Bereza Kartuska (prison)
The prison camp in Bereza Kartuska (Polish: Miejsce Odosobnienia w Berezie Kartuskiej ) was a camp for the isolation of political prisoners in Poland who had worked in the years 1934 to 1939. It was located in Bereza Kartuska in the former Polesian Voivodeship and now in Belarus .
History of the camp
The camp was opened on July 12, 1934 by order of the President Ignacy Mościcki . By order of the President, people who endanger security and public order should be detained there.
The idea for the camp came from Prime Minister Leon Kozłowski , whose idea was accepted by Józef Piłsudski . Laws allowed the construction of several such camps at the time, but only one was built in the Bereza. The camp was housed in the building of the old Tsar's barracks.
The object was officially named Place of Isolation and was for people whose activities and behavior gave rise to the conviction that for their part the security gap for their area, peace or public order would be violated. However, the main reason for the establishment of the camp was assassinations by the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists on Polish politicians, such as the shooting of the Polish Interior Minister Bronisław Pieracki in 1934. Above all, his murder formed the occasion for a more radical approach by the Sanacja camp against the political opponents in the country .
The camp functioned until the end of the Second Polish Republic , when it was captured and disbanded by Soviet troops.
Detainees
The first prisoners were members of the National Radical Camp ( Zygmunt Dziarmaga , Władysław Chackiewicz , Jan Jodzewicz , Edward Kemnitz , Bolesław Piasecki , Mieczysław Prószyński , Henryk Rossman , Włodzimierz Sznarbachowski and Bolesław Świderski ). In addition, supporters of the Ukrainian Nationalists , the Communist Party of Poland and the Polish Socialist Party were imprisoned in the Bereza .
The normal detention period was three months. The aim of the detention was mental demotivation and destruction. At the beginning of the Second World War, many representatives of the German ethnic minority of Poland were imprisoned here without charge.
Sports
The sport was directed by police officers or instructors who were recruited from criminal prisoners. The instructors were often more strict and mean than the police officers because they wanted to make a name for themselves. The sport was performed for seven hours straight without a break. The aim of the sporting exercises was to achieve maximum fatigue.
Going to the toilet
The prisoners also had to deal with severe torture when they went to the toilet. For example, prisoners were only allowed to go to the toilet once a day within a few seconds at certain times. Those who could not deflate had to go through the whole day under pressure.
job
Part of the job was cleaning the sewer pipes with a small rag. In the meantime, you weren't allowed to wash your hands until the next meal.
Pumping the water was felt to be the hardest work.
The equipment was placed in such a way that the prisoners had to work in a bent position. Nonsense work such as digging and filling holes as well as the transport of stones to and from were also ordered. Detainees received 5 to 50 whips in the face for mistakes in their work.
Revisions
Revisions were made at night, during which all prisoners had to undress and run through the corridor to one of the rooms. During these actions, they were beaten with clubs.
daily routine
It was time to get up at 4 a.m. Half an hour later there was breakfast, unsweetened wheat coffee or Żurek and 400 grams of dark bread. Work or gymnastics started at 6:30 a.m. and lasted until 11:00 a.m.
Lunch was served at 12:00. It consisted of hot liquid without fat and a serving of potatoes. Work or gymnastics continued after lunch.
Dinner was available at 5:00 p.m. There was the same thing to eat as at breakfast. Preparations for sleep began at 6:30 p.m.
The food rations were inadequate, so the prisoners could not feel full. Food parcels from families were not allowed.
The inmates came to the camp with their own clothes. After a short stay, it began to stink terribly because it was not allowed to be washed. In addition, some items of clothing often broke during the first month of stay.
Health care
Health care and protection against diseases were inadequate. Most of the inmates suffered from arthritis and chronic inflammation.
literature
- Ireneusz Polit: Obóz odosobnienia w Berezie Kartuskiej 1934–39 . Adam Marszałek, Toruń 2003, ISBN 83-7322-469-6 .
- Piotr Siekanowicz: Obóz odosobnienia w Berezie Kartuskiej 1934–39 . Instytut Historyczny im. Romana Dmowskiego, Warszawa 1991.
- Wojciech Śleszyński: Obóz odosobnienia w Berezie Kartuskiej 1934–39 . BENKOWSKI, 2003, ISBN 83-918161-0-9 .
Coordinates: 52 ° 31 ′ 40 ″ N , 24 ° 58 ′ 10 ″ E