“Reflection and Memory” (Short Documentary) Final & Documentation

Studio 1 & Seminar 1:Memory

Pagulayan & Sherman

Bridge Project #4: “Reflection and Memory” Short Documentary Proposal and Treatment

Warsaw Uprising 0f 1944

Ideas/Brainstorming

    

Moodboard

Proposal

     There aren’t many mainstream documentary films or books about the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. This is a part of history that has never been covered in school, lectures and textbooks internationally. There is a large population of the world that is clueless about the history, facts and horrors of World War II that Poles faced. Therefore people are not aware of the losses and heartache that many people had to live through.

     Therefore, imagine this. Walking down the street just like every other day you’ve had this week. Maybe you’re making a run to the market or maybe taking a stroll with friends. But it’s this very day that your future is now uncertain just like the future of your country.

     On September 1st 1939 Germany invaded Poland every way they could. Marching through the border on land, coming from the seas and flying in through the air. The attack on Poland marked not only the end of the treaty between the two countries but also marked the start of World War II. Sixteen days later the country is invaded from the East by the Soviet Union and split in half by the two invaders who had secretly arranged the invasion. One moment Poles are just in the middle of a daily routine and the next they’re standing in rubble and a battle field.

     Poland was attacked leaving everyone with mixed emotions and betrayal that was not only coming from Germany but from Great Britain and France as well. Although their allies declared war, Britain and France stood by and watched as Nazi Germany spent the next month sending 350 bombers onto the city of Warsaw. There were 630 bombs dropped sending buildings to the ground or up in flames. By the end of September twelve percent of the capital was in ruble and had surrendered to spare the lives of its civilians.

     The beginning of World War II wouldn’t be the first time that Poland’s allies would turn a blind eye to their call for help. Fast forward through years of dictatorship, underground movements of resistance and secret systems of education, Poles rose and banded together from all parts of Poland and took part in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. After months of preparations members of the Polish Army, Legion and Civilian Army gathered on August 1st 1944 and approximately at five PM began the fight to take back their capital. Young adults, teens and pre-teens all took part in the Uprising helping anyway they could whether it was joining the forces or delivering post from one end of the city to the other. Of course you never go into a fight blind. Poles believed they had the support of the Soviets on their side who in fact did not send a penny when they began to run low on supplies. When Britain noticed the lack of help Winston Church looked to the United States. Most wouldn’t believe the fact that FDR himself turned down the plea from Britain to help Poland.

     When no support had showed up the members of the Uprising slowly began to drawback from the city they were so close to recapturing. Providence by providence they were forced to retreat. The Uprising wasn’t the only thing that began to fall. As the Nazi’s and SS advanced they brought everything and everyone to the ground with them. In the first two weeks of the Uprising an estimated 50,000 civilians perished. By the end of the Uprising on October 2nd, 1944 the mass murders of civilian men, women and children brought the end result of 180,000 deaths, plus the deaths of more than 18,000 Polish soldier added up to an unbelievable number of over 200,000. Those who survived were captured and sent away to work camps or concentration camps. A city was left deserted and building by building was bombed or burned to the ground. Anything valuable left in the rubble was gathered and shipped to Germany but for the most part schools, universities, archives, castles, and even monuments were destroyed. On Hitler’s command there was no city left to go back to, 93% of the capital was gone.

     Although I was born in a different county, decades after the war, this event has had a major effect on me. I was raised in a Polish house, went to a Polish school, and have traveled to Poland over the years taking in all of the things that have made me fascinated with my culture. I think being the child of immigrants is one of the reasons by I’m so proud, nationalistic and protective of Poland’s history.

     My journey through discovering Poland however wouldn’t have been possible without my grandparents who even though were children lived through the war and remember much of the hardships that they had to face. Which is why for my short film I am focusing on them and the history of the Uprising. Many people have forgotten about those who died during the war and even more so have forgotten about the people who had rebuilt the country from the ground up. Warszaw was not the only city brought to the ground and my grandparents like most civilians helped rebuild their town.

     By interviewing my grandmothers from my father’s and mother’s side I hope to capture some of the experiences and memories they have from the war. I hope to unearth stories that I’ve never heard before and facts and maybe even photographs of the family from this time period.

     One of my goals is to create a combined visual timeline of my country’s history and my family history. To inform the viewers but at the same time question them to question why such history isn’t represented the right way.

     This Bridge Project is not only a historical journey but also a personal one. It includes the history of my family and mine. But most importantly it gives me the ability to discover something new about the past and the people I love.

Treatment

     I plan to begin the film with the beginning of the war. A major part of the film will be the footage that I place with within. It will include scenes of the destruction of Warsaw, the rebuilding of the great city, citizens and of course images of my family. The film would progress from the history behind the war to my family’s history and involvement in the war. Starting from the beginning of the war in 1939 to 1944 I hope to cover briefly the history and emotion that these events bring to people, myself included. I will interview my grandmother Regina and my grandmother Lucy both of which were childrens during the war. I hope to gain some more detail from them about the things I already know. My grandfather John’s brother had been arrested for his work and association with the Polish Army only to have escaped on his way to the work camp and come back to Poland to continue to work secretly against the Soviet Union and the Germans. My grandmother Regina not only helped build my home town after the war but during the occupation along with my great grandmother had housed a young jewish girl.

     The story devices used would be: video interviews, audio interviews, direct cinema videos, family photos, historical archival video and photo footage, possible sound effects of the war and soundtracks to enhance the experience of the viewers.

Bibliography

“Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego.” Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego – Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego, www.1944.pl/.

-“SOUNDTRACK.” Warsaw Uprising, the Film, warsawrising-thefilm.com/.

-Thiessen, Marc A. “Opinion | Trump Was Right to Embrace the 1944 Warsaw Uprising.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 7 July 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2017/07/07/trump-was-right-to-embrace-the-1944-warsaw-uprising/?utm_term=.fddde7965574.

-“Warsaw Rising: Hope and Betrayal.” HistoryNet, 17 Feb. 2016, www.historynet.com/warsaw-rising-hope-and-betrayal.htm.

“World War 2: Warsaw Uprising 1944.” World War 2: Warsaw Uprising 1944, www.warsawuprising.com/.

Roughcut 1

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Wv6CZvQ-YQmi3crN-3981kvZZZREGLc9

Roughcut 2

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1tnUCbDrK2fzT7A6SIyfywT2uCA2KOXVx

Final Video

https://drive.google.com/open?id=16N3zm6HEq3Wq8VUHuyngC0ksTLQcDgbu

Artists Statement

Although I was born in a different country and raised away from most of my family I have always had strong ties to my culture. Growing up I was raised in a polish house and went to polish school were I learned the language, traditions and became a part of a polish community here in NYC. Having such strong connections with my family and culture is what makes me protective of it’s history and respectful of the people who are a part of it.

I’ve learned over the years that many of Polands struggles have been forgotten by many people and countries around the world. Therefore in my film I decided to focus on one of these events that was not only a huge part of WWII but also a huge part of the countries history and pride.

The Warsaw Uprising of 1944 is largely forgotten along with the millions of people who took part in it. My film focuses on how I feel about my culture, my grandmothers knowledge of the Uprising when she was young and the war had just ended, as well as some of the events that took place during the Uprising. From the moment I had originally come up with the idea and outline of the film there have been a few things that I had adjusted along the way. I decided to not only show Polands history but how Poles remember the Uprising and honor it in Poland. It’s an event that is takes place in Warsaw itself but also in other areas of Poland.

I felt like everything was organized well but in such a short time I  wasn’t able to put in as much information as I originally had wanted. There is so much I could have touched upon and the subject of the Uprising is so broad that I could talk about it for hours on end. It’s a subject that can be researched and looked into deeper than of that the 5 minute documentary shows. However, I hope that the film still teaches people a little about the history of the Warsaw  Uprising of 1944. It was meant to be informative, to grab people’s attention and I hope that it gives the viewers a little bit of insight.

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