Dear Visitors!
Welcome to the exhibition “Radogoszcz 1945 – Testimony to the Crime.” I’m … and I will accompany you on a virtual tour of the exhibition prepared by employees of the Museum of Independence Traditions in Łódź.
Out of all inconceivable crimes committed during the Second World War by German invaders in the territory of Poland, the tragedy of the Radogoszcz prison, and particularly the Radogoszcz massacre, which was a liquidation of the prison on the eve of the evacuation of Germans in January 1945, is an event well known and important mostly to the inhabitants of Łódź and the Łódź Region.
An interesting phenomenon, especially from the perspective of the exhibition displayed, is the reception of and judgement about Nazi crimes after the end of the war and occupation. How did people establish the truth about events taking place in facilities such as the Radogoszcz prison? What activities did the post-war Polish authorities undertake to investigate and punish German crimes committed during the occupation? How did the public react to investigations and trials? Was justice really done in the context of prosecution of Nazi criminals after the war? We hope visiting our exhibition will answer these and many other questions.
The virtual exhibition consists of four rooms. In the “Investigation” room you will learn the most important facts connected with the post-war investigation into the crimes committed in the Radogoszcz prison and you will see the evidence gathered then. The material collected in the room entitled “Relatives Looking for the Truth” will show you the human, emotional dimension of Nazi crimes through stories of selected Radogoszcz prisoners and their relatives. The following room is called “A City in Mourning” and it will introduce you to the atmosphere prevailing in Łódź in the months following the discovery of the scale and the scope of the tragedy that had occurred in the Radogoszcz prison. The last of the virtual rooms, called rather perversely “(In)Justice”, is an attempt to answer the question to what extent brutal guards of the Radogoszcz prison were held (or, in most cases, were not held) accountable for the crimes committed. You can visit the exhibition rooms in any order. However, for the sake of narrative continuity and the logical chain of events, I suggest following the order I presented. Instructions and descriptions found in each room will make it easier for you to navigate the exhibition.
I hope visiting our exhibition will be a deeply moving experience for you.
