Monument to the Heroes of Warsaw “Nike” (Nowy Przejazd Street, on the corner of Solidarności Street)
The statue shows a reclining woman rising up – the goddess of victory with a sword raised above her head in her right hand. On the granite pedestal there is the inscription: “Heroes of Warsaw from 1939 to 1945” (Bohaterom Warszawy 1939−1945). The monument commemorates all those who died in the city during the German occupancy, including participants in the defence of Warsaw in September 1939, the participants of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the Warsaw Uprising, and the victims of German terror in the occupied capital.
The fate of its origins is complicated. After Stalin’s death at the wave of October, 1956 thaw in Warsaw appeared the idea of commemorating the heroes of the Warsaw Uprising. After many contests, the project of Marian Konieczny’s team was chosen. The Communist authorities pose difficulties, thus the construction was delayed in time, and the final design varied greatly from the winning version presented in the competition. From the surrounding of the monument removed elements associated with barricades and uprising.
‘’Nike” was named a monument to the Heroes of Warsaw not Warsaw Insurgents as the Warsaw people wanted. The date of its unveiling was postponed from August 1st to July 20th 1964, just to not associate with the Uprising. The monument originally stood in Theatre Square. In 1995, during the reconstruction of the northern frontage of Theatre Square was dismounted and located in a more favourable location – close to the entrance to the tunnel of W-Z route.