Youngsters' harrowing drawings depicting Nazi atrocities they witnessed are discovered in Poland 


Harrowing children’s drawings recalling their memories of the Second World War have been discovered in long-forgotten archives in Poland.

Drawn in 1946 just one year after the war ended, the horrifying pencil and crayon illustrations show Nazi Germany’s occupying forces killing families, carrying out public hangings, executing civilians and deporting people to death and labour camps.

One of the drawings by a schoolchild named A. Taborek shows two men hanging by the neck from a tree which has been used as a makeshift gallows.

Both men have their tongues hanging out and one has been stripped to his underpants.

Harrowing children’s drawings recalling their memories of the Second World War have been discovered in long-forgotten archives in Poland. This drawing dated May 17, 1946 with the blunt title of ‘Execution’ by a girl called Bozena Wilke, shows four armed German soldiers herding a group of men through forests, with one covered in blood beside a tree after being shot

Harrowing children’s drawings recalling their memories of the Second World War have been discovered in long-forgotten archives in Poland. This drawing dated May 17, 1946 with the blunt title of ‘Execution’ by a girl called Bozena Wilke, shows four armed German soldiers herding a group of men through forests, with one covered in blood beside a tree after being shot

Drawn in 1946 just one year after the war ended, the horrifying pencil and crayon illustrations show Nazi Germany’s occupying forces carrying out brutal atrocities. This by a girl called Anna Krzeczko shows a man lying in a pool of blood outside a building that has been set on fire. A tank’s cannon can be seen in the corner of the picture called ’Home on fire'

Drawn in 1946 just one year after the war ended, the horrifying pencil and crayon illustrations show Nazi Germany’s occupying forces carrying out brutal atrocities. This by a girl called Anna Krzeczko shows a man lying in a pool of blood outside a building that has been set on fire. A tank’s cannon can be seen in the corner of the picture called ’Home on fire’

Pictured: This drawing appears to show men being lined up against a wall by firing squads, as a building burns on the right

Pictured: This drawing appears to show men being lined up against a wall by firing squads, as a building burns on the right

Pictured: A German officer with a Swastika armband is shown killing a child on the ground with a bayonet. A larger crowd of people are seen in the distance being marched towards a camp, while bodies are seen in the snow on the right

Pictured: A German officer with a Swastika armband is shown killing a child on the ground with a bayonet. A larger crowd of people are seen in the distance being marched towards a camp, while bodies are seen in the snow on the right

Two German soldiers with Swastikas on their uniforms and the sign of Hitler’s dreaded SS emblazoned on one of their helmets are shown standing by.

Another dated March 20, 1946, shows a man standing with his arms in the air outside a building named Gefangnis (German for prison).

In front of him a Nazi soldier can be seen shooting a man in the head and blood spurting on to the ground.

Yet another by a girl called Anna Krzeczko shows a man lying in a pool of blood outside a building that has been set on fire.

A tank’s cannon can be seen in the corner of the picture which Anna called ’Home on fire’.

Ewa Kołomańska, from the Mausoleum of Martyrdom of Polish Villages in Michniów which made the discovery said: ‘When the war started, they ceased to be children and became witnesses of war, terror and violence.

‘These pictures are authentic, the children do not use a filter, change facts or twist things, they drew what they saw. The children saw what fear was, which came with the first air raids.

‘From September 1, 1939, instead of hearing the school bell, they heard the swish of bullets, the sound of falling bombs, the screams of the wounded and the moans of the dying.’

One of the drawings by a schoolchild named A. Taborek shows two men hanging by the neck from a tree which has been used as a makeshift gallows. Both men have their tongues hanging out and one has been stripped to his underpants

One of the drawings by a schoolchild named A. Taborek shows two men hanging by the neck from a tree which has been used as a makeshift gallows. Both men have their tongues hanging out and one has been stripped to his underpants

Pictured: A Nazi soldier is seen swinging a person - presumably a child - around by the ankles in the middle of a road

Pictured: A Nazi soldier is seen swinging a person – presumably a child – around by the ankles in the middle of a road

Another dated March 20, 1946, shows a man standing with his arms in the air outside a building named Gefangnis (German for prison). In front of him a Nazi soldier can be seen shooting a man in the head and blood spurting on to the ground

Another dated March 20, 1946, shows a man standing with his arms in the air outside a building named Gefangnis (German for prison). In front of him a Nazi soldier can be seen shooting a man in the head and blood spurting on to the ground

Nazi soldiers are depicted attacking a farm house, with one person appearing to be shot. Others are shown fleeing into woods

Nazi soldiers are depicted attacking a farm house, with one person appearing to be shot. Others are shown fleeing into woods

Created as part of a post-war nationwide school project, the Polish children aged between 8 and 13 were given a list of topics and asked to write or draw their memories of them.

The topics included the moment they remembered most from the German occupation, their memories of German killings and what meaning mass graves had for them.

The chilling drawings were found in state archives in the Polish capital Warsaw and in the city of Kielce.

One by a pupil called Marek Wladzimierz shows three German soldiers with Swastikas on their helmets shooting six men. Entitled simply ‘Shooting Poles’, red is used to symbolise the victims’ blood.

A heartbreaking sketch called ‘Nazis beating daddy’ shows a man lying on the ground as he is bludgeoned senseless by two German guards.

And yet another in vibrant colours of red and green shows 19 men lined up against two walls awaiting execution.

A sinister black vehicle is parked in the street separating them and what appears to be a raging fire can be seen behind one of the buildings.

Three German troops are shown guarding the prisoners. One of the victims is seen lying in a pool of blood while another has a speech bubble saying defiantly ‘Poland has not yet died’. 

This picture appears to show two events involving Nazi soldiers at a home. One shows the soldiers killing a man on the floor, whiled the other appears to show them arresting a person and leading them away from the house

This picture appears to show two events involving Nazi soldiers at a home. One shows the soldiers killing a man on the floor, whiled the other appears to show them arresting a person and leading them away from the house

This drawing depicts a barefoot man in chains being marched to a prison by a German guard holding a stick

This drawing depicts a barefoot man in chains being marched to a prison by a German guard holding a stick

One by a pupil called Marek Wladzimierz shows three German soldiers with Swastikas on their helmets shooting six men. Entitled simply ‘Shooting Poles’, red is used to symbolise the victims’ blood

One by a pupil called Marek Wladzimierz shows three German soldiers with Swastikas on their helmets shooting six men. Entitled simply ‘Shooting Poles’, red is used to symbolise the victims’ blood

Another drawing dated May 17, 1946 with the blunt title of ‘Execution’ by a girl called Bozena Wilke, shows four armed German soldiers herding a group of men through forests, with one covered in blood beside a tree after being shot.

Kolomanska said that hundreds more drawings could be lying forgotten in other archives around the country.

She is now trying to track down the children who drew the pictures and said a psychologist working with the project will be able to judge which of the drawings show first-hand accounts and direct trauma, and which were drawn based on stories the children heard. 

This heartbreaking sketch called ‘Nazis beating daddy’ shows a man lying on the ground as he is bludgeoned senseless by two German guards

This heartbreaking sketch called ‘Nazis beating daddy’ shows a man lying on the ground as he is bludgeoned senseless by two German guards

Men are depicted being lined up by Nazi soldiers against a wall in this drawing that appears to show a firing squad

Men are depicted being lined up by Nazi soldiers against a wall in this drawing that appears to show a firing squad

This drawing depicts a woman in a dress being shot by what appears to be a female Nazi officer outside a home

This drawing depicts a woman in a dress being shot by what appears to be a female Nazi officer outside a home

Pictured: A children's drawing depicts homes on fire as people are shot and killed in the street by Nazi officers. One is shown using a canon to fire on one of the houses. A plan above the buildings appears to be dropping bombs

Pictured: A children’s drawing depicts homes on fire as people are shot and killed in the street by Nazi officers. One is shown using a canon to fire on one of the houses. A plan above the buildings appears to be dropping bombs

The drawings will be used as part of an exhibition entitled ‘War Through the Eyes of Children’.

Kołomańska said: ‘We want to confront the young generation with the horrors of war.

‘They often see war through the prism of a computer game. Being shot by a machine gun only means they don’t advance to the next level.

‘But for children growing up during World War II, guns were associated with death and fear.

‘The exhibition will not be pretty, it will be difficult and reflective.’

Following Hitler’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, which triggered the Second World War, by the time the war ended in 1945 around 5.6 million Polish citizens had been killed by Nazi Germany’s occupation.

Leave a Reply