The Minute Warsaw Stood Still

For 60 seconds at 5:00 p.m. on August 1, the city of Warsaw, Poland stopped. Pedestrians stopped walking, buses stopped driving, people stopped working. Everyone stopped whatever they were doing to remember.

It's an annual tradition to honor the memory of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, the ultimately failed 63-day effort to liberate the Polish city from Nazi occupation. This website, Warsaw Uprising, has a detailed history of the effort, which began at 5:00 p.m., August 1, 1944.

Now, every year at that time, sirens sound off throughout the city and nearly every human movement comes to a halt. This beautiful film, shot in various parts of the city in 2011, shows what it's like when Warsaw stops and remembers.

H/T Polis

Image: thereisacity/YouTube