"Red Plague" ( pl, "Czerwona Zaraza") is a Polish poem, written in 1944 by Józef Szczepański, a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

–era poet, who died during the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...

. "Red Plague" inspired Polish

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology), ...

-winning film director

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of th ...

to create the movie '' Kanał''. The poem, which described the failed hopes of Warsaw insurgents that the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

would save them, was banned in the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

due to its

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context; during the

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era the very possession of it was punishable by imprisonment. Szczepanski wrote it on August 29, 1944, just a few days before his death (he died on September 10). The author expressed his anger at the Red Army, telling the tale of desperation, of being brought to a point that the only way to save anything from this total ruin that engulfed Poland (with the Battle of Warsaw being the backdrop and an end game for Polish resistance fighters who made that last stand) was to surrender Poland to their worst, eternal and most despised of the enemies, one that could have helped but chose not to, one that was responsible for the majority of historical calamities that have befallen Poland, the source of all evil and darkness, a place that takes, never gives, a giant succubus that drained the Polish peoples' soul, sapped their spirit and feasted upon Poland's rotting carcass for centuries). Red Army units, which were positioned on the eastern bank of the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in t ...

, did not help the insurgents:

We are waiting for you, red plague... you will be salvation welcomed with revulsion... we are waiting for you, our eternal enemy... bloody murderer of so many of our brethren.... Your red, victorious army has been lying at the bright feet of burning Warsaw and is feeding its soul with bloody pain of a handful of madmen who are dying in the ruins.

"Red Plague" was recorded by De Press on their album ''Myśmy Rebelianci'' in 2009.''Myśmy Rebelianci''
on the band's official page Excerpts of the poem were used by a Polish rock band, Lao Che, in its ''Warsaw Uprising'' album (in the song "'' Czerniakow'').

References

{{Reflist

External links

Full text of the poem (in Polish)
Polish poems 1944 in Poland 1944 poems

See also

References

External links