Some difficulties arise when we discuss the aesthetic values of the cover of the 16th issue of “Przekrój”. It went on sale at the end of July 1945 and focused mainly on the Warsaw Uprising.

As the caption informs us, the photograph depicts the ruins of the Royal Castle seen from Nowy Zjazd. I’m glad that the caption is there – otherwise, it’d be impossible to identify this pile of rubble. There are similar photos inside, and they all depict total and utter destruction. There is also a spread with Ludwik Cieślik’s drawings from a series entitled Warszawa cierpiąca [Warsaw Suffering] with meaningful titles: Powstańcy w okopach [Insurgents in the Trenches], Atak czołgów odparty [Enemy Tanks Fought Off], Po wygnaniu z domów [Banished from Their Homes], Obóz w Pruszkowie [Camp in Pruszków]. Today, the extreme images may surprise readers who only know the later issues of “Przekrój”. In the first two or three years after the war, the weekly published a number of shocking photographs documenting the aftermath of the Uprising. It is unthinkable that any magazine would print such shots today. We now have a different pain threshold. Thankfully.