 Robinson Crusoes of Warsaw were people who , after the end of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising and the subsequent planned destruction of Warsaw by Nazi Germany , decided to stay and hide in the ruins of the German @-@ occupied city . The period of hiding spanned as long as three and a half months , from the day of the capitulation of the uprising , October 2 , 1944 , until the entry of the Red Army on January 17 , 1945 . Most of the Robinsons were Jews , although a considerable number of non @-@ Jewish Poles were also present . The hideaways lived in the ruins of houses , basements , and bunkers which had been prepared ahead of time . They lived in extremely dire circumstances , while the city was being destroyed around them . Some managed to escape Warsaw , many were captured and killed by the Germans , while others survived until the withdrawal of German troops . 
