The remains of people executed at a notorious communist-era prison have been uncovered in a cemetery in the eastern Polish city of Lublin.
In the years following the end of the Second World War, Poland’s communist government enacted a brutal policy of repression targeting anyone it regarded as a threat.
Some estimates put the number of people killed in the grounds of the prison in Lublin, situated in the town’s castle, from 1945 until it was shut down in 1954, at 180, but hundreds more could also have been killed.
Their bodies were often buried in unmarked graves.
The skeletal remains were discovered by historians from Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), the body charged with investigating communist-era crimes.
“The nature of their burial indicates that they belonged to prisoners of Lublin Castle. The skulls of all the victims bore traces of gunshots,” an IPN official said.
Further analysis of the remains will be conducted to identify the victims and provide closure for their families.
Some estimates put the number of people killed in the grounds of the prison in Lublin, situated in the town’s castle, from 1945 until it was shut down in 1954, at 180, but hundreds more could also have been killed.
Their bodies were often buried in unmarked graves.
The skeletal remains were discovered by historians from Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), the body charged with investigating communist-era crimes.
“The nature of their burial indicates that they belonged to prisoners of Lublin Castle. The skulls of all the victims bore traces of gunshots,” an IPN official said.
Excavation work revealed two mass graves. In one, the skeletal remains of four men were discovered, all showing signs of bullet wounds, along with a few personal items. A second grave held scattered human bones likely disturbed in the 1990s during subsequent burials in the area.🔴 Ujawniono kolejne tajne pochówki ofiar terroru komunistycznego na Cmentarzu Rzymskokatolickim przy ul. Unickiej w Lublinie.
— Poszukiwania IPN (@PoszukiwaniaIPN) November 14, 2024
🟨 W dniach 4-8 listopada br. zespół Biura Poszukiwań i Identyfikacji IPN przeprowadził kolejny etap prac poszukiwawczych na terenie Cmentarza… pic.twitter.com/qb1Z92tR8F
Further analysis of the remains will be conducted to identify the victims and provide closure for their families.
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