''Mały Powstaniec'' (the ''Little Insurrectionist'') is a statue in commemoration of the

child soldiers Children (defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child as people under the age of 18) have been recruited for participation in military operations and campaigns throughout history and in many cultures. Children in the military, includ ...

who fought and died during the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...

of 1944. It is located on Podwale Street,

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, next to the ramparts of Warsaw's

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

. The statue is of a young boy wearing a helmet too large for his head and holding a submachine gun. Despite being sometimes colloquially called ''Antek Rozpylacz'', it is not representing any specific child. The helmet and submachine gun are stylized after German equipment, which was captured during the uprising and used by the resistance fighters against the occupying forces.

Jerzy Jarnuszkiewicz Jerzy Jarnuszkiewicz (1919–2005) was a Polish sculptor. His work was part of the Art competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics#Painting, painting event in the Art competitions at the 1948 Summer Olympics, art competition at the 1948 Summer Oly ...

created the design in 1946 and it was used for years for producing small statuettes, only to become the monument decades later.

Polish scouts , type = organization , headquarters = ZHP Headquarters Warsaw , location = Warszawa, Konopnickiej 6 , country = Poland , f-date = 1 November 1918 , founder = Andrzej Małkowski, Olga Małkowska , members = 138,112 , chiefscouttitle = N ...

gathered the entirety of funds for the statue and it was unveiled on 1 October 1983 by Professor Jerzy Świderski – a cardiologist who during the uprising was a 14-years-old courier (pseudonym: "Lubicz") serving in the "Gustaw" regiment of the

Home Army The Home Army ( pl, Armia Krajowa, abbreviated AK; ) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) esta ...

. Behind the statue is a plaque with the engraved words of "Warszawskie Dzieci" ("Varsovian Children"), a popular song from the period: "Warszawskie dzieci, pójdziemy w bój - za każdy kamień twój, stolico damy krew" ("Varsovian children, we'll head into battle—for every stone of yours, we shall give our blood").

Gallery

File:Pomnik małego powstańca w Warszawie.jpg, File:Pomnik malego powstanca.jpg, File:Tablica Pomnik Małego Powstańca w Warszawie.JPG, File:Sala Małego Powstańca MPW 04.JPG,

References

1983 establishments in Poland 1983 sculptures Child soldiers in World War II Monuments and memorials in Warsaw Sculptures of children Warsaw Uprising World War II monuments and memorials in Poland {{Warsaw-struct-stub

Gallery

See also

References