Heroes of the Warsaw Rising are rarely seen as ordinary people- but the popular band 123 decided to perform one of the most well known Rising songs in a clip that shows the insurgents as cheerful, ordinary young men and women.
Agnieszka Bielawska reports
123 is a band, which plays a mixture of rock, jazz and folk. It often reaches for old, well-known songs with lyrics by some of the best Polish poets, and records them in their own characteristic music style and the haunting, hoarse voice of the leader Adam Nowak. They agreed to take part in the non-profit project, which is a chapter of a programme called Warsaw 1944 Battle for Poland. It was prepared by The Institute of Remembrance, The Museum of Warsaw Rising and by Discovery History channel.
'Young intelligent people died in the fights for our freedom, and the main idea of the project was to bring the idea closer to the, young audeince. We would like to show them that people in their age died 64 years ago for the freedom of our country, because the Warsaw Uprising was not only the fight for Warsaw, but a fight for freedom for the whole country. And the idea was to make something new, something comprehensible for our audience. So we decided to have some songs that were very popular, sometimes created spontaneously during the Rising and have them recorded in new adaptations,' says Andrzej Ochmanski from Dicovery History.
123 agreed sings one of the best known songs from the Rising , called ‘Palacyk Michla’, which was the hymn of one the Rising's battalions. The castle from which the song took its title no longer exists sharing the fate of the majority of buildings on the left bank of Warsaw after the Rising. The clip is shot in Praga, the district which was least ravaged during WWII, and therefore, the one that has retained the most authentic character.
Tomasz Dlawichowski, the producer, underlines that this clip is a gift to all those who took part in the over 60 days of fighting: 'It is a non profit recording. It is a personal matter for me, my grand father fought in the Rising and this subject is very close to my heart. I think it is a great idea to have contemporary musicians and bands record the songs from the Rising in their own arrangements. This attracts the attention of the young people who may not feel like listening to the old versions of the songs.'
The Rising was not only tears and pain. Its participants tried to catch moments of calm and attempt to lead a normal life; there were clandestine meetings and marriages. The song and the clip have a cheerful character says Tomasz Dlawichowski, adding that it is shot in black and white: 'We are trying to record the clip so that the viewer has the feeling of watching some unknown chronicles from the Rising. There is a group of insurgents, who in between the fight, find a ball and play a match. It is just a moment of respite.'
The participants in the clip are members of so-called historical reconstruction groups, which promote the history of the Warsaw Rising to young people. They are very moved while shooting the scenes, since for many of them it is like stepping into the shoes of their grandmothers or grandfathers who fought in the Rising.
'I play a nurse and a liaison officer, together with my friend we will be helping the wounded. I feel like being part of the Rising, the canons, the smoke, the cries around us. I think that such actions are a very good idea. Popularizing the history of the Warsaw Rising is important. Young people can feel it, touch it be part of it and so learn more,' says Agata Raczkowska ,from the reconstruction group Radoslaw.
The clip will premiere on Discovery History on August 1st at exactly 5pm the time of the outbreak of the Warsaw Rising. Also at exactly this time sirens will wail in major Polish cities and traffic will stop to honour the Warsaw Rising insurgents.