Cracow’s Glinik – World War II Executions Place, Forgotten over the Years and Restored to the Collective Memory. Preliminary Results of Archaeological-and-Exhumation Research

Abstract

The article is the first English-language publication presenting the topic of one of the places of executions during World War II in Cracow, bearing the local name of Glinik. It was located in a clay mining site for a brick factory operating nearby before the War. Executions were carried out in Glinik from mid-November 1939, basically until the end of 1943. The victims were mainly brought from the Cracow prisons. In the post-War years, it was decided not to carry out exhumations in Glinik. Only several stone obelisks were erected there, and in 1967 a larger memorial was built to commemorate the victims shot in Glinik. The area was only granted the status of a war cemetery in 2012. In the years 2013–2015, exploration works were conducted in the area of Glinik using archaeological research methods. This work was focused on finding the exact location of the place of executions, carrying out exhumations and reburying of the human remains. As a result, 25 graves were located, and the remains of 125 people were excavated from these graves. In many cases, small artefacts were found with them. In only one case, was it possible to identify the remains by name, based on a found identity document. And she is the only certain identified victim of Glinik. The anthropological analysis showed that the vast majority of victims were men (114 persons), while there were 11 women. The cause of death in most cases was a gunshot to the head. All the skeletons were subjected to DNA tests, with the aim of possible future identification of the victims. Their remains were reburied in an interreligious ceremony in Glinik, in two mass graves in the foundation part of the existing monument there. An important stage in restoring the memory of those shot in Glinik were such undertakings as the renovation of the memorial in 2016–2017, which is the dominant feature of the war cemetery. One of these commemorative activities was also an exhibition devoted to the events in Glinik, organized at the Museum of the Home Army in Cracow in 2020, together with accompanying publications. In preparation, there is also a historical-and-archaeological monograph devoted to the war and post-war history of Glinik.