history and giving his opinion on the urban layout of Parade Square. The Polish National Digital Archive, for providing the original recording of Władysław Gomułka’s speech on Parade Square on 24 October 1956 (Ref:

Towards the end of World War II, a legendary singer decided to open a café in a ruined building in the centre of town. Mieczysław Fogg is one of the most revered Polish singers with a career spanning a number of decades throughout the 20th century. But he did more than just entertain audiences across, the globe, however. In 1945, Warsaw lay in ruins, as was testified by a group of Swedish radio journalists visiting the city later that year. Meanwhile, Mieczysław Fogg opened Café Fogg, a family-run establishment, in a destroyed building facing Marszałkowska Street. Apart from coffee and cake – rare luxuries for those times – the café also provided a meeting place for people looking for loved ones after the atrocities of war. Further reading on Culture.pl: Biography of Mieczysław Fogg Polish Tangos: The Unique Inter-War Soundtrack to Poland’s Independence With thanks to: Michał Fogg, the great-grandson of Mieczysław Fogg, for recalling his family history and story of Café Fogg. The Polish National Digital A

One of the tallest office buildings on this pre-war street became the heart of Polish Radio for a decade. The radio station provided broadcasts for almost the entire country, with a super-charged 120kW transmitter – the most powerful in Europe when constructed – broadcasting from Raszyn, just outside Warsaw. The building on Zielna Street has another history though. It was at this address that the Polish Communist Workers’ Party was founded soon after the country regained independence in 1918, although it soon became outlawed… Further reading on Culture.pl: After World War II, Polish Radio provided a certain amount of artistic freedom with the creation of the legendary Polish Radio Experimental Studio: The Future Sound of Warsaw: An Introduction to PRES The Musical Milestones of the Polish Radio Experimental Studio With thanks to: The Polish National Digital Archive, for providing Polish Radio archival recordings relating to the outbreak of World War II on 1st September 1939 (Ref: 33-P-571) Wojciech Oleks

At the beginning of August 1942, an elderly well-dressed gentleman left home with around 200 orphans in tow. It was to be their last outing. Sienna 16 was the last address of Janusz Korczak’s Dom Sierota orphans’ home before he and his children were killed at the Nazi German death camp of Treblinka in the first week of August 1942. Janusz Korczak was a pediatrician, renowned author, pedagogue, social activist, and defender of children’s rights. In fact, it is his work with children and his role as the director of the Dom Sierot, the Orphans’ Home, for which he is best known. Apart from introducing new educational methods at the orphange, he also nurtured creativity among the children – one such endeavour was a newspaper: The Little Review. Further reading on Culture.pl: Biography of Janusz Korczak 12 Things Worth Knowing About Janusz Korczak Mały Przegląd: A Little Review with a Big Impact There Are No Children, There Are People: Janusz Korczak the Educator Janusz Korczak: Legacy of a Writer & Teache

Poland’s first and arguably most eminent music label, Syrena Rekord, had its premises here from its early years up until 1939. The company was established in 1904 by Juliusz Feigenbaum, an industrialist from Warsaw. It was the first record production company in Poland, and the fourth worldwide! Taking on the name Syrena in 1908, the company went on to become the main driving force of the Polish music scene during the Polish Second Republic in the inter-war period. Further reading on Culture.pl: Mieczysław Fogg Biography on Culture.pl Polish Tangos: The Unique Inter-War Soundtrack to Poland’s Independence Biography of Henryk Wars The Rise & Fall of Polish Song Biography of Adam Aston Biography of Eugeniusz Bodo With thanks to: Alicja Baczyńska, your audio guide, for help with acoustic mapping throughout the Unseen project.

In October 1939, a young Richard Pipes witnessed the Nazi German victory parade through Warsaw from the window of his family’s fourth-floor apartment. It was then that his family knew they had to escape Warsaw, and Poland. At the beginning of the war a number of Americans were also left stranded in the city. American film-maker and photographer Julien Bryan stayed to document the atrocities of war, appealing to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to help the Polish people in a specially recorded message. With thanks to: The Polish National Digital Archive, for providing the original recording of Julien Bryan’s appeal to the United States from Warsaw in September 1939 (Ref: 33-T-4470) Magdalena Stopa and Warsaw’s History Meeting House for the interview recording with Richard Pipes, who lived in the building on Chmielna 43 before emigrating to the United States at the beginning of World War II. Alicja Baczyńska, your audio guide, for help with acoustic mapping throughout the Unseen project.

There were a number shops at this address, which was located on the corner of Marszałkowska and Chmielna streets. We learn a little about Polish fashion in the inter-war period and choose a hat from the renowned Mieszkowski boutique. After that we go the neighbouring Wedel chocolate salon and talk marketing tactics. Further reading on Culture.pl: The Bitter-Sweet Story Of Wedel, Poland’s Famous Chocolatier The Crumbly & Delicious History of Chocolate in Poland Polish Food 101 ‒ Iconic Sweets The Hussies and Gentlemen of Prewar Poland With thanks to: Magdalena Stopa and Warsaw’s History Meeting House for the interview recording with Emil Mieszkowski, the grandson of the original shop owner and who lived at this address before and during World War II. Aleksandra Jatczak, a fashion historian and lecturer at the Fashion Department of the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. Elżbieta Jasińska, the great-granddaughter of Emil Wedel, the founder of one of Poland’s most loved chocolate brands. Adam Żuławski, editor a

On a warm summer’s day in 1845, a fascinated crowd gathered in front of the new Warsaw-Vienna station to greet the arrival of the railway. Despite the station’s name, however, it wouldn’t be a number of years before you could actually take the train directly to Vienna. Listen to the story of the grand opening of the station and how it sparked the development of the surrounding area of Warsaw. With thanks to: Andrzej Paszke, a retired officer from PKP Polish State Railways as well as a railway enthusiast and historian. Piotr Hummel, a historian and local guide, co-founder of WAWstep city guides. Alicja Baczyńska, your audio guide, for help with acoustic mapping throughout the Unseen project Michał Kubicki, for providing the English voice of Andrzej Paszke Elżbieta Krajewska, for voicing the article on the opening of the Warsaw-Vienna Railway from the Kurjer Warszawski dated 15.06.1845, No. 155

Unseen is a new immersive soundwalk from Culture.pl which reimagines places which have been lost on the map of Warsaw. Unseen is available as a downloadable podcast, although it is best experienced through the Echoes geolocative storytelling app available for iOS and Android. You can follow Unseen on Instagram, and be sure to tag your photos with #unseenwarsaw when you experience the soundwalk!