WWII Defenders of Warsaw

Issued in 1945 by the Polish Government in Exile. The stamp commemorates the 63 day Battle of Warsaw fought by the Poles against the Germans. The Warsaw Uprising began as the Soviet Army approached Warsaw with the Polish intention to fight along side the Soviets as they entered the city. The Soviets stopped their advance and withheld support for the Polish Home Army resulting in the collapse of the Uprising. The German victory over the Poles was costly with about 16,000 killed and missing in action. Roughly 9,000 were wounded. The Polish armed forces suffered roughly 20,000 deaths while the Polish civilians suffered deaths numbered close to 200,000. An unknown number of Polish Home Army personnel were murdered or sent to work camps by the Soviets after the Uprising. After the close of WWII, Home Army soldiers remaining in Poland were imprisoned and interrogated by the Soviets. Many were sent to Soviet gulags or executed.