Kielce Gestapo Prison

Next to the castle in Kielce is a prison that dates back to the nineteenth century. When the Germans invaded Poland in September 1939, the prison was used for captured Polish prisoners of war. In October Gestapo took over the prison and began imprisoning Polish citizens opponent to Nazi occupation. Prisoners were interrogated and sometimes brute force was used force out confessions or concessions from the prisoners. Executions took also place at the prison. Prisoners were also sent to other prisons or concentration camps. About 16,000 people went through the prison before it was taken over by the Soviet Security Service, NKVD, in January, 1945. The only difference was that this time it was NKVD who conducted interrogations.