Polish community in Brooklyn unveils mural commemorating Warsaw Uprising

NEW YORK – A new mural commemorating the bravery and resilience of the Polish people during World War II has been unveiled in Greenpoint, one of the largest Polish communities in the United States.

Mural commemorates 80 years since Warsaw Uprising

A wall on Driggs Avenue in Greenpoint memorializes “The Heroes Who Lived Among Us.” It’s part of a new mural to commemorate 80 years since the Warsaw Uprising, a historic civilian effort to liberate Poland from Nazi Germany during World War II. 

“We saw that there’s so many Warsaw uprisers that ended up in the United States after the war because, you know, they couldn’t go back to Poland because of the repercussions over there … They became our families and members of our communities,” said Greg Fryc, who came up with the idea to create a mural more than a decade ago.

The uprising began exactly 80 years ago on Aug. 1, 1944, and was fought for more than two months. It was a doomed effort, which ultimately led to the Nazis completely destroying the Polish capital. Many of the attendees during Thursday’s event, like journalist Rita Cosby, are descendants of those who bravely fought for their freedom.

“This is my father, who was a young teenager when the Warsaw Uprising began,” Cosby said, pointing to a young man depicted on the mural. “And to see him here, my handsome dad, who was fighting with everything he had, this Polish armband like I’m wearing today in his honor. And you see the determination on his face.”

The mural contains portraits of 12 people who lived through the most trying times and came to the United States for a better life.

“Freedom is worth fighting for”

A commemorative mural was first painted here ten years ago, but was vandalized shortly after. The community came together and repainted it. It remained there for 10 years until recently when they decided to give it an upgrade.

“I lived across the street for a number of years, and I loved the old mural that was here. And we suffered far too much vandalism on that mural. And I am hopeful that this mural will have a much different and better experience in our community,” said Councilmember Lincoln Restler.

Community leaders and elected officials paid their respects at an emotional flag raising, as descendants of those heroes laid flowers at the ribbon cutting. 

“My father and the Polish people understand freedom. They understand that freedom is worth fighting for,” Cosby said.

As far as anyone knows, it’s the only memorial dedicated to this historic event in the United States. 

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