Former prison in Kielce

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The former prison in Kielce , which today houses the "Museum of National Memory" ( Miejsce Pamieci Narodowe. Wiezienie kieleckie 1939-1956 ), was a prison for criminals and political prisoners from 1828 to 1956.

Entrance to the museum in the prison, which is currently under renovation

The building complex is part of the former episcopal residence complex in Kielce . It is located on Zamkowa Street between the former Bishop's Palace (in the north) and the "Stanislawa Staszica Park" (adjacent in the south). To the west and south are the Zielinski Palace ( Palac T. Zielinskiego ) and the Farmers Museum ( Muzeum Wsi Kieleckiej ). The buildings of the complex date from the 18th century and were originally stables of the bishopric. They were converted into a prison between 1826 and 1828.

jail

The facility was initially used by the Russian occupation authorities. Among other things, prisoners of the January uprising of 1863/64 and the events following the Russian workers' protests in 1905 were housed here. During the First World War , Austrian units operated the prison. Around 400 prisoners were imprisoned here in the interwar years.

From September 1939 the Gestapo took over the complex. During the period when the Gestapo was in use, the spectacular escape of a group of arrested Home Army members under Stanisław Depczyński in November 1942. From January 1945 the Russian NKVD took over the facility for a few weeks, until 1956 it was under the control of the Polish Ministry of Public Security (MBP or UB) . During this time, many political activists (mostly former members of the Home Army or Narodowe Siły Zbrojne (NSZ) who were anti-communist) were imprisoned here. Up to 1000 people were locked in the prison in the post-war years. A total of around 16,000 people were imprisoned in the years 1939–1956. In 1970 the prison was converted into a custody facility which was later relocated.

museum

The museum opened on August 5, 1995, the 50th anniversary of the capture of the prison and the liberation of several hundred prisoners from the Polish Home Army by Captain Antoni Heda ("Independent Brigade Kielce"). It goes back to an initiative of the "Gazeta Lokalna" and the "Światowy Związek Żołnierzy Armii Krajowej w Kielcach" (ŚZŻAK) ( World Association of Soldiers of the Home Army of Poland, Kielce ), who founded a corresponding organizing committee in 1992 and refers to the years of Political persecution of Poland from the beginning of the Second World War until 1956. Until the start of the renovation work, several cells, the execution chamber and torture rooms on the ground floor of the west wing could be viewed.

In 2006 a documentary about the prison was broadcast on TVP . The entire facility has been under complete renovation since spring 2010.

  • Extensive construction work in summer 2010

  • View from the front garden of the Zielinski Palace

  • Back of the prison to the city park

  • Watchtower on the southeast corner of the city park

References and comments

  1. ↑ according to Article Kielce in the Świętokrzyskie near Poland.travel.pl
  2. ↑ according to Article Powstaje film o historii kieleckiego więzienia in the Kielce edition of Gazeta.pl (in Polish)

Web links

Commons : Former prison in Kielce  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 50 ° 52 ′ 4.7 "  N , 20 ° 37 ′ 36.1"  E