Mila 18 by Leon Uris
Mila (pronounced Miwa) 18 is one of the most exciting and well-written books based on true events that I have ever read. It is the story of people living through the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Mila 18 is the bunker where the 23-year-old leader of the uprising, Mordecai Anielewicz, was killed or took his own life. His body was never found. Before he died, Mordechai plotted with his confederates among the tombstones in the Okopowa cemetery. The cemetery lies right on the edge of what was then the Jewish Ghetto.
I thought I would just head on over to that street address and see what it looked like. How naive. How jejeune. We were looking for three things: the street address Mila 18, the monument to the Jewish Ghetto Uprising, and The Museum of the History of Polish Jewry. A good traveler does not take off and just hope for the best. A reasonable person would plan ahead. But, a museum, a monument, and a square are all large things. How could I not miss them?
Gentle Demeanor
We walked to Mila Street and couldn’t find the monument. We crossed to the other side of Mila which took a while. It is a major thoroughfare and you can only cross at the lights. This is what we found. Here is the famous Mila 18 today.
A teenage girl was just starting to go for a walk with her little dog. I explained that I was looking for Mila 18 of WWII fame. She very politely and calmly explained to me that “Things have changed since the war. Addresses have moved. There has been a lot of rebuilding.” I was impressed by her gentle demeanor when confronted with an actual idiot right on her doorstep. She pointed in the direction that we had come and suggested that we “go back and try again.”
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