Appeal for help with finding mementoes

The Piaśnica Museum appeals for assistance with finding any mementoes related to the crime committed in the forests near Piaśnica Wielka (Pomeranian Voivodeship) in 1939. The crime claimed thousands of victims who were executed near Piaśnica Wielka and buried in mass graves. It was one of the first massacres of civilians committed on such a huge scale during World War II.

The Piaśnica Museum in Wejherowo was established on 16 December 2015. After the building is refurbished and suitably adapted, the Museum will function in the historic Villa Musica in Wejherowo (former headquarters of a local unit of Gestapo). The obtained mementoes will be used for preparing a permanent exhibition at the museum. They will also broaden the knowledge of the tragedy in Piaśnica, which has not been thoroughly examined so far, and majority of its victims remain unknown.

As a result of a disinterment carried out in 1946, some personal belongings of the victims, such as, amongst others, crosses, medallions, wedding rings, prayer books and other items were taken out of mass graves in the forests near Piaśnica Wielka. Abundant photographic documentation of the disinterment was prepared. It showed the works of the commission, as well as the discovered bodies and objects. Unfortunately, the objects and pictures presented subsequently at exhibitions with the aim to facilitate identification of the bodies were lost after 1948 in circumstances that remain unexplained. Any information on what happened to exhibits of value for the Piaśnica Museum can help us in finding them.

Should you have any mementoes or information, please contact us: The Piaśnica Museum in Wejherowo, 11/2 Św. Jacka St., 84-200 Wejherowo; phone (58) 736-11-11; mobile phone 501-047-240; e-mail address: muzeum@muzeumpiasnickie.pl

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