Kielce Prison History

schwine:

1. This this prison the same one that was active in Kielce just after World War II?
2. If not, is there another prison is Kielce that is no longer in operation?
3. If there are two prisons in Kielce (one active, one inactive), what are their addresses?
4. Does the prison/s in Kielce have a formal name?
5. When was the prison first built, and for what purpose?

schwineThreads: 1 Joined: May 12, 09	Edited by: schwine May 12, 09, 07:57 / #
I am interested in learning some basic history about the prison in Kielce. In September, 2007, I visited Kielce and noticed the prison located just within the city limits. At that time, it seemed to be actively running. I understand that the informal name for this prison is Więzienie na Piaskach or "imprisonment on sand." I have a few questions about this prison, and I greatly appreciate any information that anyone might have. Or if anyone knows of where I could find or buy information about the prison, I would appreciate that as well (even if the information is in Polish). 1. This this prison the same one that was active in Kielce just after World War II? 2. If not, is there another prison is Kielce that is no longer in operation? 3. If there are two prisons in Kielce (one active, one inactive), what are their addresses? 4. Does the prison/s in Kielce have a formal name? 5. When was the prison first built, and for what purpose? I appreciate that the answers to these specific questions may not be readily available to most readers of this forum, but this is the kind of detail I am looking for. Perhaps there is an article or book that was written that may contain some of this information. Thanks again for any help. Sincerely Cliff.

Peter_HThreads: 3 Posts: 44 Joined: Oct 27, 08	May 15, 09, 01:20 / #
Cliff, I would recommend contacting the local tourism board. They usually have a good amount of information about sites and locations relating to WW2. I'm not sure what you want the info for, but local tourism offices are usually bend over backwards helpful when you want to find out about local history. Take a look here http://www.um.kielce.pl/

pawianThreads: 80 Posts: 4,542 Joined: May 30, 08	Edited by: pawian May 15, 09, 07:32 / #
schwine: 1. This this prison the same one that was active in Kielce just after World War II? 2. If not, is there another prison is Kielce that is no longer in operation? 3. If there are two prisons in Kielce (one active, one inactive), what are their addresses? 4. Does the prison/s in Kielce have a formal name? 5. When was the prison first built, and for what purpose? It seems there is one working prison and one no longer in operation. Na Piaskach is a new one, operational from 1970s. The old one in Zamkowa Street was built in 19 century and was used during and after WW2 - the place of the martyrology of the Polish nation. http://www.pttkkielce.pl/s,83,Muzeum_Pamieci_Narodowej.html http://digart.img.digart.pl/data/img/vol0/20/20/miniaturki400/3508996. jpg http://www.inwestycje.kielce.pl/zamkowa_wiezienie.htm

1jolaThreads: 33 Posts: 2,739 Joined: Sep 23, 08	May 15, 09, 12:49 / #
They are making a film about the old one: http://miasta.gazeta.pl/kielce/1,35255,3198122.html

sjamThreads: 5 Posts: 1,016 Joined: Jan 13, 09	Edited by: sjam May 15, 09, 14:50 / #
I knew an AK veteran (he died in US recently) who originally served with cichociemni "Robot"s group then subsequently with "Ponury" and "Nurt". On August 5, 1945 whilst he was in 2 Pulk Piechoty Legionow AK, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Company they attacked the Polish communist police prison in Kielce and freed imprisoned AK members. Wlodzimierz Kolaczkiewicz former soldier of Narodowe Sily Zbrojne [National Armed Forces], recalls this action to free prisoners held in the Kielce prison: "... Since I would not talk, I was moved from Pinczow to Kielce, to the voivodship's secret police headquarters. The methods used there were different. On a hot night in June I was ordered to put on a warm quilted jacket and quilted trousers, and was placed next to a hot oven with hands stretched forward. In this position I was questioned for hours, until I lost my mind and could not recall even my father's name. When I was thirsty, they gave me a salted herring on a stick, so that I would not bite the hand offering it to me. I was asked to write my biography some twenty times. Unfortunately I had to tell them what my real name was, because in that police office I was recognized by a colleague from the underground who apparently gave in to the tortures. He is still alive. He came to me and said: "Greetings, Zawisza!" and hit me in the face. The interrogation began anew. I was transferred to a prison on Zamkowa Street in Kielce. Again I was out of luck. During the night of 4-5 August, lieutenant Antoni Hebda (alias: "Grey") organized a rescue mission. He liberated several people, but he ran short of explosives before reaching my cell. I was sentenced on 12 February 1946. During court proceedings I tried to show the judge my broken hands and beaten-up body, to no avail. After leaving the courthouse I was beaten up so severely that I could not get to my cell on my own and had to be carried there. When the sentenced prisoners were to be shipped somewhere, they were dressed up in old Nazi uniforms and packed in cattle wagons like herrings. The wagons bore the sign, "Volksdeutsche." At each station we sung "God Who Protects Poland" and "We Shall Not Abandon the Land of Our Fathers," so that the people would know we were Polish and not the Volksdeutsche. I went through the prisons in Sieradz and Lodz. If one can fish something out of these macabre memories, it is this: I remember humane treatment by two guards, Swiniarski and Petkiewicz, in Sieradz. They would secretly give us food and cigarettes. I will always remember them. In Lodz it was the opposite. I will always remember the sadistic guard Swiderski who tortured prisoners and profited by executing those sentenced and tortured. For one tortured and executed prisoner he would receive two bottles of vodka, the victim's clothing and 500 zlotys."