Nos.24/26, Dzielna St. is the location of the former criminal and political prison known as the "Pawiak". It was named after our street because the buildings connect Pawiak and Dzielna streets. It is divided off by a wall several stories high, topped with broken glass and barbed wire entanglements.
The windows are heavily barred and there is a steel mesh on the inside. There are watch towers on the four corners, manned in shifts throughout the 24 hours by guards armed to the teeth with automatic weapons. Triple bars take the place of an entrance gate to the yard and buildings.
Now, in addition, the German authorities have installed several kennels for specially trained wolf-hounds.
The prison was built in 1829-35 during the Russian occupation and served
the same purpose between the wars. But now it is the sole
investigative prison of the German security police in the General
Gubernatorium territory. By a quirk of fate, the prison has survived
the battles for Warsaw. Only the walls bore marks of missiles, bullets
and shrapnel, but it was not destroyed by enemy bombs. Were its walls
so resistant? The women's section of the prison was known as "Serbia".
