Scratched comb from “Łączka”

A comb recovered from “Łączka” bears scratched marks interpreted as a probable way of counting passing days. It comes from the place where the bodies of political prisoners were concealed beside Warsaw's Powązki Military Cemetery. People killed in the Warsaw prison were secretly buried there between 1948 and 1956. Investigations conducted between 2012 and 2017 recovered human remains and personal belongings, including combs, toothbrushes and fragments of footwear.

After cleaning and conservation, the finds were included in “Evidence of Crimes”, an exhibition combining objects with documents and witness accounts. The comb was displayed among almost two hundred objects recovered from “Łączka”, serving both as archaeological artefacts and as evidence of crimes. Objects in the exhibition are accompanied by extracts from letters and petitions by families seeking to save loved ones or obtain news of their fate.