In the former headquarters of the Gestapo, known as the Podhale Torture Chamber, the Germans murdered the inhabitants of Podhale, tortured them, and sent them to concentration camps during World War II. Since 8 March, the place has become a museum thanks to funding from the European Regional Development Fund and co-financing from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the Malopolska Region.

Already on 27 March there will be a ceremonial opening in the Palace Museum of the permanent exhibition presenting the story of the complicated fate of the inhabitants of the Tatra region during the German occupation.

‘We are restoring the memory of the people who perished in the Podhale region’s concentration camps or were sent from here to German concentration camps. Today we are opening the building and showing it as a symbol of the suffering of not only for the Tatra Region, but also as a symbol of the victims of World War II, the victims of totalitarianism, and the victims of the occupation”, said Michał Murzyn, director of the Tatra Museum, whose Palace Museum has become its 12th branch.

In a letter addressed to the participants of the Palace Museum opening ceremony, Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz, Minister of Culture and National Heritage, emphasised the exceptional significance of the Palace Villa as a symbol of the common memory of the tragic events of the 1939-1945 occupation.

‘Zakopane’s Palace Villa is a historical place in the Tatra Region, filled with the memory of all the events of World War II that took place in this building and that illustrate what the reality in Podhale was like’, wrote the head of the Ministry of Culture.

The minister stressed that thanks to the social commitment, in particular of Wincenty Galica – a Palace prisoner, it was possible to create a small memorial chamber in the former cells, which functioned from the 1990s with interruptions and difficulties until 2022.

The Head of the Ministry of Culture also expressed his thanks to the staff of the Tatra Museum for their commitment to this important undertaking, expressing his conviction that the newly opened Branch of the Tatra Museum will tell the story preserved within its walls to a wider audience.

The museum is also intended to be a place for dialogue and discussion, and the staff of specialists gathered around it will research and explore topics related to the history of the 20th century.

Adrian Andrzejewski