Unrelated to Ongoing IPN Investigation
The exhumation being carried out in the prison’s courtyard is part of the ninth phase of a three-year-long investigation by the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN).

Together with the bodies were also recovered pieces of clothing, footwear, and some personal effects. The remains are being repatriated for further forensic testing and identification.

Between 2016 and 2022, over 30 collections of remains were emitted from the same location. The Warsaw-Mokotów complex has been an ominous site in some of Poland’s darkest times. It was initially operated by Nazi units to hold and execute political prisoners, resistance or rebel fighters as well as those accused of common crimes.

It was later taken over by the NKVD, the communist secret police that had fought against the anti-communist opposition.

Shades of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944
The 1944 Warsaw Uprising was a significant sabotage operation carried out by the Polish underground against German occupation. But despite their valor, the warriors were eventually defeated. The uprising’s collapse led to savage Nazi reprisals, including widespread bombings that leveled the Polish capital.

Artifacts from that era, and the physical and emotional wounds it inflicted, continue to affect Polish society today. The recent discoveries are another reminder of the enduring aftermaths of war crimes.