Mokotów Prison executions of 1951

On March 1, 1951, the Soviet-controlled Communist Polish secret police, Urząd Bezpieczeństwa (UB),[1] carried out the execution of seven members of the 4th Headquarters of the anti-Communist organization Wolność i Niezawisłość (WiN) in the Mokotów Prison in Warsaw.

They were personally chosen to take part in the anti-Communist resistance by Ciepliński, commanding officer of the WiN's 4th Headquarters, who chose them because of their moral fortitude and their unbroken spirit.

A staged trial that took place on October 5, 1950, was led by a group of ruthless military prosecutors from the Warsaw Military District—Colonel Aleksander Warecki (real name Warenhaupt, who served as the presiding judge), Major Zbigniew Furtak, Major Zbigniew Trylinski and Lt. Col. Jerzy Tramer, who served as the Public Prosecutor.

The newspaper articles which covered the case ran stories that the accused men were: "Traitors, spies and American servants [who] will be prosecuted".

Appeals for clemency sent to then Communist Poland's president Bolesław Bierut remained unanswered, and the condemned men prepared themselves for death.

Realizing that his tormentors would dispose of his body, Ciepliński decided to swallow a small portrait of the Virgin Mary, which he had worn from his neck.

According to the surviving witnesses, the WiN members supported and helped each other, tending particularly to Ciepliński and Błażej, both of whom suffered the most during brutal interrogations.