680 thousand zlotys from the Ministry of Science to identify the victims of totalitarian regimes

Polish Genetic Database of Victims of Totalitarian Regimes (Polska Baza Genetyczna Ofiar Totalitaryzmów, PBGOT) was established in 2012 under an agreement between the Pomeranian Medical University (PUM) Szczecin and the Institute of National Remembrance. Over time, the Institute of Forensic Research in Krakow, Medical University of Lodz and the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń joined the project.

On Wednesday, during a press conference in Warsaw, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Science and Higher Education Jarosław Gowin announced said that the Ministry of Science would provide support in the amount of 680 thousand zlotys for research conducted as part of the PBGOT. These funds will be spent on research on the development of procedures and implementation of the latest DNA analysis technology to identify the victims of mass events and crimes of totalitarian systems.

"We owe the fact that we live in an independent and democratic country to the heroes who fought two totalitarianism: Communism and Nazism. Many of the victims of Communist and Nazi crimes are still unburied, unidentified. From the scientific point of view, the work done by the Department of Forensic Genetics of the Pomeranian Medical University represents the highest world standards, it attracts interest of research centres around the world. From the perspective of historical memory and honour, which we owe to the victims of totalitarianism, what Szczecin scientists are doing should not to be underestimated" - Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Science and Higher Education Jarosław Gowin said during a press conference on Wednesday.

Rector of the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin Prof. Andrzej Ciechanowicz explained that financial support is necessary to ensure the smooth operation of scientists. "The knowledge, expertise accumulated by molecular geneticists, primarily forensic geneticists, allowed us to undertake this work" - said Prof. Ciechanowicz and declared that the project would continue as long as necessary to identify the victims.

So far, the laboratories of PUM have already identified 62 victims of totalitarianism 54 victims of Communism and the eight victims of Nazism, including Danuta Siedzikówna "Inka", Major Zygmunt Szendzielarz "Łupaszka", Major Bolesław Kontrym "Żmudzin" and Major Hieronim Dekutowski "Zapora". The database contains evidence from the remains of nearly 750 victims, including 280 reliable genetic profiles. The Polish Genetic Database of Victims of Totalitarian Regimes also contains comparative material, DNA samples from nearly 1.5 thousand relatives of the victims.

Head of Department of Forensic Genetics PUM Dr. Andrzej Ossowski, MD explained that so far in the framework of the project 196 bodies had been exhumed from the sector "Ł" at the Powązki Military Cemetery in Warsaw, 385 victims from the area of Detention Centre in Białystok, three possible victims of Augustów raid, eight victims from Białystok from Olmonty, two victims from Bielsk Podlaski, 15 victims of the Katyń Massacre, 125 victims from Kraków from Glinnik, and one victim from Inowłódz (suspected remains of Major Henryk Dobrzański "Hubal"). So far, researchers have identified 47 victims from the sector "Ł" at the Powązki Military Cemetery in Warsaw, nine victims from the Detention Centre in Białystok, one victim from Bielsk Podlaski, two from Gdańsk Garrison Cemetery and three of Rzeszów.

"The identification process consists of several stages. These include historical research, collection of comparative material from relatives of the victimss, exhumation, laboratory tests and the final identification" - said Dr. Ossowski. "When it comes to the sector +Ł+, which is our most important project, 65 percent of exhumation work has been completed. About one hundred victims still have to be exhumed. Anthropological studies of exhumed victims are almost completed, so is historical research. Genetic studies are at 85 percent. (...) For 26 victims we have sufficient material (for identification - ed. PAP). For 66 victims, the collected material is insufficient, we are looking for more relatives. For 43 of the victims that we have to identify, we do not have any reference material" - explained Dr. Ossowski.

Detailed information (in Polish) about the Polish Genetic Database of Victims of Totalitarian Regimes is available at: https://www.pbgot.pl/ (PAP)

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