The briefing inaugurated the 8th and final stage of works conducted by the IPN Office of Search and Identification on the former grounds of Warsaw’s Mokotów Prison. This search is intended to locate the burial sites of those executed at the detention site at 37 Rakowiecka Street in Warsaw, the address of the notorious Mokotów Prison, in the years 1945-1956.

"The search for and identification of victims of the crimes of the two totalitarian regimes, Soviet communism and German Nazism, has been one of the cornerstones of the IPN's activities for many years," commented the IPN President, Karol Nawrocki during the meeting with the press.

During the press conference, a detailed overview of the works carried out so far, its results and the expectations concerning the final stage of the works were presented by the Deputy President of the IPN and the Head of the IPN Office of Search and Identification, Krzysztof Szwagrzyk.

As a result of the works carried out between 2016-2021, the remains of more than 30 people have been found. The team also discovered numerous objects (including personal items) at this location.

In 2016, the search and identification team was reorganized into one of the Institute’s main offices, and later expanded severalfold. So far, they’ve been able to find over 1,500 human remains and have matched names to a tenth of them.

This translates into 150 people brought back from oblivion and 150 families finally having knowledge about the fate of their loved ones.