WARSAW, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski inaugurated on Friday a monument to August Agboli O'Brown, a Nigerian jazz player who fought in the Warsaw Uprising.
On Aug. 1, 1944, the Polish underground resistance, led by the Polish Home Army, began a major military operation to liberate Warsaw from Nazi occupation.
Up to 50,000 people took part in the uprising, approximately 18,000 of them were killed and another 25,000 wounded. Between 150,000 and 200,000 civilians were killed.
Among the fighters was O'Brown, a jazz musician born in Lagos from a Nigerian father and Polish mother. The man was living in Warsaw at the time of World War Two, together with his Polish wife and two sons, making a living out of music.
Polish historians believe O'Brown was connected to the Polish resistance even before the uprising, distributing illegal press. During the uprising, he is thought to have fought in a division in Srodmiescie, the very center of Warsaw, using the code name "Ali".
Ali's commemorative stone will be located in Srodmiescie, in the popular Wiecha pasage in the heart of the city. O'Brown is thought to have been the only black participant in the uprising.
