Warsaw This, Warsaw That

Le Guern Gallery in Poland's capital is playing host to virtual reconstructions of the Nazi and Soviet visions for Warsaw. What would Warsaw look like today if the Nazis had won the Second World War? How would it have changed if the Soviets had rebuilt it in their own image?

The exhibition Wartopia: Berlin - 518, Moscow - 1122 offers possible answers. The work uses 3D computer simulations to show what could have become of Warsaw had German or Soviet forces successfully implemented their own, juxtaposing "utopian" visions for the city. Hence the exhibition's author, Aleksandra Polisiewicz, derives the word "Wartopia" from the combination of the words Warsaw and utopia. The designations "Berlin - 518" and "Moscow - 1122" refer to the location of Warsaw in relation to the capitals of two of the most potent superpowers of the 20th century.

Polisiewicz based her designs on Nazi plans drawn up during the early years of the war and from Soviet projects created in the Stalinist era. Those who attend the exhibition can take their own virtual stroll through the 3D simulations, joystick in hand.


From the Warsaw Business Journal