Pawiak Prison Museum

 A couple of weeks ago, I passed the Pawiak Prison Museum in Warsaw, which was lit up red in freezing conditions:

Seeing this prompted me to read about the Pawiak Prison Museum on the Internet.

Through a quick internet search, I became aware that an old prison stood on the Pawiak Museum grounds between 1835 and 1944.

Imprisoned within its walls were Polish patriots who fought against Russian partitioning authorities; political prisoners (after 1918); and during the 2nd World War, many women, children, and resistance fighters.

It has also been estimated that during the 2nd World War, about 100,000 people were imprisoned at Pawiak, with about 37,000 being shot and 60,000 sent to concentration camps.

Finally, I discovered that in August 1944, the Germans blew up the prison, and that today's museum operates in two surviving prison blocks.

The Pawiak tree statue below is a bronze copy of a famous elm tree where the families of victims of German atrocities placed written epitaphs:

And the picture below is a part of the original prison gate:

The small monument below, which stands in front of the Pawiak Museum, looks like it could be a memorial to the victims of the 2010 Smolensk air disaster (although I could be wrong):

Must have a look inside the Pawiak Museum when I pass it during the day some time.