Due to the Nazi German planned destruction of Warsaw, the Polish capital city was almost completely leveled by the end of World War II.
After the war, a five-year reconstruction campaign by its citizens resulted in today’s meticulous restoration of the Old Town, with its churches, palaces and market-place. It is an outstanding example of a near-total reconstruction of a span of history covering the 13th to the 20th century.
The capital city was reduced to ruins with the intention of obliterating the centuries-old tradition of Polish statehood. The rebuilding of the historic city, 85% of which was destroyed, was the result of the determination of the inhabitants and the support of the whole nation. The reconstruction of the Old Town in its historic urban and architectural form was the manifestation of the care and attention taken to assure the survival of one of the most important testimonials of Polish culture. The city – the symbol of elective authority and tolerance, where the first democratic European constitution, the Constitution of 3 May 1791, was adopted – was rebuilt. [x]
The city of Warsaw was rebuilt between the 1950s and 1970 without any help from outside. Some of the landmarks had been finally reconstructed as late as the 1980s. While the Old Town has been thoroughly reconstructed, the New Town had been only partially restored to its former state. [x]
You can check the official trailer of "Miasto ruin" / "City of Ruins" - 3D reconstruction of the ruins of Warsaw after the fall of 1944 Warsaw Uprising as seen from bird’s eye view. “On 1st Sep 1939 1.300.000 people were inhabitating Warsaw. There were 900.000 of them on 1st Aug 1944 [beginning of the Warsaw Uprising]. After the fall of the Uprising there were less than 1.000 people left in the ruins" [translated from the linked video].
Warsaw in 1947 photographed by Henry Cobb [source]
Warsaw in 1945: people beginning to clear the site from rubble (on the right) [via NAC]
"Old Town coming back to life" - images published in "Stolica" weekly magazine, 17th Nov 1946 [source]
"Poland’s rebuilding amazes U.S. experts" published in 1947 [source]
Vision of a new Marszałkowska Street - images published in “Stolica” weekly magazine, 11th July 1948 [source]
"We’re getting closer to the construction of downtown" - published in "Stolica" weekly magazine, 2nd Feb 1953 [source]
Different proposals for the architecture of the Parade Square, back then named Stalin Square. Images published in “Stolica” weekly magazine, 7th March 1954 [source]
"Warsaw 1957" - images published in "Stolica" weekly magazine, 1st Jan 1958 [source]
Warsaw city center nowadays [source].
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