The museum building was built in the foundations of the surviving underground casemates of the prison which was blown up by the Germans in August 1944.

Monuments important to Pawiak also include: a pillar represents a part of the entrance gate, the Monument Tree of Pawiak (which is bronze copy of the famous elm, witness to its history - on which the victims' families since 1945 have placed the epitaph plates), concrete wall of sandstone blocks surrounding the grounds of the Museum, with symbolic sculptures by Tadeusz Łodziana and Stanisław Słonina, as well a monument within the old prison courtyard: an obelisk by Zofia Pociłowska.

In a reconstructed courtyard there are marble plaques at specific points and an entrance going down to the morgue from the street.

Visitors to the exhibition have the ability to listen to recordings of secret messages and artistic educational performances.

An important element of the research workshop Museum are thematic and personal files for the entire duration of the prison.