Inscriptions of the political prisoners of the security authorities of People’s Poland in 1944–1956 as a historical source (illustrated with an example of the detention centre in Radzyń Podlaski)

Abstract

This article describes the outcomes of the research on the inscriptions made by political prisoners in the detention center of the Poviat Public Security Office in Radzyń Podlaski in the years 1944‒1956. It is an effect of a research project implemented in the years 2014‒2024 whose aim was to supplement the missing archival sources concerning the activity of the opposition and independence underground movement in Poland in the post-war period. The inscriptions provide valuable information on the experiences of victimized people and constitute an alternative historical source. This article also presents a historical background of the operations of the detention center which was the place of brutal interrogations and victimization of the members of the independence underground movement and regular citizens accused of anticommunism. This paper discusses the meaning of these inscriptions in the context of understanding the functioning of totalitarian systems and the fortunes of prisoners. The outcome of the research is the photographic inventory of inscriptions; whereas, the analysis of investigation files and contextual research contribute to learning about this period in the history of Poland to a greater extent.