Cum tacent, clamant When they are silent, they shout Exhibition prepared by the Institute of National Remembrance The author of the exhibition Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation Piotr Życieński Public Education Office Artistic concept of the exhibition Jolanta Czarska (graphic design) Piotr Życieński (photography) Cum tacent, clamant Reviewers Marcin Krzanicki (PhD) When they are silent, Tomasz Łabuszewski (PhD) Contemporary photographs they shout Piotr Życieński Archival materials courtesy of the Heroes’ Families: Grażyna Chojecka, Eleonora Kasznica, Anna Tasiemska, Krzysztof Bukowski, The exhibition is devoted to Jacek Łukasik, Andrzej Neyman, Jerzy Zachorowski the searches for the remains of victims of the communist system Other materials come from the Archive of the Institute of National Remembrance and the collection of the Polish Underground Movement murdered in 1944–1956 Study Trust – London. Cross of Valour, Eagles and gorgets from the private collection of Kazimierz Krajewski. A satellite image courtesy of the Office of the Capital City of Warsaw. The searches were carried out between 2012 and 2014 Printed by Intro Baart by the Institute of National Remembrance and the Council for the Protection of Struggle © Copyright by Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, 2015 and Martyrdom Sites in cemetery section “Ł” ISBN 978-83-7629-786-6 of the Powązki Military Cemetery in Warsaw Cemetery section “Ł” etween 1948 and 1956, in cemetery section Stalinist era. Most of these graves are occupied B“Ł” – the so-called “Meadow” of the Powąz- by high-ranking communists. ki Military Cemetery in Warsaw, the communist Between 2012 and 2014, archaeological exca- security services buried the remains of nearly 300 vations were carried out in cemetery section “Ł”, prisoners whom they considered particularly dan- commissioned by the Institute of National Re- gerous for the state. Their names were deliberately membrance and the Council for the Protection not recorded in the main register of the cemetery. of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites. As a result, the Initially, the bodies of the executed persons remains of 198 persons were exhumed. They prob- were transported from the prison in a one-horse ably included the remains of two women. 75 per- cart. After some time, however, the cart was re- cent of the bodies showed signs of Katyn-like placed by a truck with a tarpaulin cover. Dead execution methods – with one or more shots in bodies were thrown into dug-out pits and then the back of the head, fired from a handgun. hurriedly filled with soil and levelled. In the mid Archaeologists found and identified bodies of 1950s, the section used for prison burials and outstanding officers of the Home Army and of the adjacent sections of the cemetery were cov- the National Armed Forces, including: major ered with a layer of soil and rubble. As officially Hieronim Dekutowski, nom de guerre “Zapo- claimed, this was done in order to remove level ra”, colonel Stanisław Kasznica, nom de guerre differences between the higher-lying Military “Przepona”, major Bolesław Kontrym, nom de Cemetery and the lower-lying Powązki Munic- guerre “Żmudzin”, lieutenant colonel Anto- ipal Cemetery. ni Olechnowicz, nom de guerre “Pohorecki”, In very few cases, family members of victims major Zygmunt Szendzielarz, nom de guerre managed to obtain some information from “Łupaszko”, and officers of the Polish Army: gravediggers, who showed them the approximate commander Stanisław Mieszkowski, colonel location of the secret burials of prisoners from Aleksander Kita and colonel Marian Orlik. Mokotów Prison. These burials usually took place To complete the excavations in the “Meadow”, at night or in the early hours of the morning. the third and last stage of exhumations should The levelling operation carried out in the be carried out to excavate the remains of over 90 mid-fifties in cemetery section “Ł” and in the ad- victims of the communist regime which remain jacent sections removed any traces of the burials underneath more contemporary graves. The re- of prisoners. mains which have not been found yet include Soon after the introduction of the martial law those of General Emil Fieldorf, nom de guerre in Poland, cemetery section “Ł” was again made “Nil”, cavalry captain Witold Pilecki, nom de available for use for burial purposes. Between guerre “Witold”, lieutenant colonel Łukasz Cie- 1982 and 1984, nearly 200 new graves were placed pliński, nom de guerre “Pług”, and many, many in the former burial grounds for victims of the others… Krzysztof Szwagrzyk fter the World War II, Poland actually of all, as dangerous individuals due to their A found itself under occupation of the USSR. adherence to the traditions of Independent The Soviets were carrying out a plan designed to Poland, which was so dangerous for the new gain political, military, economic and ideological authorities. control over the Republic of Poland. Assisted by Carrying out their plan to turn Poland into loyal Polish communists and taking advantage of a captive nation, the Soviets and their Polish the generally enthusiastic response of the society communist allies used a full range of repres- to the defeat of Germany and its eagerness to re- sive measures: from deportations and arrests build the war-ravaged country, the Soviets tried on a mass scale to assassinations and judicial to create a semblance of an independent Polish crimes. The latter in particular constituted a real state with a sham multi-party system and eco- travesty of law, considering the merits of most of nomic freedom. However, in the new communist the convicted persons in the struggle for indepen- Poland there was no room for many categories dent Poland. They had more to do with farcical of anti-communist enemies, including those propaganda than with fair court proceedings. representing the structures of the Second Polish Due to the unyielding attitude of the accused, Republic or the Polish Underground State. some of these “proceedings” took the form of the From the first days, the Soviets and their so-called “toilet bucket trials” (this name comes communist supporters persecuted soldiers of from the toilet bucket on which prisoners were the underground movement who had fought for made to sit) and were held in prison cells, with independence, including soldiers of: the Home no proper legal representation and without any Army, National Armed Forces and Peasant Bat- chance for justice. talions, the Armed Forces Delegation for Poland, People sentenced to death who were not par- Freedom and Independence, National Military doned by the president of the communist Poland Union, Underground Polish Army, Home Army Bolesław Bierut (an NKVD agent) or covered by Resistance Movement, activists of civilian struc- an amnesty, were murdered “in the name of the tures – Government Delegation for Poland and law”. Prisoners tried by common “courts” were members of other political formations who were hanged (e.g. general August Emil Fieldorf). The legitimate representatives of the Polish society: military tribunals, on the other hand, usually National Party, Polish Socialist Party – Freedom, executed their victims using the “Katyn” method Equality, Independence, Labour Party and the – with a shot in the back of the head. People’s Party. Families of victims were seldom informed about The activists of the only legal opposition party these executions and the bodies of victims were after the war – Polish People’s Party – fell vic- secretly buried. One of such execution sites was tim to repressions, too. Other enemies included the central prison of the Ministry of Public Secu- soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces in the West rity in Rakowiecka Street in Mokotów in Warsaw. who decided to return to Poland after having Since the spring of 1948, the people murdered been encouraged to do so by the communists. there were secretly buried in cemetery section “Ł” They were treated as potential spies and, most of the Powązki Military Cemetery in Warsaw. Piotr Życieński Cemetery section “Ł” at the Powązki Military Cemetery in Warsaw Grave pits in which the remains have been found and identifi ed are marked in Boundaries of the area where graves from the 1960s are located. Th e “Meadow” at the Powązki Military Cemetery in Warsaw, Poland Site plan, cemetery section “Ł”, 2013 Are number Grave pits examined in 2013 Are separation point Grave pits continued to (measurement points) be examined in 2013 Team responsible for the archaeological Outlines of Grave pits examined in 2012 documentation (May 2013): contemporary graves Anna Zalewska, Adam Falis, Joanna Borowska. Surveys Cooperation: Małgorzata Ściborowska. Th e south wall of the cemetery Survey drilling points Map prepared by Adam Falis and Małgorzata Ściborowska. Measurement points (benchmarks) Update (January 2015) – description of the sites where Brick graves built after the remains of murdered persons were found and identifi ed 1982 on the 1948–1956 Grave pits in which the remains and supplementation of the site plan: Piotr Życieński. burial grounds for of the heroes have been found and murdered prisoners identifi ed, with the execution date The heroes of independent Poland, murdered by the Soviet collaborators, whose bodies were secretly buried in cemetery section “Ł” of the Powązki Military Cemetery Bold denotes identified remains Stanisław Abramowski 1922-02-25 – 1948-07-30 Mieczysław Gągorowski 1910-12-24 – 1952-10-24 Piotr Macuk 1909-11-26 – 1949-08-12 Zygmunt Sokołowski 1908-04-20 – 1953-08-29 Bernard Adamecki