WARSAW - THE RELATION BETWEEN

POLITICS AND ARCHITECTURE IN THE

1930-1960 PERIOD

STUDENT: CORINA-IULIA OANCEA

MODULE: CULTURAL CONTEXT AA

Warsaw is the capital of Poland and it is located on the Vistula River. People call it the 'phoenix city'
because, throughout history, it survived many tragic events that had left the city in a devastated
condition. Being invaded by Germans in 1939, was the moment that led not only to the start of the
Second World War, but also to the worst state of destruction in which Warsaw has ever been. By
1945, on the day of the liberation of Warsaw - a city that developed during the 700 years of its
existence until 1939 - approximately 85 per cent of the capital had been destroyed by Nazis,
including 96.5% of the buildings of cultural value. Almost 800,000 people were killed.

Figures 1-3 Warsaw being destroyed in 1945

Figures 4-6 Aerial views of the city after the bombardment

Fig. 7 On the left, map of pre-war Warsaw and, on the right, map of the Pabst Plan, Hitler's plan for Warsaw after its destruction.

After the war, the Poles had been yielded to the Soviet sphere of influence. Once again they were
under foreign oppression. Being imposed a new social order, Communism, the Polish population had
different reactions to it. The change found support mainly in the people living in rural environments,
whereas the majority that lived in cities strongly opposed it. The rebuilding of Warsaw was
supported by Stalin and Russians have had an important participation in it from the beginning.
The early years of the reconstruction rise several questions: Why rebuilding the city centre and
buildings with heritage value was important for Varsovians? How and why did the transition to
Socialism help in rebuilding Warsaw? How did Communism reflect in Warsaw's early years of postwar architecture?
It was necessary for Warsaw to change in order to become more welcoming to all of its inhabitants
regardless of their previous social status, which was annulled by the development of the new society
under the Socialist order. Communism meant treating everybody as equals and that characteristic
had to lead to improvements in housing estates. The highly ruined state of the city would permit
solving pre-war issues such as: high-densities, lack of green space and no modern facilities in the
workers' districts. There were big discrepancies between the state of the housing settlements of the
workers and the ones for rich people in the pre-war capitalist period. The issues had been raised
since then, and they started to develop plans in order to resolve them. The only project that was
successfully built before the war, was represented by an inventive housing settlement in oliborz. It
was designed in a modern fashion by the Warsaw Housing Co-operative and built on land owned by
the city. The housing project included shops, laundry, central heating plant, schools, nurseries and
children's playground. (Grime and Weclawowicz 1981, p. 263) Once the war started, poor urban
planning was no longer the biggest issue for Varsovians.
The process of rebuilding the capital can be traced starting from the war time, when professors of
Warsaw Technical University and their students risked their lives, trying to keep safe old and new

documents on Warsaw's historical buildings, in the monastery of Piotrkw, located outside the city.
The new ones had been done by themselves after they realised that the Germans' plans were to
completely destroy the capital.

Fig. 8 The First Post-war Plan for Warsaw, 1945

Even when there was little hope left, Warsaw's inhabitants proved their loyalty to the city. Boleslaw
Bierut, the president of Poland, said during a speech in July 1949: "For anyone who, on the morrow
of the liberation of the capital, saw the faces of its inhabitants, there could be no doubt that Warsaw
had not perished and could not perish. The will and the decision to resurrect Warsaw materialized
the moment people returned to the abandoned ruins of the city, people for whom life without
Warsaw was inconceivable." (Bierut 1951, p. 40) The masses of people, amounted to 164,000
persons on the liberation day, started to clean the rubble from their derelict homes.

Fig. 9-16 People returning to Warsaw and clearing rubble

Fig. 17 President Bierut helping clearing rubble

They lived in severely destroyed houses. They managed to do so by using their creativity, strength
and faith that Warsaw will once again be a city of over one million inhabitants, as it was before the
war. Not only they believed in the reconstruction of Warsaw, but they were an important part of it
too. Many volunteered to do unpaid hard work, transforming themselves, common people, into
heroes. Moreover, the rebuilding of the capital was financed by both private and public capital
initially. Russians have donated several buses and other objects that helped the city to start
functioning as such.

Fig. 18-22 People living in derelict Warsaw

Fig. 23-26 People living in the ruins of Warsaw

Fig. 27-29 People inhabiting post-war Warsaw

Fig. 30-32 People living in post-war Warsaw

Fig. 33 Post-war Warsaw

Until 1949, the actions of the reconstruction of the capital consisted predominantly in reconditioning
the existing buildings and they were based on spontaneity. Warsaw's inhabitants wanted to
reconstruct buildings of cultural value, because they "yearned for their lost city" and the result was
"the greatest effort to date in reconstructing a destroyed historic urban center:" the Old Town (Stare
Miasto) and the New Town. (Stubbs and Makas 2011, p. 263) Stanislaw Ossowski, a respected social
scientist, advised that in order to reborn the Warsaw community, "if its core is to be constituted by
former Varsovians," the city centre should be rebuild, because it is the most representative place of
the city. This way "they can see in it the same city and not a different town in the same spot." (Tung
2001, p.84) Therefore rebuilding the city centre was the action that brought faith in Warsaw's
resurrection to its citizens.

Fig. 34 Stare Miasto in ruins

Fig. 35 Stare Miasto Square destroyed

The planners kept the faades of the traditional burgher residences dating from the Renaissance
through the baroque periods, in the Stare
Miasto Square, while the interiors were
designed to fit modern requirements: superior
sanitation systems, better light and air
circulation. Trying to collect as much historic
information from the original pieces, the people
have found modifications added during other
foreign occupations and decided to lose these
latter additions for the reconstruction. This
shows how much the Poles were yearning for
their independence and that they were trying to
reflect it through rebuilding an authentic Polish
symbol. The square was completed by 1953.
The seventeenth-century New Town was rebuild
following a more economical approach: the
buildings on the main road were constructed by
painstakingly reproducing their original
appearance, whereas the rest were build in a
modern style. Because the old style of the
constructions could not be replicated using
modern methods of building, people had to be
Figure 36 The restored historic core

trained to do jobs that not many people were familiar with anymore. This area was done by 1965.
(Stubbs and Makas 2011, p.262) By rebuilding them the Varsovians recreated its "specialness of
place which constitutes the essence of collective urban memory." (Tung 2001, p.84) Stare Miasto
was added to the UNESCO World Heritage listing in 1980, to confirm the meticulous work
undertaken by Polish architects, artisans and other people involved in the reconstruction.

Fig. 37 Nowy wiat Street in 1945, respectively 1949

Fig. 38 Historical Houses in Nowy wiat Street in 1945, respectively 1949

Fig. 39 Tomb of the unknown soldier in 1945, left, and 1949, right.

Fig.40 Radziwill-Palace on the East-West Thoroughfare in 1945, respectively 1949

Fig. 41 Krucza Street in 1945, left, and in 1949 on the right.

Fig. 42 St Barbara's Church in 1945, left, and 1949, right.

Fig. 43 King Zygmunt's Column in 1945, respectively 1949

Fig. 44 Co-operative housing settlement in oliborz on the left and residential buildings in Mariensztat in 1949, on the right.

Fig. 45 Children going to school in 1945, respectively 1949.

Fig. 46 Map of Warsaw City Centre

Fig. 47 Map of Warsaw City Centre in the Six-Year Plan

In July 1949, Bierut presented "The six-year plan for the reconstruction of Warsaw" that founded the
socialist economy, marking the sudden change of architectural aesthetics. This controlled
development took the place of the initial unprompted investment. All the buildings would be
constructed in
the Socialist
Realism style, as
instructed by the
Soviets. During
this presentation,
the president
tried to convince
the population
into embracing
Communism, by
comparing its
objectives to prewar Capitalism
facts. He did not
mention that this
new housing
settlements plans
were inspired by
the pre-war
project in
oliborz, which
was less affected
by the war
compared to
other regions. He
stated that they
inherited "the
ruins of a city that
was built
chaotically, a city
in which the
workers' districts
were fantastically
overpopulated
and neglected,
while wealthy inhabitants had luxurious residential quarters: a city in which the natural right of man
to space, light and green areas was denied to the working class." (Bierut 1951,p. 77) The aim of the
plan was to obtain new, improved and more rational living conditions for the working man. The plan
was supposed to better the capital on many fields: housing, industry, transport, education, health.

Figure 48 Diagram of Warsaw Master Plan, 1961

Fig. 49 Map of pre-war Warsaw and workers quarters

Fig. 50-53 Workers districts

Fig. 54-56 Workers districts

Fig. 57 Children playing in workers districts

Fig. 58 Workers districts

Before the war, flats of one or two rooms amount to 68.5% of the total number of flats and 46% of
the buildings had no sewerage. The statistics presented by Bierut in 1949 read that, on average, 3.8
persons would occupy one-room flats, in comparison to 2.2 per room in two-room flats, 1.6 persons
per room in the three-room flats and 0.9 persons per room in flats with six rooms or more.
Obviously, the flats with more rooms were owned by rich people, and the size of the rooms would
be considerable larger than the rooms in which the workers lived. It was estimated that every
occupant of a luxury flat with numerous rooms had at least ten times as much light and air as the
resident of a one-room flat. After the war, the figures show that the overcrowding already
decreased by 1947: there were 3.2 persons living in one-room flats and 2 persons per room in flats
with two rooms. (Bierut 1951, p. 78)

Fig. 59 Density of Population in 1931 by kilometre grid square

Fig. 60 Diagram of densities in flats

Fig. 61 Diagram of presence of light in a flat in relation to number of inhabitants

Fig. 62-67 Comparison between workers districts living conditions to rich quarters

The first new housing settlements for the working class were build in Muranw, Stare Miasto, Nowe
Miasto, Mynw, Koo, Western olibrz, Bielany, Sodowiec, Praga, Mokotw and in Ochota by
Workers' Housing Society. The plans included not only houses, but buildings that would enhance the
inhabitants' social and cultural life too. They marked an improvement of the living conditions. There
was not a big difference in the matter of space, because they had to follow the existent
infrastructure that survived the war, for economical reasons. Alternatively, the look of the dwellings
changed drastically, considering that the pre-war conditions entailed workers living in muddy,
improvised places with no modern amenities.
Their location was established also by linking them with the settlements of the new industrial sites
which were the work places of the people that live there. 'Housing is an area in which egalitarian
principles of socialism have been systematically applied. Both in the standard of housing provision
and in the allocation of dwellings the government has attempted to secure equality of opportunity.'
(Grime and Weclawowicz 1981, p.268)

Fig. 68 Map of housing settlements in the Six-Year Plan

Fig. 69 Map of housing and industry in the Six-Year Plan

Mynw is the first new workers' district that was built and was supposed to house 10,000 people
adopting the Socialist-Realist style.

Fig. 70 Plans of Mynw in 1938, respectively 1955.

The pre and post war plans show the difference and improvements in the layout. There are
reconstructed roads, considerably more green spaces and the planning is more spacious. It is well
connected to other areas of the city because the square in the centre of this settlement has an
opening on the East-West Thoroughfare. The square also provides social activities, by containing a
department store and a cinema.

Fig. 71-80 Recorded process of the development of Mynw: progressive site photos, models.

Mirw is another housing settlement that was rethought after the war to provide more human
conditions to the working class. The old streets have been kept, but only assemblies of small houses
were erected amongst green lawns. The new design included a school in the centre of it, that was
housed by the reconstructed building of the Hospital of the Holy Spirit.

Fig. 81 Plans of Mirw in 1938, respectively 1955.

Fig. 82-83 Photos of Mirw

Nowe Miasto covers 12 hectares. The buildings in this district were designed to be only two storeys
high in order to fit in the surrounding urban environment. Its centre holds 12 houses which will
dispose of a nursery, a shopping centre and a social centre in the near area. This new arrangement
led to creating a new street: Nowe Podwale.

Fig. 84 Plans of Nowe Miasto in 1938, respectively 1955.

Fig. 85-86 Photos of Nowe Miasto

Praga district is located on the east bank of the river Vistula alongside the East-West Thoroughfare.
Most of its 10,000 inhabitants were workers at the Praga factories, mainly at the motor car factory.
The plans pre and post-war show that the land is used in a more efficient way and the space in
between the dwellings was expanded.

Fig. 87 Plans of Praga district in 1938, respectively 1955.

Fig. 88-89 Photos of Praga district

Mokotw was a large centre of accommodation that was supposed to house more than 10,000
residents in approximately 2,500 flats that offered its inhabitants modern conditions, including
sewerage systems. The layout of the district was completely changed post-war, by creating more
housing settlements and adding large green spaces. The communist attitude is captured in the
inscription on the board at the construction sites of Mokotw that promised they will finish early
some parts of the project. The buildings were constructed fast, they were practical, but they were
not special, reflecting the human social order where everybody was considered to be just like
everybody else.

Fig. 90 Plans of Mokotw

Fig. 91-98 Photos of the development of the construction including photos of the motivational banner for the workers and President
Bierut's site visit.

Koo was a building centre for 10,000 people and by observing the 1938 and 1955 maps we can
conclude that the new layout is an enhanced version of the pre-war one.

Fig. 99 Plans of Koo district in 1938, respectively 1955

Fig. 100-112 Photos of the reconstruction process of the Koo district including photos of model and finished interiors.

These housing projects represent surrender, transmitted through architecture, showing that Polish
people have accepted their fate of being lead by Russians. The most interesting and spectacular
reconstruction of a district is represented by the one of Muranw, not only because it is the largest
settlement in Warsaw, with an area of 200 hectares, but because its location is on the ruins of the
former Ghetto. The degree of destruction in which this region was to be found after the war was so
high, that the clearance of the huge quantities of rubble from the Ghetto houses would have been
too pricy and it was estimated that it would have required the work of 10,000 men for 3 years to be
done. In order to avoid the disperse, the planners invoked historical reasons as well, and decided to
use an escarpment of three to four metres high, that would cover the rubble, on which the new
houses were built.
The district housed 50,000 persons using a completely different layout to the previous one, which
could have been described as an overcrowded neighbourhood with no greenery. The new house
settlements were placed with enough space between them, surrounded by gardens that were
supposed to enhance the healthiness of the area and embellish it. Also, they had modern facilities
which failed to be delivered to the people that lived in the area prior the war. The buildings
contained small two room and bachelor flats and up to four-room flats.

Fig. 113 Plan of Muranw in 1938

They added a cultural feature to the area by constructing public building, the most important ones
being: a District Social Centre, the Youth Centre, theatre, cinema and the Universal Department
Store with a covered market. Because it was a big district, smaller buildings that had the same
functions had been placed in each of the community's centres.

Fig. 114 Plan of Muranw in 1955

I think this major upgrade brought to this specific part of the city was done deliberately because
population would have seen the politicians in a good light. The shocking contrast between past and
present is the real proof that Communism is improving their lives. However, in 1994, Anna
Naruszewicz orally surveyed the surviving persons who had been involved in reconstructing the
capital and concluded that 90% of them did not agree with communism. (Tung 2011, p.83)

Fig. 123 Muranow in 1949 and design for 1955

Fig. 115-120 Photos of Muranw before and during the reconstruction

Fig. 121 Plans of standard flats and their execution in Muranw district

Fig. 122 Construction site in Muranw

Fig. 124-125 Photos of unfinished and finished parts of the Muranw district

Number of flats
Number of rooms
Average number of
rooms in a flat
Average number of
people to a flat
Average number of
people to a room
Population

1931
249,100
566,135

1950
193,645
404,674

1960
307,480
696,034

2.27

2.09

2.26

4.70

4.00

3.58

2.07
1,171,900

1.92
804,000

1.58
1,157,400

Table Housing in Warsaw: Selected Indices 1931-1960

By reading through the path that was followed in rebuilding Warsaw, we can understand the way
the new social order was implemented. While the citizens were rebuilding the historic building to
emphasise their need for freedom, the Soviets had other plans for them. For the first decades after
the war, the Socialism improved the standard of living for the majority of the people. But this
happened at the cost of limiting people's individuality and creativity. If the economic problems
would not have later intervened, making the society non-functional, we could have said that they
succeeded in bettering the majority of the people's living condition, but not lives.

Fig. 126 Population Change in Warsaw, 1800-1977.

Fig. 127 Maps of Warsaw: left, after the devastation and right, after the reconstruction.

IMAGE SOURCES
Front cover is edited by me using:
http://journals.worldnomads.com/nandini/photo/25564/706884/Poland/Stare-Miasto-A-typicalsummer-scene-in-Warsaws-historical-Old-Town#axzz2xVeDSqSg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/35101503.jpg
Figures 1-6, 9-35, 37-47, 49-125 from 'The Six-Year Plan for the Reconstruction of Warsaw,' Bolesaw
Bierut.
Figures 7, 36 and 127 from 'Preserving the world's great cities,' Anthony M. Tung.
Figure 48 from 'Warsaw,' Eamonn Judge, in 'European Cities, Planning Systems and Property
Markets.'
Figure 8, 59, 126 and the Table from 'Warsaw,' Keith Grime and Grzegorz Weclawowicz, in 'Urban
Problems and Planning in the Developed World.'

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bierut, B. (1951) The Six-Year Plan for the Reconstruction of Warsaw, Poland: KIW .
Grime, K. and Weclawowicz, G. (1981) 'Warsaw', in: Pacione, M. (ed.) Urban Problems and Planning
in the Developed World, London: Redwood Burn Limited, p258-291.
Judge, E. (1995) 'Warsaw', in: Berry, J. and McGreal, S. (ed.) European Cities, Planning Systems and
Property Markets, London: E & FN Spon, p345-370.
Stubbs, J.H. and Makas, E.G (2011). Architectural Conservation in Europe and the Americas,
Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, p262-263.
Tung, A.M. (2001) Preserving the world's great cities, New York: Three Rivers Press, p73-95.