People of Kraków in Times of Terror 1939-1945-1956

The exhibition "People of Kraków in Times of Terror 1939-1945-1956" prepares the visitor for a visit to the cells where political prisoners were tortured and murdered.

The exhibition is divided into three parts. The first presents the activities of the Society for the Defence of the Western Borderlands of Poland, an interwar Polish nationalist organisation opposing Silesian and Pomeranian separatism, and the history of the Silesian House building they built, which later became the headquarters of the Gestapo and the Polish Security Office. The second part presents the fate of selected people - victims of Nazi terror during the 1939-1945 occupation. The third part of the exhibition is devoted to the period 1945-1956 and presents the various attitudes of the population towards the Stalinist authorities.

The documents, family memorabilia and photographs collected at the exhibition create a narrative about the fate of Krakow's inhabitants in the periods 1939-1945 and 1945-1956. The documentary message is supplemented by exhibition design elements, including an interrogation room, as well as audiovisual presentations and recordings of witnesses to history.

One of the most important elements of the exhibition is the HMK's innovative project—a virtual archive. Collected over many years by museum staff, information on victims of Nazi and Stalinist terror has been made available to the general public in the form of an electronic database. Thanks to the collected documents and photographs, visitors will be able to learn more about the biography of a selected person. The database, which currently consists of several thousand items, will be expanded in future. The online version of the collection will be accessible to family members of repressed persons and researchers of contemporary history.