Article by Dr Tomasz Szczepański in “Muzealnictwo Wojskowe”
The latest volume of the journal Muzealnictwo Wojskowe features an article by Tomasz Szczepański entitled Funkcjonariusze i pracownicy więziennictwa II Rzeczypospolitej w zbiorach Muzeum Katyńskiego w Warszawie (in English: Officers and Employees of the Prison Service of the Second Polish Republic in the Collections of the Katyn Museum in Warsaw) (2024, vol. 13, pp. 48–53).
The publication presents the history of the officers and employees of the prison service of the Second Polish Republic who became victims of the Katyn massacre. The author describes the circumstances of their arrests following the Soviet aggression against Poland on 17 September 1939 and recalls that at least 326 members of the Polish prison service were among those murdered.
A particular value of the article lies in its discussion of the collections of the Katyn Museum documenting the history of this group of victims. Readers can learn about unique testimonies preserved in the museum’s collections – objects recovered from mass graves in Katyn, Kharkiv, Miednoye and Bykivnia, as well as archival documents, photographs and family memorabilia donated by the relatives of those murdered. These artefacts not only document the tragic fate of prison service officers and employees but also help preserve the memory of their service and sacrifice.
We encourage you to read the article, which is available in Open Access on the journal’s “Muzealnictwo Wojskowe” platform.
