Rypin: torture in the House of Torture

Civilians in the Selbstschutz prison

Mazanowska identifies the Selbstschutz headquarters at 20 Warszawska Street as a site of crimes against Polish civilians and Jews. She describes the arrest of teachers lured to a sham conference and the imprisonment of clergy. The selection of such victims contradicts portraying the site solely as a holding point for combatants. The museum article refers to investigation Ds. 23/65 and regional literature. [1]

Documented violence before death

According to the study, members of the Selbstschutz selected people from cells for beatings. They used rifle butts, and a barrel standing in the corridor was used to torture prisoners. These were concrete methods of inflicting suffering, distinct from shooting alone. Their description is sufficient to classify the case as direct abuse; it does not require supplementing the record with graphic details from unverified accounts. [1]

The House of Torture is not the count for the whole region

In a 2024 anniversary study, the Dobrzyń Land Museum separately lists the House of Torture, the Rypin sports ground, the Jewish cemetery, and forests in Skrwilno, Rusinowo and Karnkowo. It gives a count of known names relating to a wider commemoration. We do not transfer it to the record of the prison itself. The same person could have been imprisoned in Rypin and murdered or buried outside the town, so adding these sites without identifying victims risks duplicating the count. [2] [1]

Limits of the findings

Two museum studies were read, not the Ds. 23/65 files cited by Mazanowska. We do not give a precise number of people murdered in the building or attribute every described torture to each victim. The Skrwilno count remains outside this article’s record. [1] [2]

Sources and notes

Footnote markers identify the basis for specific findings. Bibliographic records remain in their original language; the notes indicate how each source is used.

The bibliographic record and source-use note are retained in Polish to preserve the original scholarly citation.

1. Izabela Mazanowska. Rypin – Dom Kaźni – Zbrodnia pomorska 1939. Muzeum II Wojny Światowej w Gdańsku — Polska Hekatomba.

   opracowanie instytucjonalne · Sekcje „Ofiary”, „Sprawcy”, „Okoliczności zbrodni” i „Źródła” · Dostęp: 2026-09-05.

   Use of this source: Miejsce, polscy cywile, Selbstschutz pod nadzorem SS, bicie kolbami i katowanie na beczce.

2. Andrzej Szalkowski; publikacja: Marcin Żebrowski. 85 rocznica zbrodni Selbstschutzu i uroczystości w Lasku Rusinowskim. Muzeum Ziemi Dobrzyńskiej w Rypinie.

   opracowanie instytucjonalne · 5 listopada 2024; początkowe akapity z wykazem miejsc zbrodni; podpis „Opr. Andrzej Szalkowski” · Dostęp: 2026-09-05.

   Use of this source: Regionalny zakres upamiętnienia oraz rozróżnienie więzienia i okolicznych miejsc mordów.