INFORMATION PORTAL OF THE MARSHAL'S OFFICE OF THE KUJAWSKO-POMORSKIE Region IN TORUŃ

One of the first genocidal crimes committed by the Third Reich on the territories of occupied Poland was the extermination of people with mental disorders. The tragic fate of psychiatric hospital patients is commemorated by the exhibition “Extermination of the Mentally Ill during World War II in Occupied Poland. The Beginning of Genocide”, which was opened on September 29 at the Marshal’s Office by Marshal Piotr Całbecki, Vice-Marshal Zbigniew Ostrowski, President of the Regional Parliament Elżbieta Piniewska, and Regional Executive Board member Marek Wojtkowski.

“This year, for the first time, we are observing the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Extermination of People with Mental Disorders. The exhibition, prepared by researchers who have been working on this subject for many years, including Prof. Tadeusz Nasierowski, President of the Polish Psychiatric Association, can be seen outside Warsaw for the first time,” said Vice-Marshal of the Voivodeship Zbigniew Ostrowski.

President of the Regional Parliament Elżbieta Piniewska emphasized the contemporary relevance of the exhibition:

“Our task, as local government officials, is always to stand on the side of the excluded and the wronged. This exhibition is not only a commemoration of the tragic events of World War II, but also a commitment to care for the well-being of people with mental disorders.”

Marshal Piotr Całbecki referred to the importance of psychiatry today:

“Psychiatry is today a concept closely linked to social life. In our everyday environment we meet people with disabilities. On Thursday, on the anniversary of the birth of Dr. Józef Bednarz, we will gather in the Memorial Park. It will be our expression of gratitude and remembrance, but also an appeal not to repeat mistakes that can be used against another human being.”

During the five-year occupation of Poland, the Nazis murdered around 20,000 Polish citizens with mental disorders, deeming them to be “leading lives unworthy of life.” Victims of this planned extermination included patients of the Psychiatric Hospital in Świecie. In October 1939, during week-long executions in a gravel pit in Mniszek near Świecie, 1,350 people were murdered, including 120 children. In the same place, the hospital’s director, Dr. Józef Bednarz, was also killed, having chosen to share the fate of his patients.

The German crimes against people with mental disorders – including those from Świecie – are presented in detail on thirty panels prepared by Prof. Tadeusz Nasierowski, Chairman of the Commission on the History of Polish Psychiatry of the Polish Psychiatric Association, together with graphic artist Robert Manowski of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw.

The exhibition illustrates, among other things, the mechanisms, methods, and sites of German crimes in Pomerania, Upper Silesia, the Wartheland, and the General Government. The victims’ stories are presented on the basis of documents, witness testimonies, and shocking photographs.

To commemorate the victims of German barbarism, in 2024 the Polish Parliament established September 22 as the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Extermination of People with Mental Disorders in the Territories of Occupied Poland. This year its first observances were held – also at the psychiatric hospital in Świecie.

Beata Krzemińska
Press Spokesperson of the Marshal’s Office

September 29, 2025